Robert Goldwater

Bicycling is on the rise in the U.S. In 2024, a record 112M Americans rode a bike at least once. While such popularity brings overall positive signals, there is room for safety concerns, too. After all, cyclist fatality rates account for almost 3% of all traffic fatalities recorded in the country. There are multiple contributing factors to this unfavorable trend, and a...

Bike accidents cause harm ranging from minor skin scrapes to life-changing head injuries. The most common include soft-tissue damage, broken bones (especially the collarbone), and head wounds. Head injuries alone cause more than 60% of fatal cycling outcomes. In 2023, US hospitals treated 341,774 nonfatal cases. Of those, roughly 50,000 involved motor vehicles, and 1,166...

The most common cause of serious bicycle accidents is a broadside crash at an intersection, where an automobile and a rider cross paths, accounting for about 35% of fatal and serious crashes (SafeTREC, 2025). The top factors are unsafe velocity (16.5%), failing to yield (16.3%), and improper turning (15%). In 82% of fatal crashes, the front of the automobile struck the...

Wearing a helmet reduces the odds of a serious or fatal head injury by 60 to 70%, and brain injuries remain a leading cause of death in bicycle crashes. In 2024, 68% of US cyclists killed were not wearing a helmet, 14% were, and helmet use was unknown for the rest. But the raw fatality share is widely misread, and bicycle helmets do not prevent every death. We’re...

Roughly one-third (30-35%) of non-fatal bicycle accidents involve head injuries that require emergency treatment. The numbers are far worse in fatal crashes: TBI and related trauma cause an estimated 60% to 75% of all cyclist deaths, most commonly in collisions with motor vehicles. A properly fitted helmet can significantly reduce head injury risk by 60% and traumatic...

You can catch a DUI charge, or a BUI (Biking Under the Influence), if your state’s law treats a bicycle as a “vehicle.” Ride drunk on a public road and you risk arrest, jail time, and a criminal record. Everything depends on one word in your state’s statute: “any vehicle” or “motor vehicle.” We reviewed the DUI statutes in...

The statute of limitations is two to three years in most states, but Kentucky, Louisiana, and Tennessee give you only one. Maine and North Dakota allow up to six. Every state sets its own timeline, and no federal law applies. Some deadlines are even shorter than you’d expect. If a government entity vehicle or road defect caused your crash, you may have as little...

In 2023, 1,155 bicyclists were killed in traffic crashes in the United States, the highest recorded number and an 86% increase from the 2010 low point. Cyclists account for just 1% of all trips, yet they represent 2–3% of all motor-vehicle-related deaths. Most fatal bicycle crashes occur in urban areas, at non-intersection locations, and increasingly involve light trucks...