I’m all for biking, but there’s no need to sweep the risks under the rug.

The stats are hard to compare - there’s some overlap in the types of commutes that are viable for both cycling and driving, and they’re going to vary a ton depending on how bike-friendly the roads are in any given area.

Like, do we even consider automotive deaths that happen on the interstate? There’s no bikes there to compare to. Or cyclist deaths in car-free regions? There’s no cars to compare to. I’m not aware of any comparison that selects only for care-bike shared spaces… but a look at the raw numbers:

In 2024 there were 1,103 pedalcyclist fatalities, accounting for 2.8 percent of all traffic fatalities.

(US) crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/#!/PublicationList/19 (2024 Bicyclists and Other Cyclists Traffic Safety Facts)

So… 2.8% of traffic fatalities were cyclists. I can’t find a credible breakdown of traffic numbers: the important stat being the number of cyclists vs the number of motorized vehicles (or more accurately, the number of people in those vehicles - i.e., a single car with a driver and a passenger is 2). Is the number of cyclists (in 2024) 2.8% of all people on the road? …I don’t have the numbers to answer that, but just by observing anecdotally how often I see a bike vs people in a motorized vehicle, I’d guess it’s WAY less than 2.8%.

And if the total number of cycles is infact less than 2.8%, then cycling is more dangerous than driving. Let’s say it’s 0.5% of total traffic (which still feels way way), that would put cycling at a bit over 5 times more likely to result in dying than driving a car would.

 

TLDR: the stats I’m finding don’t do a great job of accurately comparing the risks of driving vs cycling, but the raw data doesn’t paint a very pretty picture from the fatality angle. What I can say confidently is that we need better infrastructure to keep bicycle traffic and 2,000+ lb explosion-powered missile on wheels traffic separate.

 

Still TLDR: Fuck cars, but not data.