Bicycle Safety

Of all school aged children killed in traffic crashes during "normal school transportation hours" for the 1997-1998 school year, 44 were riding a bicycle.¹

In 1998, 264 bicyclists ages 5 through 18 were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes.

In 1998, the fatality rate for young bicyclists ages 5 through 18 was nearly double the rate of fatalities for total bicyclists.

In 1998, the injury rate for bicyclists ages 5 through 18 was well over double that for all bicyclists of all ages.

More children, ages 5 to 14, go to U.S. hospital emergency rooms for injuries associated with bicycles than with any other sport.

Head injury is the leading cause of death in bicycle crashes and is the most important determinant of bicycle-related death and permanent disability.

Bicycle helmets have been shown to reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent and the risk of brain injury by as much as 88 percent.

Riding without a helmet increases the risk of sustaining a head injury in the event of a crash. Nonhelmeted riders are 14 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than bicyclists wearing a helmet.

In 1998, most of the bicyclists (ages 5 through 18) killed or injured while riding a bicycle were males (77 percent).

During "normal school transportation hours" in the 1997-1998 school year, 12 bicyclists ages 5 through 9 died in motor vehicle traffic crashes, 24 bicyclists ages 10 through 14, and 8 bicyclists ages 15 through 18.¹

¹ For this analysis of data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, "normal school transportation hours" were defined as: Monday through Friday; 6:00 a.m. to 8:59 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 4:59 p.m.; September 1 through June 15 each school year.