Florida Bike Accident Statistics
On paper, Florida looks like it would be great for bicycle commuting. The weather is mild for most of the year, its southern location extends the daylight hours and storms during the rainy season are short and predictable. Unfortunately, Florida’s roads just aren’t ideal for bikers. This is due to a widespread lack of bike lanes, spread-out cities with most roads signed for high speeds and poor driver awareness of how to share the road with bikers.
Still, many people do choose to commute by bicycle – Florida is second only to California in the number of bicycle commuters. While Florida might not have the most bicycle commuters, it is, sadly, the most deadly state for them by far. The state sees 21.7 fatalities per 10,000 commuters compared to 6.4 in California, 9.4 in New York and 7.2 in Illinois. When looking at the total population, Florida has six cyclist deaths per 1 million residents – more than double the rates for California, New York and Illinois. While some areas have taken steps to reduce these deaths, most counties are still seeing a steady rise in bicycle accidents, injuries and fatalities.