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A cyclist in New York is 25 times more likely to die than a cyclist in Vancouver and is about as likely to die as a cyclist in Auckland or Buenos Aires, according to a new study by the International Transport Forum, an intergovernmental organization.
“Cities should do more to protect pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcycle riders on their streets,” the report found. “Every minute, someone in the world dies in urban traffic. Local governments are at the forefront of efforts to prevent these needless road deaths.”
The study analyzed road fatality rates in 32 benchmark cities in Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries from 2010 through 2020 to see how many hit the goal of halving their road fatality rates during that time. Only Warsaw hit the target, reducing road fatalities by 56 percent, but Edmonton (49 percent), Barcelona (48 percent), and Oslo (45 percent) came close. New York City reduced road fatalities by 19 percent during that time, which is not nothing—especially since the United States as a whole was one of only two countries, Colombia being the other, in the dataset where road fatalities increased nationwide during the decade—but still fell in the bottom fourth of the cities studied because road fatalities have been generally declining in major cities across the world.
But the most revealing statistics in the report concern bicycle safety. The report generously frames the “large differences between cities” as “room for progress.” A less charitable but equally true framing is that some cities are politically willing and able to take street space away from dangerous private vehicles and design them for safe and comfortable cycling on a massive scale. That strategy works: Some cities have born the fruit of that strategy by having fewer of their residents die while biking. Other cities willfully ignore that strategy or roll it out at a glacial pace.
www.vice.com
“Cities should do more to protect pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcycle riders on their streets,” the report found. “Every minute, someone in the world dies in urban traffic. Local governments are at the forefront of efforts to prevent these needless road deaths.”
The study analyzed road fatality rates in 32 benchmark cities in Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries from 2010 through 2020 to see how many hit the goal of halving their road fatality rates during that time. Only Warsaw hit the target, reducing road fatalities by 56 percent, but Edmonton (49 percent), Barcelona (48 percent), and Oslo (45 percent) came close. New York City reduced road fatalities by 19 percent during that time, which is not nothing—especially since the United States as a whole was one of only two countries, Colombia being the other, in the dataset where road fatalities increased nationwide during the decade—but still fell in the bottom fourth of the cities studied because road fatalities have been generally declining in major cities across the world.
But the most revealing statistics in the report concern bicycle safety. The report generously frames the “large differences between cities” as “room for progress.” A less charitable but equally true framing is that some cities are politically willing and able to take street space away from dangerous private vehicles and design them for safe and comfortable cycling on a massive scale. That strategy works: Some cities have born the fruit of that strategy by having fewer of their residents die while biking. Other cities willfully ignore that strategy or roll it out at a glacial pace.
Biking in New York City Is 25 Times More Dangerous Than in Vancouver, Study Finds
The study by the International Transport Forum shows some cities have virtually eliminated cyclist deaths. Others, not so much.
www.vice.com
