Why New York City’s bicycle deaths are at a 23-year high

Last year was the deadliest for cyclists in New York City since 1999, according to new data from the city’s Department of Transportation. Most of the 30 cyclists killed in 2023 rode electric bicycles, which have become increasingly popular on city streets in recent years. A total of 23 people died while riding e-bikes, which is more than double the previous record for e-bike fatalities.

The number of serious injuries among cyclists also rose last year, according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Transport. A total of 395 cyclists were seriously injured, 79 of whom were riding an e-bike. That is about 50 more seriously injured than last year.

Despite this increase, the overall number of fatalities and serious injuries among cyclists has been declining for years, indicating that cycling in New York City has become safer in the long run. According to preliminary data, the number of deaths and serious injuries in 2022 was about 16 per 10 million bike rides – down from about 34 per 10 million rides a decade earlier.

Historically, most people who died while cycling in New York City were killed in collisions with cars and trucks on streets without bike lanes, and that was also the case last year. According to a New York Times analysis of preliminary police reports on the 30 deaths, most cyclists killed in 2023 collided with cars in areas without bicycle infrastructure, regardless of the type of bicycle they rode.

The rise in electric bicycle deaths does not appear to be due to an increase in the number of e-bike riders, at least not entirely, the Ministry of Transport said. And while the most visible e-bike users in New York may be delivery drivers and Citi Bike riders, the majority of people who died on e-bikes last year were neither. According to the department, only one delivery driver died in an e-bike accident, and four people died using electric Citi Bikes, according to Lyft, which owns the bike-sharing program.

There was one factor that contributed to the spike in e-bike deaths last year, which may indicate a changing dynamic on the road: Nearly a third of e-bike riders killed crashed or fell without any apparent intervention of a vehicle or pedestrian.

Solo bike accidents are not a new phenomenon, but the seven e-bike riders who died in this way last year represent a significant increase from previous years, said Vincent Barone, the press secretary for the Department of Transportation.

The department doesn’t know what’s behind this wave of fatal solo crashes, but is looking for ways to improve safety and keep up with the rapid changes e-bikes have brought to city streets, Mr. Barone.

“We have updated our street designs with creative new solutions, such as wider bike lanes better suited to traditional and electric bicycles, as well as our educational outreach and enforcement approach to better reflect the rapid and dramatic changes in technology,” he added.

The speed of e-bikes could be a factor, as could rider inexperience, said Sara Lind, executive director of Open Plans, a group that advocates for “livable streets.”

“There may be a learning curve that some novice e-bike riders are not prepared for,” Ms. Lind said. “It’s entirely possible that that learning curve, combined with the speed of the bike, will make the already confusing or chaotic conditions worse. Navigating a pothole or suddenly blocked bike lane is more dangerous at higher speeds, further emphasizing the need for better infrastructure as more people use e-bikes.”

Last November, the Department of Transportation and Lyft announced a plan reduce top speed of electric Citi Bikes to 30 kilometers per hour, down from 20. E-bikes, according to the city classification, are any battery-powered bicycles with pedals and a speed of 40 kilometers per hour or less.

While the fatal solo e-bike crashes may signal new risks on the road, most of the cyclist deaths last year reflect long-standing problems the city has been grappling with: collisions with cars on roads without cycling infrastructure.

Most people who died in traffic last year were involved in a car accident or were driving a car. Of the 102 pedestrians killed in traffic, only two died in collisions with e-bikes, according to the Department of Transportation; the rest were hit by cars and trucks.

Among cyclists killed in collisions with a car, most were hit by trucks, such as SUVs, pickups, larger box trucks or tractor-trailers. In total, trucks were involved in half of the thirty bicycle deaths last year. In at least six of those 15 incidents, the cyclist was killed by a truck turning at an intersection – usually a right-hand bend.

In one accident, which occurred about 11:30 a.m. on May 1, Adam Uster, 39, was riding a traditional bicycle southbound on a bike path on Franklin Street in Brooklyn when he was struck by a flatbed truck. truck turned right at an intersection.

Because they sit high and have more blind spots, truck drivers often cannot see cyclists, who can become trapped between the trucks and curbs or parked cars, Mr. Barone said. The city’s bike lane designers have been working to address the problem, he said, with fixtures at intersections that force motorists to turn more slowly, rubber speed bumps and other measures.

Mr Uster was one of the few cyclists riding on a cycle path when he was killed last year. More than two-thirds of cyclists killed in traffic in 2023 were on roads without cycle lanes, according to the Ministry of Transport, and at least two cyclists were on roads with ‘sarrows’, road markings that indicate that cars and bicycles must share a lane. Critics say these markings are not enough to protect cyclists.

“Paint is not protection,” Ms. Lind said. “Physically protected cycle paths ensure that cyclists are actually safe.”

Sarah Schick, 37, was killed last year while driving on a road with knives. Ms. Schick rode an electric Citi Bike on Ninth Street in Brooklyn in January around 7 a.m. She had been riding on a special cycle path that had ended and become a narrow road. After waiting at a traffic light, Mrs. Schick and a box truck both drove into the narrow lane; they collided and the truck ran her over.

The city has painted fewer sarrows in recent years, Mr. Barone said, but still uses them between sections of dedicated bike lanes.

Last year, the city added 33.2 miles of protected bike lanes, the most ever added in a single year, Mr. Barone said, bringing the total to 700 miles of protected bike lanes.

Philip Miatkowski, director of research and policy at Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group for cyclists and pedestrians, said only about 3 percent of the city’s streets have bike lanes and the network is under-connected.

“Often there is no protected cycle path that leads all the way to the front door, so you will have to leave the protected cycle path,” Mr Miatkowski said. “I think overwhelmingly, cyclists will jump at the chance to take a protected bike lane if it’s on the road, and safer, and not closed off or without obstacles.”