NPR takes an interest in our nation’s rising bicycle fatalities

Bicycle and pedestrian fatalities keep rising, and it’s clearer than ever that our transportation system is deadly by design. Although there’s no popular consensus on how to reverse this trend yet, many activists are working on it anyway. NPR just published a report on some of those efforts.

Across the country, the number of cyclists that are seriously injured or killed is soaring. According to the National Safety Council, 1,260 bicyclists were killed in 2020, up 16% from the year before and an increase of 44% over the past decade.

Preliminary figures recently released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicate cycling fatalities rose another 5% in 2021.

[…]

Improving urban transportation safety for all users starts with putting cyclists, pedestrians and those using scooters, e-bikes and other alternative mobility modes on a level playing field with car and truck drivers, says P.S. Sriraj, director of the Urban Transportation Center at the University of Illinois - Chicago.

You can read the full article on NPR here.

It thoroughly explains the heart of the issue for an audience that may not be familiar with it. Its focus is bicycle fatalities, but I want to emphasize that car-centric design is dangerous to everyone. As I’ve written before, the public is largely apathetic about our deadly transportation system. We need to keep increasing awareness of just how serious this issue is.