How Many Cyclists Die on US Roads Each Year? 2024 Data

Quick answer: 1,103 cyclists were killed in traffic crashes on US roads in 2024, accounting for 2.8% of all US traffic deaths, according to NHTSA's Traffic Safety Facts. That was a 6% fall from 1,173 deaths in 2023. But while deaths fell, injuries moved the other way: an estimated 52,887 cyclists were injured in 2024, up 6% on 2023.

The headline numbers for 2024

The figures come from NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) — the census of every fatal motor-vehicle crash on US public roads — published as Traffic Safety Facts report DOT HS 813 822, Bicyclists and Other Cyclists: 2024 Data:

• 1,103 pedalcyclists killed — 2.8% of all US traffic fatalities
• Down 6% from 1,173 killed in 2023
• 52,887 pedalcyclists injured (estimated) — up 6% from 49,989 in 2023, and 2.2% of everyone injured in traffic crashes
• Over the ten years from 2015 to 2024, cyclist deaths have ranged between 2.2% and 2.9% of all traffic deaths

For comparison, 82 cyclists were killed in Britain in 2024 — a far smaller toll in absolute terms, though Britain's cycling levels are also much lower.

Deaths fell while injuries rose

The 2024 picture is a split one: fewer cyclists died, but more were hurt. Deaths fell 6% while estimated injuries rose 6%. That combination is worth reading carefully. It can reflect several things at once — more people cycling (so more exposure to crashes), and better emergency care meaning fewer injuries turn fatal. The fact sheet does not apportion the change between these causes, so neither should be assumed alone.

What is clear is that the toll remains high by historical standards. The 1,103 deaths in 2024 sit well above the levels of a decade ago, and cyclists remain one of the most exposed groups on the road — a fact that also shows in US pedestrian deaths, where 7,080 people were killed in 2024.

Darkness is the deadliest condition

More cyclists die in the dark than in daylight — a finding that matters with US clocks going back on 1 November 2026, pushing the evening commute into darkness across the country:

• 52% of cyclist deaths happened in the dark, against 44% in daylight, 3% at dusk and 1% at dawn
• The deadliest window on weekdays was 6 to 8:59 p.m. (21% of deaths), followed by 3 to 5:59 p.m. (18%)
• On weekends the evening peak was sharper still: 26% of deaths between 6 and 8:59 p.m., then 24% from 9 to 11:59 p.m. and 14% from midnight to 2:59 a.m.
• 81% of cyclist deaths happened in urban areas

Where on the road the crash happened also matters. 30% of cyclist deaths occurred at intersections, 60% at locations that were not intersections, and 9% at other locations such as bicycle lanes, shoulders, driveways and sidewalks. In single-vehicle crashes with passenger cars, SUVs, pickups and vans, cyclists were more likely to be hit by the front of the vehicle than in crashes involving large trucks and buses.

Who is most at risk

Men dominate the cyclist death toll even more heavily than the injury toll:

• The fatality rate per 100,000 people was more than 7 times higher for males than females
• The injury rate was 5 times higher for males than females

The state picture shows where the counts and the rates concentrate:

• The highest death counts were in Florida (208), California (163) and Texas (79)
• The highest fatality rate per 100,000 people was in Louisiana (0.96), followed by Florida (0.89), against a national rate of 0.32
• The lowest rates were in Maine (0.07) and Connecticut (0.11)
• Cyclists made up the largest share of a state's traffic deaths in Rhode Island (9.6%), and the smallest in Maine (0.6%), against the national 2.8%

Counts follow population, but rates reveal the risk — Louisiana's rate is three times the national figure.

Alcohol plays a role in a third of fatal crashes

Alcohol involvement was reported in a substantial share of fatal cyclist crashes in 2024:

• 33% of all fatal cyclist crashes involved alcohol (a blood alcohol concentration of 0.01 g/dL or higher) for the motor-vehicle driver, the killed cyclist, or both
• 21% of the cyclists who died had a BAC of 0.01 g/dL or higher

The pattern echoes motorcyclist deaths, where a quarter of riders in fatal crashes were alcohol-impaired. For cyclists, the message is the same one NHTSA repeats for every road-user group: impairment and darkness are a dangerous combination, and both peak in the evening hours when cyclist deaths also peak.

How these numbers were counted

These figures come from NHTSA's Traffic Safety Facts: Bicyclists and Other Cyclists, 2024 Data (DOT HS 813 822, published July 2026), built on the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) — the census of every fatal motor-vehicle traffic crash on US public roads — with injury estimates from the Crash Report Sampling System (CRSS). Fatalities are actual counts; injury figures are estimates from a national sample. The fact sheet counts only crashes involving a motor vehicle in transport. A pedalcyclist is a rider on a bicycle powered by pedals, a motor, or both; starting in 2022, riders of motorized bicycles are counted as pedalcyclists rather than motorists. A death counts if it occurs within 30 days of the crash. These are Annual Report File figures, which NHTSA may revise in the final file.