Virginia Bicycle / Motor Vehicle Crash Statistics

In 2007, there were 875 bicycle / motor vehicle crashes in Virginia. These crashes resulted in 839 injuries and 7 deaths. Bicycle/motor vehicle crashes accounted for 0.6 percent of all crashes, 1.7 percent of injury crashes, and 0.7 percent of fatal crashes.

Approximately 34.1 percent of bicyclists were not violating any traffic laws when they were struck. Common bicyclist violations that were associated with collisions included failure to yield and running a traffic control. Most bicyclists, 72.8 percent, were going straight at the time they were struck.

Approximately 74 percent of the bicyclists struck by motor vehicles in 2007 were male. Males under the age of 55 represented 67.6 percent of all struck bicyclists.

Daylight collisions with bicyclists accounted for 74.1 percent of all bicycle collisions, with dawn or dusk collisions making up 6.1 percent and nighttime collisions 19.8 percent. Sixteen bicyclists who were involved in collisions in 2007 were in violation of traffic laws by not having lights on.

Bicyclists who had been drinking prior to the crash made up 10.1 percent of struck cyclists. Three of the 7 bicyclists who were fatally injured in 2007 were killed in alcohol-related crashes. Out of 839 injuries, 84 were sustained in alcohol-related crashes.

Source: http://www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/pdf/vacrashfacts_07.pdf