Every year Fresno motorists make crucial mistakes that put bicyclists at risk. It’s often only the quick thinking of riders that prevents more collisions from happening.
Maison Law of Fresno commissioned a study of the latest cycling accident numbers available. The figures truly show how much improvement is needed to make Fresno a safe place to ride a bike.
Fresno Bicycle Accident Numbers
Fresno wants to be known as a bike-friendly city, but despite recent improvements made for cyclists, there are still real dangers for riders of all ages.
- People For Bikes rankedFresno 206th among cities in California for bicycle safety in 2024. That was based on a network score of 19 out of 100 calculating the city’s bicycle safety, bicycle access, and other factors. Across the nation, the average network score was 28.
2023 bicycle accident figures for Fresno tend to back up the poor rankings. California’s Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) documents the bicycle accidents involving injuries and fatalities each year for all cities in the state.
The most recent figures show that the rate of bicycle accidents involving injuries and fatalities has been steadily rising. In 2023, the data shows a shocking leap in bicycle crash incidents when compared to the past few years. Fresno saw 91 bicycle accidents involving injury in 2023. That was the highest of the past five years.
You can find more information on Fresno Bicycle Lanes and Traffic Laws here.
How Many Bicycle Accidents in Fresno County Each Year?
Fresno County has averaged around 107 serious bicycle accidents a year over a five-year span (2019-2023).
The discouraging report card for Fresno itself is mirrored in bicycle accident statistics across all of the county. The city has some protected bike lanes now, like those on Palm Avenue that keep riders safer. However, along some roads, and out in the rural parts of the county, cyclists must use the regular traffic lanes alongside fast-moving cars, trucks, and SUVs. This proximity to large vehicles and sometimes careless drivers often proves dangerous.
According to TIMS figures, 2022 and 2023 brought almost 50 more bicycle accidents each of those years than in recent years.
Tragic fatal bicycle incidents can fluctuate no matter the number of accidents in a year. Emergency officials responded to at least four deadly bicycle accidents in the county in 2023. That was a relatively low number when compared to the 11 tragic deaths recorded in 2022.
Bicycle Accident Stats for California and Its Biggest Cities
The California Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) reports that there were at least 150 lives lost in fatal bicycle accidents in 2023 across the state. That was down from 2022 when there were nearly 200 documented fatalities.
Of course, the biggest cities, with the most traffic in California contributed the most to those tragic figures. In fact, Fresno made the top five on a list of the cities with the most fatal bicycle collisions on average over the past 10 years.
Nationwide, The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that an estimated 938 people died in bicycle accidents in 2020. Somewhere around 985 people tragically died in 2021.
The CDC reports that on average almost 1,000 bicyclists lose their lives each year in the U.S. Over 130,000 are hurt in crashes that occur on U.S. roads.
Striving for Safer Rides for all Fresno Bicyclists
It’s critical for all motorists and city leaders to take these troubling numbers to heart. Only with increased focus from drivers and safety initiatives from government leaders can true improvement for cyclists be expected.
One positive change to note is that the City of Fresno has joined with local bicycle groups to come up with a Vision Zero plan. It will be the first such plan in the city’s history. Vision Zero initiatives set goals to reduce traffic fatalities to zero in participating cities by a certain deadline. The campaign usually brings substantial safety upgrades to dangerous intersections and leads to the addition of more bike lanes and paths.
In the meantime, cyclists will still be forced into dangerous situations and injured riders will be in need of support to manage full recoveries. If you or a loved one suffered a serious injury while riding a bike due to a careless driver’s mistake, please contact the Fresno Bicycle Accident Lawyers at Maison Law. We are bicycle safety advocates and we offer free legal consultations to all Central Valley victims. We want safe rides for all bicyclists. We also fight to make sure injured riders get the support they need from car insurance companies.
