A Right to the Road: Understanding & Addressing Bicyclist Safety

Resource Type

Partner Funded Publication

As traffic fatalities are up across the board, bicyclist deaths rose 12.2% in 2015, the largest percentage increase of any other roadway user group that year. To address this troubling trend, GHSA and State Farm^®have partnered on a new report, A Right to the Road: Understanding & Addressing Bicyclist Safety.

Download the Report

This publication analyzes national data to understand fatal bicyclist-motor vehicle crash characteristics, offering 30 actions steps to help State Highway Safety Offices and local communities assess and improve their current bicyclist safety programs.

Chief among these recommendations are collecting better crash data, increasing training for law enforcement to understand laws designed to protect bicyclists, partnering with bicycling and community organizations to amplify safety messaging, and coupling infrastructure improvements with public education campaigns.

This comprehensive report was authored by traffic safety expert Pam Fischer, with data analysis performed by Richard Retting of Sam Schwartz Transportation Consultants.

Expert Panel

Jonathan Adkins, Executive Director, Governors Highway Safety Association
Larry Corsi, Grant Supervisor, Wisconsin Bureau of Traffic Safety
Julia Griswold, PhD, Post Doctoral Scholar, SafeTREC University of California Berkeley
Vicki Harper*, Public Affairs, State Farm^®
Ken McLeod, Policy Director, The League of American Bicyclists
Conor Semler, Board Member, Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals; Senior Planner, Kittelson & Associates, Inc.
Phil Weiser*, Chief, Safety Countermeasures Division, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

*Served in an advisory capacity.