AAA: More Bicyclists Plus Increased Drivers Could Equal Danger
While driving dropped in 2020 due to the pandemic, bicycling and e-bikes gained in popularity setting up a potentially dangerous combination of more cyclists on the road as driving returns to pre-pandemic levels, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.
Nationally, bicyclists killed in crashes with vehicles increased 36 percent from 2010 to 2018 with most of them occurring among male riders 20 years and older, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. In California between 2018-2020, there were more than 30,000 bike crashes with vehicles, 18,250 bicyclists injured, and 382 bicyclists killed.
During spring 2020, while many Californians quarantined at home, motor vehicle miles traveled fell by as much as 40% compared to 2019, but today are close to pre-pandemic levels, according to Caltrans data.