Blog Post
With the release of the 2012 Bicycle Friendly State rankings, it’s great to see states and advocates continuing to improve conditions for bicyclists. With that in mind, here’s this week’s…
(Chene is a participant in the Gearing Up program, a student at Philadelphia Community College and works part-time for WashCycle Laundry, towing up to 200 lbs. of dirty laundry behind…
We have been gratified by the reception of our new website, Every Bicyclist Counts. The site is a memorial to cyclists who have been killed in the saddle. It is…
(Yolanda Davis-Overstreet is a cyclist in Los Angeles and the creator of the documentary RIDE: In Living Color.) Yolanda Davis-Overstreet Fifteen years ago, I was transformed. After doing the AIDS…
By Mary Lauran Hall, Communications Coordinator for America Bikes A small group of House and Senate leaders are still negotiating on the final transportation bill right now. The window is…
(Shailen Bhatt is the Secretary of Transportation for the state of Delaware, which moved up dramatically in the 2012 Bicycle Friendly State Ranking released today. He spoke with us in…
Adding more excitement to National Bike Month, the League has released its latest Bicycle Friendly States ranking. For the fifth year in a row, Washington continues to lead the nation,…
Earlier this year, the League of American Bicyclists quietly launched a new website called Every Bicyclist Counts. The site tracks bicyclist fatalities, and, it does this for several reasons.
First, it serves as a memorial for fallen cyclists. Every bicyclist matters and we want to honor the memory of those who have lost their lives bicycling, while also providing a place for grieving friends and family to pay tribute in the comments, if they wish.
Second, we recognize that we all have a lot to learn about the circumstances of fatal crashes. To improve safety on our roads, we need to better understand what leads to fatal crashes and other bicyclist deaths (they’re not all crashes).
Third, we want to try to improve the response to, coverage of, and follow-up to every one of these fatal crashes. We believe that if we can hold a spotlight to the police, justice system, and media response to these incidents, we may be able to improve the quality of such responses over time.
This month, we sent out an appeal to League members describing Every Bicyclist Counts and asking for support for this important memorial, data-gathering, and awareness-raising tool. We immediately heard from members who were appreciative of the project – and eager to find out more about what we’ve learned so far.
In recognition of the interest in new data on bicycling fatalities, we decided to share some of what we know up to this point. However, please treat these data as highly preliminary. Imagine a big “Draft – Data not final” watermark on the page behind all that follows.
Why Every Bicyclist Counts
Reflecting the city’s long tradition of cycling culture, the city of Gunnison, Colo., attained Silver Bicycle Friendly Community designation last week. Gunnison City Manager, Ken Coleman, shares his community’s enthusiasm…
(A native of Kenya, Winnie is a participant in the Learn to Ride education program at Cycles for Change in Minneapolis.) Winnie (Photo credit: Angela Lundberg) The best experience I…