Bike riders, beware: Arizona is one of the most dangerous states for cyclists. Here's why
Arizona is the second most dangerous states for cyclists, topped only by Utah, a new study shows.
The study, which was conducted by personal injury law firm KaplunMarx, used national data on air quality, crashes, laws and infrastructure to determine where cyclists were safest. The findings paint a clear picture of the serious dangers cyclists face each time they hit the road.
KaplunMarx noted that the number of cycling fatalities hit a record high in 2022. More than 1,100 people were killed while cycling in the U.S. in 2022, which is a 13% increase from 2021.
This comes in addition to a widening safety gap for cyclists in the country. The safest states continue to get safer for cyclists and the unsafe states make little progress toward improvements, the study showed.
"As more and more people turn to cycling for daily commutes, our latest study shows that rider safety still varies wildly across the country," said Ted Kaplun, principal attorney and founding partner of KaplunMarx. "While some states are building safer, more bike-friendly roads, others are falling dangerously short."
Here's what to know about cycling in Arizona and what makes it so dangerous.
Arizona received a cycling friendliness score of 22.4, placing it just a fraction of a point below Utah, the most unsafe state.
The Grand Canyon State fell especially short in several categories, including the amount of cycling routes and cyclist fatalities in the state.
In 2022, there were 6.8 cyclist deaths per 1 million residents in Arizona. The only state to surpass that score was Florida, which had 10 deaths per 1 million residents.
Arizona has only 0.6 miles of cycling routes per 1,000 square miles, which is well below other states. The top states boasted 16 to 62 miles of routes per 1,000 square miles. Even Utah, the worst state for cyclists, comes in with more than 2 miles per 1,000 square miles.
The study noted that most states with low bicyclist friendliness scores lacked infrastructure as this "investment directly correlates with cyclist safety as states with more extensive route networks and higher federal funding consistently show lower fatality rates."
Arizona's scores in the air quality, laws protecting cyclists and federal funding per capita were about average.
A link over the lake: Tempe gets $25M for bridge for pedestrians, bicyclists
These are the top 10 safest states for cyclists and their overall cycling friendliness score, according to the study.
Minnesota: 84
Massachusetts: 73.6
Rhode Island: 72.7
Washington: 72.2
Iowa: 67.2
Wisconsin: 66.7
Wyoming: 66.7
Florida: 65
New Hampshire: 62.7
Ohio: 62.2
These are the top 10 most dangerous states for cyclists and their overall cycling friendliness score, according to the study.
Utah: 22.2
Arizona: 22.4
Nevada: 28.8
Texas: 31
Georgia: 31.7
Idaho: 34.2
South Dakota: 35.2
North Carolina: 37.3
Kentucky: 37.4
Alabama: 39.1
KaplunMarx used National Highway Safety Administration data and Complete Tri. They considered these factors in the ranking:
Air quality
Cycling fatalities
Route density
Infrastructure initiatives
Federal funding
Bicycle laws
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Bike riders, beware: Arizona is among worst states for cyclists
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