Study: Florida is the second deadliest state for bike and motorcycle fatalities

A new study reveals that Florida is the second most dangerous state for cyclists and motorcyclists. The study estimates that 1 in 4 (24.75%) fatal accidents are found to involve a two-wheeled vehicle. The state placed in the top three for total road incidents resulting in at least one casualty and topped the chart for both fatal motorcycle and bicycle accidents. 

Florida personal injury law firm Anidjar & Levine studied the latest NHTSA data on the volume of fatal collisions between 2017 and 2021. They compared the volume of total fatal crashes to the volume of deadly crashes involving pedal-cyclists and motorcyclists to find the state with the highest percentage of fatal crashes involving two-wheeled vehicles.

Hawaii topped the list despite being in the bottom five states for road fatalities, with only 483 deaths over the five-year parameters of the NHTSA data - largely due to the state’s low population. Of those deaths, 151 involved some version of a bike, meaning that such collisions accounted for almost one in three (31.26%) fatal crashes in the state - the highest ratio in all 50 states.

Rhode Island rounds off the podium places as the third most dangerous state for two-wheelers. Following a similar trend to Hawaii, Rhode Island has a relatively low volume (313) of fatal road accidents. However, motorcycles account for 67 of these, and the inclusion of 7 fatal bicycle incidents brings the state’s likelihood of a fatal crash involving a two-wheeler to a terrifying 23.64%.

Narrowly behind the deadliest three states, New Hampshire places fourth. The Granite State recorded 29 fewer bike fatalities than Hawaii - despite suffering a higher volume of total deaths (526 to Hawaii’s 483). This results in the likelihood of a fatal bike crash in New Hampshire being 23.19% - only marginally higher than Nevada, which recorded a rate of 23.11% to place fifth on the list.

Mississippi, Alabama, and Nebraska are the three states where the lowest percentage of fatal crashes involve two-wheeled vehicles. Mississippi was the only state in the US where less than one in ten fatal road incidents involved some variety of bikes.

A spokesperson from Anidjar & Levine commented on the study: "Hawaii is a beautiful place to cycle, with stunning views and weather, bike tourism is on the rise. Motorcycles are also a common mode of transport, but this data demonstrates that pedal and motorcyclists need to take to the road with caution and remain doubly alert and aware of their surroundings, but also that all road users are responsible for each others’ safety”.

Each state’s number of fatal crashes involving a pedal cycle or a motorcycle