Study: Cyclists more apt to be hit from behind
By Paul Rauber, Sierra
A major study by the League of American Bicyclists finds that the most likely type of fatal bicycle crash is “motorist overtaking bicycle” — that is, being struck from behind.
Such collisions account for 40 percent of cyclist fatalities — far more than the T-bone (10 percent), head-on (8 percent), or right hook (6 percent).
The most likely reason is that the driver was texting/Web browsing/eating/talking on the phone: 42 percent of drivers involved in fatal collisions with cyclists (in cases where driver behavior was noted) were “reported to be operating their vehicle in a careless or inattentive manner.”
The League of American Bicyclists researched as many of the 726 cyclist deaths in 2012 as they could, mostly through reports from newspapers, TV, and blogs; they were able to find information in three quarters of the cases.