Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida amongst most dangerous states for bicyclists

SHREVEPORT, La. ( KTAL/KMSS ) – A new study has found that Louisiana is one of the most dangerous states in the nation for bicyclists.

The study was conducted by Sweeney Merrigan Law LLP . The firm examined the number of fatal cyclist incidents in each state by using information from the NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System. They also compared the number of fatalities to population size.

Information from the year 2021 was used for the study.

Thirty-four cyclists were killed in 2021 in the state of Louisiana, an average of 0.74 every 100000 residents.

The state has thousands of miles of scenic routes and trails along the Mississippi River.

J. Tucker Merrigan is a Managing Partner with Sweeney Merrigan Law LLP. He said that bike trips in the United States increased 37% between 2019 and 2022.

Tucker also said there are more cyclists on the roads now than ever before.

Florida was deemed to be the most dangerous state for cyclists, ranking just above the state of Louisiana. They had 197 cycling fatalities in only one year.

Florida cyclists made up a shocking 5.3% of all traffic fatalities in Florida in 2021. Jacksonville, Florida was determined to be the most dangerous city in the state.

Mississippi was the fourth state on the list, with 16 bicycle fatalities.

The study also found that 85% of fatal cycling crashes in the United States occur in urban areas.

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