A city in in Florida has been identified as the most dangerous place to cycle in America as the state gets a steady influx of tourists unfamiliar with local roads.
Pinellas County in Florida has the highest cyclist death rate in Tampa Bay, which has the highest rate of any metro region in the United States.
A total of 95 cyclists were killed in motor-vehicle crashes in the Sunshine State so far this year and fatalities will total 130 this year, which is the highest number since 2010
The number of cyclists killed in motor-vehicle crashes nationwide hit 840 in 201, which is the most recent data available, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The number was the most since 1991 and a 35 per cent jump from 2010.
Park Boulevard in Pinellas County, Florida has six lanes and is found to be a black spot for collisions involving cyclists and motorists
Trung Huynh (pictured) became the latest cycling fatality in Pinellas County in June when he was struck by a white Chevy Malibu and sadly died at the scene of the crash
Trung Huynh, 18, became the latest cycling casualty when he used a marked crosswalk with flashing yellow lights to ride his bike across a six-lane boulevard in Pinellas Park one morning in June.
A white Chevy Malibu going at an estimated 45 mph slammed into him and his bike. police said. Huynh died at the scene.
A range of likely reasons explains the rise in deaths, including more overall vehicular traffic and driver distractions, according to people who track transportation trends.
Deborah Hersman, chief executive of the non-profit National Safety Council said texting by drivers remains a big problem.
She told the Washington Post: ‘Almost every state in the country has a texting ban, but we still find drivers are texting behind the wheel,’ she said.
In 2015, 22 per cent of fatally injured cyclists and 12 per cent of drivers in these crashes, had a blood-alcohol content level of at least 0.08, the legal limit for motorists in most states, according to the nonprofit Governors Highway Safety Association.
The growing toll has come as bike-share programs in many U.S. cities have taken off. More than 75 communities now have bike-share programs, with the biggest in New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
At least one international study found a rise in such programs is associated with a decrease in bike accidents.
Park Boulevard in Pinellas County was found to be a collision black spot in recent years
Florida’s numbers are bad even when compared with other warm-weather states. Its recent 10-year cyclist fatality rate was 6.2 deaths per 100,000 residents; that is 59 per cent higher than the rate in Louisiana, the state with the second-highest level.
At least one international study found a rise in such programs is associated with a decrease in bike accidents.
Florida’s numbers are bad even when compared with other warm-weather states. Its recent 10-year cyclist fatality rate was 6.2 deaths per 100,000 residents; that is 59 per cent higher than the rate in Louisiana, the state with the second-highest level.
Florida’s population is older and more densely packed, and the state gets a steady influx of tourists unfamiliar with local roads, said transportation-safety consultant Pam Fischer, who wrote a report which examined bike-safety issues nationwide.
The three states with the most fatalities since 2010 – Florida, California and Texas- account for about 40 per cent of all cyclist deaths, according to, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Florida has the highest number of cyclist deaths per capita in the United States
Advocates for more bicycle-friendly roads say riders often must choose between riding on the sidewalk or bearing with cars whizzing by within inches of them.
Many suburbs are connected by six-lane arterial roadways that often have a speed limit of 45 mph or higher, said Ken McLeod, policy director at the League of American Bicyclists in Washington DC.
‘If you want to go anywhere on a bicycle outside of your neighborhood, you have to go on that high-speed roadway because there’s no alternative,’ Mr McLeod said.