Disclaimer: These are summary statistics for bicycle-involved crashes from PennDOT’s crash data. CentreBike’s presentations of crash data are for informational purposes only.
About This Tool
One of the ways we target our cycling advocacy is by reviewing crash data. We’ve created some data tools using PennDOT’s Crash Data. We currently have all the bicycle related crash data from 1997 to 2022 for all of Centre County. If you want to do a deeper dive into this data, visit PennDOT’s Pennsylvania Crash Information Tool.
Where applicable, the map or charts show the latest year for which we have information. You can select a different year, or all years. If you choose “All”, please be patient — it takes a while to retrieve the data.
Also, click on the picture above to read an article from Bicycling magazine on one simple thing we as advocates are doing to drive the discussion about a good number of cycling crashes. In many cases, the motorists are not charged because the collision was considered an “accident”. Either the motorist or the cyclist (or both), made an error in judgement. As a cyclist, you do bear the same responsibilities as vehicles to obey all traffic laws, and you should always “drive” defensively. Disproportionately though, in our experience, when motorists are at fault, they are often not charged, and those charged are rarely convicted.
If you find yourself involved in a crash and it was definitely the motorist’s fault and they weren’t charged, you can make a request to the responding officer and his/her supervisor (and keep going higher if necessary) to have the motorist charged. Why is that important? Since PA is a no-fault state, it can matter whether your insurance or the motorist’s insurance covers the cost of your medical care. Also, if you chose to sue, a charge against the motorist goes a long way in helping your case. A member of the Lebanon Valley Bicycling Coalition, who is a rider and also an attorney, wrote a great article about what to do before and after a crash. Another “what to do” resource can be found on Bicycling magazine. Being familar with the vehicle code and how it applies to bicycles can also help you make your point. Check out resource pages for links to the PA Vehicle Code and Bicycling Driver’s Manual
Crash Data Summary
Map of Bicycle Crashes
Bicycle Crashes by Year (Graph)
Cyclists and Motorist Ages (Graph)
Bicycle Crash Data by Year (Table)
