Centre County Bicycle Crash Data Summary

Disclaimer

These are summary statistics for bicycle-involved crashes from the PennDOT crash data. Our presentations of crash data are in beta and CentreBike presents this data for informational purposes only. Check back as we will be adding other information to these pages in the near future.

Some Takeaways

  • By a 4-1 margin, males are most likely to be involved in crashes as cyclists. Nearly 80% of those men and boys are under 30. This is somewhat due to more males cycling than females, but it also speaks to a bit of the I’m-invincible-devil-may-care-risk-taking attitude many young males exhibit. Showing off your prowess is great for courting, but if you check your testosterone at the bike rack, you’ll be a lot safer on the road.
  • The vast majority of cycling crashes — over 90% — are crashes that are preventable with a little training. Our safety courses offered in conjunction with Penn State and Centre Parks and Rec can give you the skills to minimize your exposure to Head-on, Angle, Sideswipe, and other types of crashes. Those we can’t prevent by smart cycling are about 7% of all crashes (distracted, impaired, or aggressive driving, for example), however, even some of those may be avoided by being visible. Following traffic signage and signals, not riding the wrong way on one-way streets, and lights front and rear 24-7-365 also will help you avoid collisions. Even if you can’t avoid a collision altogether, our training will help you minimize your risk of serious injury by teaching you bicycle handling and emergency maneuvering. Check our calendar for upcoming classes.
  • Unless noted, percentages are of the total number of crashes listed. The percentages have a bit of error due to rounding to one decimal point, and using total crashes vs. the total number of cyclists involved.
Item Count Percentage

Source Data Info
Bicycle Crash Records 392 –
# of Years of Data (1997-2017) 21 –

Outcome
Bicyclist Deaths 4 1.0
Bicyclist Major Injuries 10 2.6
Bicyclist Moderate Injuries 103 26.3
Bicyclist Minor Injuries 240 61.2

Driver Stats
Solo Cyclist 2 0.5
Male Cyclists 310 79.1
Female/Unknown Cyclists 85 21.7
Male Motorists 222 56.6
Female/Unknown Motorists 162 41.3

Helmet Use
Cyclist Helmet Used* 80 21.9
Cyclist Helmet Not Used* 133 36.4
Cyclist Helmet Use Unknown* 155 42.5

Illumination
Dark 85 21.7
Cyclist Front Light Used* 15 4.1
Cyclist No Front Light* 159 43.6
Cyclist Front Light Use Unknown* 194 53.2
Dark and Cyclist Front Light Used** 9 11.0
Dark and Cyclist No Front Light** 30 36.6
Dark and Cyclist Front Light Use Unknown** 42 51.2
Cyclist Rear Light/Reflector Used* 118 32.3
Cyclist No Rear Light/Reflector* 21 43.6
Cyclist Rear Light/Reflector Use Unknown* 229 62.7
Dark and Cyclist Rear Light/Reflector Used** 35 42.7
Dark and Cyclist No Rear Light/Reflector** 4 4.9
Dark and Cyclist Rear Light/Reflector Use Unknown** 42 51.2

Collision Type
Non-Collision 5 1.3
Hit from Rear 23 5.9
Head-on 14 3.6
Angle (Left or Right Hook) 284 72.4
Sideswipe (same direction) 51 13.0
Sideswipe (opposite direction) 7 1.8
Hit Fixed Object 1 0.3
Hit Pedestrian 4 1.0
Unknown Collision Type 2 0.5

Crash Attributes
Aggressive Driving 141 36.0
Alcohol Related 15 3.8
Cell Phone 3 0.8
Distracted 33 8.4
Drinking Driver 7 1.8
Drug Related 2 0.5
Fatigue Asleep 0 0.0
Illegal Drug Related 1 0.3
Injury Or Fatal 387 98.7
Running Red Lt 5 1.3
Running Stop Sign 10 2.6
Speeding 1 0.3
Speeding Related 7 1.8
Unsignalized Int 181 46.2
Vehicle Failure 5 1.3

Footnotes:
  * — Records with Helmet and Light/Reflector Info: 365
  ** — Records indicating Dark with Light/Reflector Info: 82