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