Dying On Maryland Roads

There's a killing field in America. It's called the roadway. Over 40,000 people in the U.S. were killed in auto crashes in 2016 — a toll that ties car collisions with suicide as the leading non-illness-related cause of death in this country, ahead of opioids and firearms.

Now I'm focused on Maryland today. Mostly because that's where I ride a fair amount during the year. Last June, I got curious because it seemed like people on bicycles were dying left and right on the Maryland roadways.

When I get curious, it normally leads me down lots of rabbit holes - some good, some bad. In this case, I found that Maryland was having a banner year - and not in a good way. In June 2016, five people on bicycles were killed when they were hit by people driving cars. That brought us to seven for the year. Now when you consider that only 10 people on bicycles were killed in all of 2015 - well that gives you pause.

Then we watched as the numbers kept climbing and climbing and climbing until we hit 16 people on bicycles killed during 2016. Now mind you, these 2016 and 2017 numbers are based on media reports. So it's entirely possible that I missed a few more - I hope I didn't, but it is very possible.



Unfortunately 2017, started off badly too. There were four people on bicycles killed in the first two months of the year. We didn't get to four until June in 2016. I'm hoping we don't have another record-breaking year. I'm hoping, but I'm bracing myself for the worst.

The interesting thing is how these people were hit - especially in 2016. You see, based on the media reports, 5 of the 16 people were killed in crosswalks. Now I'm not saying people don't do crazy stuff when they cross the road - however, some of these were clearly the fault of the person driving the car. Some were the fault of the person on the bicycle. However, the reality is we as Marylanders, heck as Americans in general, are killing the most vulnerable of our road users - people who walk and ride - left and right.