Despite ambitious efforts to make our streets safer for cyclists, collisions and fatalities occur at an alarming rate.
According to 2015 data from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), bicycling deaths rose 12.2 percent from 2014. With 818 fatalities on U.S. roadways that year, it was the highest number since 1995. That same year, total traffic deaths rose only 7.2 percent, but totaled more than 35,000.
The San Francisco Bay Area, which is generally a bike-friendly community, is not immune from tragic incidents. This interactive map shows the high-injury corridors in San Francisco. The skulls indicate deaths. The “X” marks indicate the severely injured.
The map indicates a high concentration of serious bike collisions along Polk Street in the Tenderloin as well as Valencia Street in the Mission.
While cycling is just as safe, if not safer, than driving, you can lessen the odds of injury by either avoiding the most dangerous intersections or using an abundance of caution.
Here are 10 more of the most dangerous Bay Area intersections. The numbers represent collisions, injuries and deaths in one year.
1. Market Street and Octavia, S.F.
Collisions: 23 Injuries: 21
2. 6thStreet and Folsom, S.F.
Deaths: 2 Collisions: 4 Injuries: 4
4. Market Street and 5thStreet, S.F.
Collisions: 11 Injuries: 11
9. West Capitol Expressway and Snell Ave., San Jose
Deaths: 1 Collisions: 3 Injuries: 4
15. San Tomas Expressway and Campbell Ave., Campbell
Deaths: 1 Collisions: 2 Injuries 2
21. International Blvd. and 82ndAvenue, Oakland
Deaths: 1 Collisions: 2 Injuries: 1
22. 5thStreet and Market Street, Oakland
Deaths: 1 Collisions: 2 Injuries: 1
23. University and McGee Ave., Berkeley
Deaths: 1 Collisions: 2 Injuries: 1
26. South King Road and Route 680, San Jose
Collisions: 6 Injuries: 5
34. Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Channing Way, Berkeley
Collisions: 5 Injuries: 5
With more people choosing bicycling as a healthy and environmentally friendly mode of travel, it’s natural to see the rate of injuries rise. If our cities and state continue to work toward lowering the rate of bicycling injuries and fatalities, while also encouraging more people to travel by bike and on foot, we’ll get that much closer to the bike-friendly Bay Area we want.
In the meantime, if you’re commuting on Bay Area streets, take side streets if you can to avoid the busiest and most dangerous intersections. If there isn’t a good workaround, stay hyper-aware of your surroundings and ride assertively.
If you end up in a collision with a vehicle, follow these tips to make sure you get all the information you need to make a claim. And contact us as soon as you can for a free consultation.
Photo by Nicholas Cole, Flickr