Visitors from across the world come to Fort Lauderdale for a good time on the beach and in local restaurants and shops. Many residents and tourists choose to travel the city on bicycles. It should be an enjoyable and safe activity, but the lack of focus from drivers can put riders in harm’s way.
With this in mind, Cowen Edwards Bicycle Accident Lawyers looked over recent bicycle accident statistics for Fort Lauderdale and Broward County. The hope is that a visual reminder to all drivers of the consequences of careless driving can make a difference in the care they show cyclists in 2024 and beyond.
How Many Bicycle Accidents Happen in Fort Lauderdale Each Year?
Broward County and Fort Lauderdale recorded 887 bicycle accidents in 2023. On average, the county sees around 737 bicycle crashes a year involving a motor vehicle. That’s according to the Florida Crash Dashboard on the Florida Highway Safety And Motor Vehicles Department (FLHSMV) website.
The data shows a sharp uptick in cycling accidents in 2023, and it’s not clear if 2024 numbers will show any improvement.
Tourists may take a leisurely ride on the Hollywood Broadwalk. Riders looking for more of a workout can use bike lanes on busy roads like Broward Boulevard. On other streets, cyclists must share the lanes with cars and SUVs. Unfortunately, this puts bicyclists at the mercy of careless and distracted drivers.
A driver’s mistake can easily lead to a traumatic injury and be life-threatening. There were 836 riders left with serious injuries after bicycle accidents in Broward County in 2023. That was up from 720 injured riders the year before.
On average, Fort Lauderdale and the surrounding area are the scene of 13 tragic bicycle fatalities a year. While bicycle collisions and injuries rose in 2023, deadly accidents did fall a bit from 2022. 2023 saw 9 fatalities across Broward County, down from 2022’s 16 tragic deaths.
You can read our page on the rights Florida cyclists can count on. They are especially important when riders are struck by careless drivers and in need of injury support to rebuild their lives.
How Many Bicycle Accidents Are There in Florida Each Year?
The FLHSMV documented 8,413 bicycle accidents across Florida in 2023. That was a leap of over 1,000 incidents when compared to 2022 figures. Over the past half-decade, Florida has averaged almost 7,000 accidents a year.
The People Powered Movement (PPM) website confirms that in an overwhelming number of bicycle accidents, drivers are found at fault. In Florida, around 83% of fatal bicycle accidents were blamed on driver error in 2021.
Sadly, that same carelessness resulted in the highest bicycle accident rates in Florida over the past five years.
Unfortunately, the same elevated rates were seen in fatal bicycle accidents as well. The number of deadly collisions has been astonishingly high in the two most recent years that data has been available. There were 220 tragic lives lost in cycling accidents in the state in 2022. That number jumped to 227 in 2023.
Across the U.S., Florida ranks as a very dangerous place for bicyclists. A study detailed on PPM placed Florida as the third most dangerous state behind Delaware and South Carolina over recent years. Those rankings factored in population. Sadly, Florida took the top spot as the deadliest state for cyclists per capita.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reports that there were 1,084 bicyclists killed in crashes with motor vehicles in 2022. That was the highest number of deadly cycling accidents ever recorded in the nation. The Institute found that cycling deaths have increased by 8% since 1975, and have jumped 75% since reaching a low point in 2010.
Hope for a Safer 2025 for Fort Lauderdale Cyclists
Fort Lauderdale is a great place to explore by bicycle, but it’s not a safe choice until drivers take more caution along our beach routes and in our neighborhoods. Hopefully, a graphic reminder of how many people fall victim to bicycle collisions every year can encourage motorists to show more caution everywhere they go.
If you or a loved one are ever the victim of a careless or reckless driver, please contact a Fort Lauderdale bicycle accident lawyer, before speaking to auto insurance adjusters. Cowen Edwards Trial Lawyers offers a free consultation to anyone who is seriously hurt in a collision. Take advantage of this no-obligation case review before insurance companies try to convince you that your bicycle injury is worth nothing at all.
