Which US Tourist Cities Are Riskiest for Cyclists?

Which US Tourist Cities Are Riskiest for Cyclists? What the Crash Data Shows

Tucson and Phoenix are the riskiest large US tourist cities for cyclists, going by the latest federal crash data. In 2024, Tucson recorded 1.44 cyclist deaths per 100,000 residents, about 4.5 times the national rate of 0.32, according to NHTSA's. Phoenix more than doubled its toll in a single year. New York and Washington, D.C., two of the country's most visited cities, came in well below the national line.

How Do Popular US Destinations Compare?

NHTSA publishes cyclist deaths for every US city with 500,000 or more residents. Of those 38 cities, 20 came in below the national rate in 2024. The table pulls out the ones that draw the most visitors.

Source: NHTSA, Bicyclists and Other Cyclists: 2024 Data (DOT HS 813 822), Table 7. FARS counts of deaths in motor-vehicle crashes within city limits.

Arizona's two largest cities stand out. Phoenix went from 7 cyclist deaths in 2023 to 16 in 2024, the second-highest count of any large city. Arizona as a whole posted 0.58 per 100,000, close to double the national rate.

New York shows why raw counts mislead. It lost 18 riders in 2024, more than any other large city. Spread across 8.5 million residents, that is a rate of 0.21, among the lower figures in the table.

Bicycle Accident Lawyers Group keeps a city-by-city table of cyclist deaths statistics comparing 2023 with 2024 for all 38 large cities, alongside state rankings and crash timing. It's a quick check before you book a cycling trip.

Why Do City-Limit Numbers Miss Where Tourists Ride?

Federal city figures stop at the city line, and several big attractions sit beyond it. Las Vegas looks calm on paper, with two cyclist deaths in 2024. Most of the Strip, though, lies outside the City of Las Vegas, in unincorporated Paradise in Clark County. A crash on Las Vegas Boulevard near the big resorts usually falls outside the city row. Nevada's statewide rate was 0.46, well above the city's 0.29.

Orlando, Miami and New Orleans never appear in the federal city table at all, because each has fewer than 500,000 residents. For those trips, the state rate is the closest federal measure. Louisiana posted the highest cyclist death rate in the country in 2024, at 0.96 per 100,000. Florida came second at 0.89, and its 208 deaths were more than any other state recorded. Hawaii's rate was 0.48, half again above the national figure.

Per-resident rates carry a second blind spot in a tourist town. The deaths include visitors, but the population count doesn't. A city hosting millions of guests a year carries their crashes without their numbers, so treat any single ranking as a starting point.

When and Where Do Most Fatal Bike Crashes Happen?

Most fatal crashes happen in conditions a sightseeing day often ends in. In 2024, 52% of US cyclist deaths happened in the dark, against 44% in daylight, according to NHTSA. Urban areas accounted for 81%, and 30% happened at intersections.

That points to a few simple habits for visitors renting a bike.

• Plan the ride back before dusk. More than half of 2024's cyclist deaths happened after dark.
• Ask the rental shop for lights, front and rear, even for a daytime loop that might run late.
• Pick routes with separated lanes or park paths, and cross wide multi-lane roads at signals.
• Ride the city you're in, not the one you know. Traffic speeds, lane design and driver habits change from one destination to the next.

What Should a Visitor Do After a Crash?

Robert Goldwater, lead attorney at Bicycle Accident Lawyers Group (BALG), says the first hour matters more for a traveler than for a local rider.

"Visitors are usually on a flight home within days, and the evidence stays behind. If you're hurt, ask for a police report at the scene, photograph the intersection and the vehicle, and get the names of anyone who stopped. A local can go back for those things later. A tourist rarely can."

Injury claims generally follow the rules of the state where the crash happened, not the rider's home state. Deadlines and fault rules differ widely from one state to the next, so a visitor shouldn't assume the rules from home apply.

"Travelers check the forecast for a destination and never check its streets," Goldwater adds. "A city's crash numbers tell you more about the roads you'll ride than a brochure will. Five minutes with the federal data is part of planning the trip."