New York City Bicycle Accident Statistics [2026]

New York City recorded 21 total cyclist deaths in 2025. Just three of those riders were on traditional bicycles, an all-time record low. The same year brought more than 4,400 traditional-bicycle injuries. It was the safest year for cyclists the city has ever measured. Yet e-bikes and mopeds added thousands more injuries to the toll, a sign of how fast the risk on New York's streets is shifting.

That split is the story of New York City bicycle accident statistics today. For traditional cycling, the long arc of Vision Zero finally produced a breakthrough year. For motorized two-wheelers, a new and fast-growing category of injury has appeared. The city only began counting it separately in 2024. Anyone trying to understand how dangerous it is to ride a bike in NYC needs to look at both halves. That's true whether you're a daily commuter, a researcher, a journalist, or someone recovering from a crash.

This post pulls together the most current data through year-end 2025. It draws on the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT), the NYPD, and NYC OpenData. It covers citywide trends from 2014 through 2025, a borough-by-borough breakdown, and the leading causes of bicycle crashes. It also looks at the e-bike and moped surge and Vision Zero's mixed-but-improving scorecard. Finally, it covers the legal rights available to injured cyclists under New York law.

NYC Bicycle Accident Statistics by Year (2014–2025)

The clearest way to see the trend is to track both injuries and deaths across the Vision Zero era. The city launched Vision Zero in 2014 with the goal of eliminating traffic deaths. Cyclist outcomes since then have been uneven: real early gains, a painful mid-decade backslide, and then a sharp 2025 turnaround.

Sources: NYC DOT Bicycle Crash Data Report 2024; NYC DOT full-year 2025 traffic-deaths announcement.

The fatality line tells the most dramatic story. NYC cyclist fatalities by year fell from 21 in 2014 to a then-record low of 10 in 2018, then climbed back up. There were 28 deaths in 2019 and, after a brief plateau, a peak of 30 in 2023. That was the deadliest year for cyclists since 1999. The 2023 spike drove public outcry and renewed investment in protected infrastructure. The numbers responded: total cyclist deaths fell to 24 in 2024 and 21 in 2025. Among riders on traditional pedal bicycles, only three were killed in 2025, a figure the city has never recorded before.

Injuries followed a different curve. Traditional-bicycle injuries rose from roughly 3,982 in 2014 to a peak near 5,175 in 2020. That 2020 spike was a pandemic anomaly. With fewer cars on the road, drivers sped more freely. At the same time, a surge of new riders took to cycling for recreation and to avoid crowded transit. As traffic normalized, injuries settled back to about 4,461 traditional-bicycle injuries in 2024.

The 2025 breakthrough was not an accident of timing. The city points to three drivers: round-the-clock speed cameras (expanded under state law to operate 24/7), a record pace of protected-bike-lane installation, and stricter enforcement. We'll return to what worked in the Vision Zero section below.

The E-Bike and Moped Factor

The single biggest change in how New York City counts bicycle accidents is the separation of traditional bicycles from motorized two-wheelers. Beginning with its 2024 report, the NYC DOT broke out e-bikes and mopeds as their own category. The numbers explain why.

In 2024, motorized two-wheelers generated about 5,691 injuries. That exceeded the 4,461 injuries among traditional-bicycle riders for the first time. In other words, e-bikes and mopeds now produce more reported injuries in NYC than pedal bikes do. They also added roughly 18 deaths on top of the six traditional-bicycle fatalities that year. That's how prior reporting arrived at the blended "24 total cyclist deaths" figure for 2024. Mixing the two categories hides an important distinction, so it's worth being precise about which number covers which type of rider.

The risk profile is genuinely different. A motorized two-wheeler is heavier and travels faster. It also creates distinct insurance and liability questions when it's involved in a crash. The city responded with direct regulation. In 2025, the NYC DOT established a citywide 15 mph speed limit for e-bikes, e-scooters, and pedal-assist commercial bicycles, effective October 24, 2025. The rule applies across all five boroughs, including city-operated park pathways.

Even as overall fatalities declined, the motorized category kept climbing. E-bike collisions citywide rose 21.5% year over year as of mid-2025. Moped fatalities doubled in July 2025 compared with July 2024. The takeaway for any reader interpreting New York City bicycle accident statistics is simple. Traditional cycling got dramatically safer, while the motorized two-wheeler category became the new growth area for injuries. The two should never be read as one number.

Bicycle Accidents by Borough in NYC

Where you ride matters. The 2024 official DOT data shows bicycle crashes concentrated heavily in Brooklyn and Manhattan, with the outer boroughs carrying meaningful but smaller counts.

Source: NYC DOT Bicycle Crash Data Report 2024.

Brooklyn leads in absolute numbers, and the reasons are structural. They include high cycling density, gaps in protected infrastructure, and heavy truck routes that put riders alongside large vehicles. The borough's persistent hot spots include Downtown Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Bushwick, East Flatbush, and Sunset Park.

Manhattan ranks second in injuries but had only three cyclist deaths in 2024. That notable gap reflects its denser, more developed bike-lane network. Cyclists make up nearly a quarter of all traffic-injury victims in Manhattan. That share shows how central cycling has become to how the borough moves. Queens and the Bronx carry significant counts driven largely by wide arterial roads. Parts of both fall within NYC DOT's "Priority Bicycle Districts," areas flagged for targeted safety investment. Long Island City in Queens is a notable area of concentrated risk. Staten Island, with its suburban street pattern and lower ridership, recorded zero cyclist deaths in 2024.

One statistic cuts across every borough and deserves emphasis: 83% of bike riders killed in 2024 died on streets with no protected bike infrastructure. That pattern has held year after year. Many variables shape cyclist safety in New York City. The presence or absence of a protected lane remains the single most decisive one.

Leading Causes of Bicycle Accidents in NYC

Crash-level data from NYC OpenData, combined with the DOT's 2024 analysis, identifies the contributing factors behind bicycle crashes. The leading causes are a mix of driver behavior, infrastructure gaps, and vehicle type.

Driver inattention and distraction is the number-one factor, cited in 1,544 incidents, about 30.1% of all bike crashes. Failure to yield the right of way appears less often, in 648 incidents (12.6%), but it is disproportionately fatal. The turning-vehicle "left-hook" and "right-hook" collisions that kill cyclists usually trace back to a driver who failed to yield. After those two leading causes, the data records pedestrian or cyclist error (467 incidents), disregarded traffic controls (288 incidents), and following too closely (160 incidents).

Several causes deserve closer attention than the raw counts suggest:

• Dooring. Only about 108 doorings were reported in 2024, but the figure is almost certainly an undercount. Prior DOT studies have estimated that dooring accounts for roughly 7% of all cyclist injuries. Under New York's anti-dooring law, the person who opens a car door into traffic can be held strictly liable. We cover that statute in the legal section below. (VTL § 1214)
• Truck blind spots. Trucks are a small share of vehicles on city streets, but they have historically been involved in roughly 27% of cyclist fatalities. Their size and blind spots make them especially deadly in turning conflicts.
• Larger vehicles overall. The growing share of SUVs and large pickups on NYC roads raises injury severity per crash. A heavier, higher-profile vehicle inflicts more harm on a cyclist than a smaller car would in the same collision.
• Infrastructure gaps. Where there is no protected lane, cyclists are forced into the path of moving and parked vehicles. That is exactly where the data shows the most severe outcomes occur.

In short, the most common cause is a driver who isn't paying attention. But the most deadly causes involve large vehicles, failures to yield, and the absence of physical separation between bikes and cars.

Vision Zero's Impact: A Breakthrough Year After a Hard Stretch

New York City launched Vision Zero in 2014 with an explicit goal: zero traffic deaths by 2024. That target was not met. But the broader program has reshaped the city's streets, and 2025 produced the strongest evidence yet that its core strategy works.

The early years delivered real gains. Cyclist deaths fell from 21 in 2014 to 10 in 2018. Then came the backslide: 28 deaths in 2019, climbing to 30 in 2023, the deadliest year for cyclists since 1999. The 2019 spike prompted the Green Wave plan. Subsequent years brought the NYC Streets Plan. It committed the city to building 250 miles of protected bike lanes over five years, alongside the expansion of automated speed cameras.

Then 2025 changed the picture. The city ended the year with 205 total traffic deaths across all modes, the fewest since record-keeping began in 1910. That figure was one below the prior record of 206 set in 2018. Traffic deaths are now down roughly 31% since Vision Zero launched. For cyclists, all-mode fatalities fell to 21, and traditional-bicycle-only deaths hit three.

What drove the turnaround was infrastructure and enforcement working together. The city credits three things: 24/7 speed cameras operating around the clock after state law lifted prior time restrictions, 87.5 miles of new protected bike lanes installed over three years, and physical protection added to another 20 miles of existing lanes. The advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, in its 2025 year-end analysis, framed the result as proof of "the need to double down on what works." It argued that the data makes a clear case for continued infrastructure investment.

The work is not finished. As of 2024, less than half of the planned protected-lane build-out was complete. The e-bike and moped injury wave is climbing even as traditional-cycling deaths fall. Vision Zero's first decade closed with its best year on record and a clear lesson about what produces it. It also closed with a new safety challenge it has only begun to address.

Legal Rights for Injured Cyclists in New York

A bicycle crash in New York City is not just a traffic statistic. It triggers a specific set of legal rules that determine whether and how an injured rider can recover compensation. The framework below is general information about how New York law works, not legal advice about any particular case.

No-Fault Coverage

New York is a no-fault insurance state. When a cyclist is struck by a motor vehicle, the driver's auto insurance covers the cyclist's medical bills and lost wages. That coverage runs up to $50,000, regardless of who was at fault. To access these benefits, the injured cyclist generally must file a no-fault application (the NF-2 form) within 30 days of the accident. That deadline is short and frequently missed.

No-fault does not cover pain and suffering. To pursue those non-economic damages, an injured cyclist must meet New York's "serious injury" threshold under Insurance Law § 5102(d). That threshold includes death, significant disfigurement, a fracture, or permanent loss of use of a body function. (Insurance Law § 5102) E-bike crashes add a wrinkle here. How no-fault applies can depend on how the e-bike itself is classified under New York law. A traditional bicycle rider struck by a car is typically covered by that driver's policy.

Determining Liability

Under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law, cyclists have the same rights and duties on the road as drivers of vehicles. (VTL § 1231) Drivers owe cyclists a duty of care. A driver's violation of a traffic law, such as failure to yield, dooring, or speeding, is evidence of negligence. New York has also moved toward stronger protections for vulnerable road users. These include a rebuttable presumption of driver negligence when a motor vehicle collides with a cyclist. A 2025 law also requires new driver-education curriculum to cover pedestrian and bicyclist safety laws.

Evidence is what turns a legal right into a recovery. Police reports, witness statements, video footage (cameras are everywhere in New York City), and medical records all matter. And they matter most when collected early.

Pure Comparative Negligence

New York follows a pure comparative negligence rule. (CPLR § 1411) An injured cyclist can recover even if found partly, or mostly, at fault. The recovery is simply reduced by the cyclist's percentage of fault. A rider who is 30% responsible for a crash can still recover 70% of their damages. Insurers routinely try to assign as much fault as possible to the cyclist, which is why documenting the scene matters.

Key Deadlines

Two deadlines are critical, and they differ depending on who is responsible:

• Against a private party (a driver, a vehicle owner): a lawsuit generally must be filed within three years of the accident under New York's statute of limitations. (CPLR § 214)
• Against New York City or a government entity: a Notice of Claim must be filed within 90 days under General Municipal Law § 50-e, followed by a lawsuit within one year and 90 days. This 90-day window is routinely missed by injured cyclists who don't realize a government defendant is involved. Missing it can end a claim before it begins.

Dooring Claims

When a cyclist is injured by a suddenly opened car door, New York's anti-dooring law makes the person who opened the door strictly liable. (VTL § 1214) In a properly documented dooring, the cyclist is rarely at fault. A common defense is that the cyclist was riding too close to parked cars. That is why evidence of the street layout can be decisive. It helps to show the absence of any protected lane that would have moved the rider away from the door zone.

These rules are why bicycle injury claims succeed even in unusual circumstances. In one matter The Orlow Firm handled, a bicyclist struck by a rollerblader in Central Park and requiring collarbone surgery recovered $225,000. It's a reminder that bike-injury claims aren't limited to collisions with cars. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many cyclists are killed in New York City each year?

New York City recorded 21 total cyclist deaths in 2025, including just three riding traditional bicycles, an all-time record low. By comparison, the city recorded 30 cyclist deaths in 2023, the most since 1999. Fatalities have declined sharply since 2023, which the city attributes to expanded protected bike lanes and 24/7 speed cameras.

Which NYC borough has the most bicycle accidents?

Brooklyn has the most, with about 1,485 traditional-bicycle injuries and eight cyclist deaths in 2024, the highest of any borough. Manhattan is second in injuries but had only three deaths, reflecting its denser protected-lane network. Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island carry progressively smaller counts, with Staten Island recording no cyclist deaths in 2024.

Are e-bike accidents included in NYC bicycle accident statistics?

Starting with its 2024 report, NYC DOT counts e-bikes and mopeds separately from traditional bicycles. In 2024, these motorized two-wheelers generated roughly 5,691 injuries, more than the 4,461 traditional-bicycle injuries, plus an estimated 18 additional deaths. A single "all cyclist" fatality number usually blends both categories. Always check which figure covers which type of rider.

What should I do if I'm hit by a car while riding a bike in NYC?

Call 911 and seek medical care, even if you feel fine, because some injuries surface later. Document everything you can: the driver's information, witness names, photos of the scene, and the bike's position. New York is a no-fault state, so you must file a no-fault claim within 30 days. Preserving evidence protects your health and your potential claim.

How long do I have to file a lawsuit after a bicycle accident in NYC?

Against a private driver, you have three years from the accident date under CPLR § 214. If a government agency is responsible, you must file a Notice of Claim within 90 days under General Municipal Law § 50-e, then sue within one year and 90 days. That 90-day deadline is the one injured cyclists most often miss.

Sources & Official Resources

New York Laws Cited

1. CPLR § 1411 — Comparative Negligence
2. CPLR § 214 — Three-Year Statute of Limitations
3. Insurance Law § 5102 — No-Fault Definitions and Serious Injury Threshold
4. VTL § 1231 — Rights and Duties of Cyclists
5. VTL § 1214 — Opening and Closing Vehicle Doors (Anti-Dooring)
6. General Municipal Law § 50-e — Notice of Claim (90-Day Deadline)

NYC Government & Data Sources 7. NYC DOT Bicycle Crash Data Report 2024 8. NYC DOT — Traffic Deaths Reach All-Time Low (2025 Year-End) 9. NYC DOT — Vision Zero Speed Camera Program 10. NYC Mayor's Office — Citywide 15 MPH E-Bike Speed Limit (October 24, 2025) 11. NYC DFS — No-Fault Insurance NF-2 Application and Requirements

Contact The Orlow Firm

If you or someone you love was injured in a bicycle accident in New York City, understanding your legal rights is an important first step. That applies whether the crash involved a distracted driver, a dooring, a turning vehicle, or an e-bike collision. The Orlow Firm has handled bicycle and motor vehicle injury cases in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx for over 40 years.

Call (646) 647-3398 for a free consultation. We work on contingency, so you pay nothing unless we win.

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This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Every case is different. Contact an attorney to discuss your specific situation.