A government agency is recommending that all 50 states enact laws requiring bicyclists to wear helmets to stem an increase in bicycle deaths on U.S. roadways.
The recommendation was among several issued by the National Transportation Safety Board after a hearing on bicycle safety. The agency says 857 bicyclists died in crashes with motor vehicles in the U.S. last year, a 6.3% increase over 2017. Bicycle deaths rose even though total road deaths fell 2.4%.
The NTSB also found that improved road designs to separate bicycle and vehicle traffic, and making bicyclists more visible through clothing, lights and technology would reduce the number of cyclist deaths.
The agency wrote in its report that head injuries are the leading cause of bicycle fatalities, and that use of a helmet is the most effective way for riders to reduce their chance of getting a serious head injury. Research shows fewer than half of bicyclists wear helmets, according to the NTSB.
“If we do not mitigate head injury for more bicyclists, additional bicyclists will die,” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said.