“Ride of Silence” for killed or injured cyclists

Nicolas Dubina
·2 min read

ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) – The all-volunteer bike repair shop “Elmira Community Cycle” is getting ready for the worldwide “Ride of Silence” on Wednesday, May 15th at 7 pm. Cyclists will ride out in silence while wearing white in honor of cyclists killed or injured on public roads. Elmira Community Cycle is located at 200 W 5th Street.

The ride is held every year on the third Wednesday of May. The first “Ride of Silence” happened in 2003. The website rideofsilence.org says in 2023, rides were held in 228 locations worldwide. They included 40 States and 16 Countries.

A post on the Elmira Community Cycle Facebook page reads:  “Cyclists will take to the roads at the same time all over the world in a silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. Wear white, slow pace. We will visit our friend Charlie’s ghost bike at Eldridge Park that we are restoring currently.”

The “ghost bike” memorial honors 68-year-old Charles Rogers. It’s located on Grand Central Avenue where Rogers was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver in 2019.

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Tara Escudero, an organizer and volunteer at Elmira Community Cycle, told 18 News the ghost bike is being restored after being out in the elements for several years. She also said someone had removed some parts from the bike.

An Instagram post on May 17, 2022 from @elmirabikes shows the “ghost bike” memorial for Charles Rogers, killed in 2019.
An Instagram post on May 17, 2022 from @elmirabikes shows the “ghost bike” memorial for Charles Rogers, killed in 2019.
An Instagram post on May 17, 2022 from @elmirabikes. The caption reads: “We stopped and paid our respects to Charlie and all the others we’ve lost. We deserve a world beyond cars.”
An Instagram post on May 17, 2022 from @elmirabikes. The caption reads: “We stopped and paid our respects to Charlie and all the others we’ve lost. We deserve a world beyond cars.”
Instagram post from @elmirabikes – Ride of Silence, May 17, 2023
Instagram post from @elmirabikes – Ride of Silence, May 17, 2023

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA says, the number of bicyclists killed in traffic crashes has been “steadily trending upwards since 2010.”

“From 2010 to 2021, bicyclist fatalities ranged from 623 to a high of 966 with a yearly average of 800 (NCSA, 2022; Stewart, 2023). For the last 5 years (2017 to 2021), the yearly average has been 883 people on bicycles killed in police reported traffic crashes (NCSA, 2022; Stewart, 2023). Bicyclists accounted for 2.2% of total traffic fatalities in 2021 (Stewart, 2023).”

From: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
From: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Characteristics of the bicyclist fatalities during 2021 include (NHTSA, 2023):

  • Roadway location: The majority (62%) of bicyclist fatalities took place at non-intersection locations.

  • Land Use: Bicyclist fatalities tend to occur in urban areas more than rural areas, with urban fatalities accounting for approximately 85% of bicyclist fatalities. The proportion of bicyclist fatalities occurring in urban areas increased from 69% in 2011 to 85% in 2021.

  • Vehicle Type: Collisions with light trucks (which includes SUVs, pickups, and vans) were responsible for the highest proportion of bicyclist fatalities (46%).

  • Time/Light condition: Over half (56%) of bicyclist fatalities occur in dawn, dusk, or night-time conditions; the highest proportion (21%) of fatal crashes on weekdays occur from 6 p.m. to 8:59 p.m.; the highest proportion (23%) of fatal crashes on the weekend also occur from 6 p.m. to 8:59 p.m.

  • Sex: 86% of the bicyclists killed and 81% of those injured were male.

  • Age: The average age of cyclists killed was 49.

“Bicyclist injuries remain consistently, disproportionately high. In 2021 an additional estimated 41,615 bicyclists were injured. Over the last 5 years, estimated injury-only crashes averaged about 45,400 yearly.“

“People travel by bicycle to work, to school, for social and family/caretaking trips, and for recreation, among other reasons. The growth in use of bicycles, and electric bicycles in particular during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to sharp increases in bicycling in some communities, and has resulted in expanded ranges of trip purposes, abilities, and experience of people riding bicycles on public roadways.

Buehler and Pucher (2021) reviewed available data to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of bicycles. Travel monitoring sources such as Streetlight and EcoCounter report an estimated 12% to 16% growth of bicycle use in 2020. Bicycle traffic on many off-road, recreational multi-use trails and greenways grew significantly. However, some locations saw a reduction in bicycling as commuting to work was reduced or where general lockdowns were in place.

Longer-term trends indicate only slight changes in bicycling rates in the United States. According to the National Household Travel Survey, from 2001 to 2017 the overall percentage point change in cycling generally was negligible. Significant shifts in who is bicycling has shifted, however. There was an increase among adults 25 to 64, those with higher educational attainment, and among those living in households without a car or in neighborhoods with higher residential density. There was a decline in cycling rates for children and adolescents 5 to 15, for those living in rural areas or areas with lower population densities, and among those in households with higher car ownership (Buehler et al., 2020).”

To learn more about the “Ride of Silence” click here.

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