When Bikes And Cars Collide, Who’s More Likely To Be At Fault?

by ELIZA BARCLAY
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Ed Beighe, who mans the Arizona bike blog Azbikelaw, crunched some numbers on fault from his state and found that 44 percent of fatalities from bike-car crashes in 2009 were determined to be the fault of the cyclist, while 56 percent were the fault of a motor vehicle driver. The most common collision was when a driver struck a cyclist from behind.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety published data on contributing factors in bike-car crashes. It found that in 2009, cyclists were at fault in 49 percent of crashes, while drivers were at fault in 51 percent. Failing to yield to right of way was the most frequent cause of the snarls.
And the Washington Post recently mentioned a 2004 report from DC showing cyclists more likely than motorists to be at fault in a crash.
But a older study from Hawaii had a different conclusion. Using police-reported crash data from 1986 to 1991, researchers found that motorists were at fault in approximately 83.5 percent of incidents, whereas bicyclists were at fault in only 16.5 percent of incidents.
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https://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/05/24/136462246/when-bikes-and-cars-collide-whos-more-likely-to-be-at-fault?sc=fb&cc=fpoldId.2011053115562529