Whether you’re commuting or just want to enjoy a nice ride around town, Salt Lake City’s beautiful natural backdrop and growing urban center offer many opportunities for cycling. But sharing the road with vehicles always carries risks. 

Bicyclists are extremely vulnerable to motor vehicles and can suffer severe, even fatal injuries in collisions. While Salt Lake City has invested in infrastructure and initiatives aimed at improving safety for cyclists and avoiding bicycle accidents, anyone on a bike should remain vigilant and aware of the potential dangers they face riding on city streets. 

Understanding local context through crash statistics and known infrastructure helps you get a sense of the city before you get behind those handlebars and take off. Here’s what you need to know to ride safely in Salt Lake City. 

Salt Lake City Bicycle Crash Stats 

The state of Utah recently hit a five-year high for bicycle crashes with a whopping 548 in a recent year, nine of which were fatal and 55 of which left cyclists with serious injuries. The most common crash scenario? Drivers failing to yield to cyclists. This means that factors beyond the cyclists’ control are often the cause. 

Tragically, according to the Utah Highway Safety Office, bicyclists are involved in at least 3% of all fatal collisions in the state, though this number varies from year to year. 

For example, UDOT reported that one-third of all fatalities — a total of 281 — were “vulnerable road users” (defined as motorcyclists, pedestrians, and bicyclists), underscoring that they’re inherently more at risk. 

One contributing factor might be the lack of safety precautions taken by cyclists: only 1.5% of those involved in crashes on Utah roads wore helmets, a stark drop from the 11% of helmet-wearing crash victims four years earlier. 

This means that in those 548 accidents, only about eight cyclists had their helmets on. Though helmets won’t prevent an accident — especially if the cause is the driver of a car — they absolutely play a critical role in preventing serious injury or death. 

Bicycle Infrastructure in Salt Lake City 

If Utah is aware of the risks affecting cyclists, what is the state doing about it? A lot. Salt Lake City’s Transportation Division has been actively working to improve cyclist safety through infrastructure enhancements, guided by initiatives like Move SLC. 

Some key developments include: 

  • Bike lanes designated specifically for bicycle use alongside vehicle traffic — some are even buffered or protected by physical barriers 
  • Neighborhood byways that prioritize bicycle travel on lower-traffic residential streets, complete with signage, speed humps, and traffic diverters to create a safer environment. 
  • Shared lane markings, also called “sharrows,” or painted symbols on the road that indicate where a cyclist may occupy a full travel lane, alerting drivers to share the spac.e 
  • Multi-use paths located off-street, like along canals or through parks, to accommodate both pedestrians and bicyclists and keep them entirely separate from traffic, except at road crossings

While this infrastructure aims to reduce potential collisions, cyclists still need to exercise caution no matter where they ride, especially when bike routes intersect with roads or driveways. 

Staying Safe Wherever You Ride in Salt Lake City 

Ultimately, safety on Salt Lake City’s roads is a shared responsibility. While infrastructure efforts keep improving, bicyclists remain some of the most vulnerable members of traffic. 

You can’t make other drivers on the road do what they’re supposed to do to keep everyone safe. But you can take more control of your own safety by obeying traffic laws and signals, riding predictably, making yourself visible by using lights or bright and reflective clothing, and, crucially, wearing a helmet.