St. Louis, Missouri, presents risks to anyone who uses the city’s roads or areas adjacent to roads. This includes bicyclists, who can sustain serious or fatal injuries in bicycle accidents. Although the city has laws and infrastructure meant to make cycling safer and more appealing, anyone who rides their bike must remain aware of the dangers they face when cycling.

There were no fatal bicycle wrecks in St. Louis in 2023. However, even injury accidents can cause bicyclists to miss work, incur medical expenses, and face other challenges as they recover. Bicyclists ought to know the dangers they face on St. Louis roads and what the city and state are doing to protect them from crashes.

Bicycle Crash Stats For St. Louis

Bicycle wrecks in the City of St. Louis impacted 61 people in 2023 — one more person than in 2022. While no one died in any bicycle crash, 49 cyclists suffered injuries. The remaining 12 individuals sustained damage to their bikes or other property. Both numbers represented increases from the previous year.

Approximately one-quarter of these bicycle wrecks occurred on three streets: Skinker and McCausland, Arsenal, and Grand Boulevard. Five crashes occurred on Skinker/McCausland and Arsenal each, while four biking wrecks were reported on Grand Boulevard. The majority of crashes, 40 in total, occurred on arterial roads around the city.

Road Characteristics

Most bicycle crashes in St. Louis occurred on roads with either a 30-mile-per-hour or 35-mile-per-hour speed limit. Together, these streets accounted for 71% of all bike wrecks. The remaining 29% of accidents took place on roads with a posted 25-mile-per-hour speed limit.

Fifty-six percent of bicycle accidents happened at an intersection, while the remaining 44 percent happened mid-block between intersections.

Failure To Yield as a Frequent Contributing Factor

Individuals who failed to yield the right of way contributed to 15 bicycle wrecks, about 23 percent of the city’s total for 2023. Failing to obey a traffic signal, a similar violation, contributed to seven additional crashes. Both bicyclists and motorists must remember that cyclists must follow the same traffic laws and have the same rights on the roadway as drivers.

St. Louis Bicycle Infrastructure

The City of St. Louis has four major types of infrastructure to help bicyclists navigate the city safely. Each of these examples of infrastructure aims to alert motorists to the presence of bicyclists on and near the road or physically separate bicyclists from vehicular traffic:

  • “Sharrows”: Sharrows are painted on streets to alert drivers to the possibility of bicyclists sharing a lane of traffic. These arrows do not physically separate bicyclists from drivers. Fifteen bicycle accidents happened on a road with sharrows.
  • Bicycle Lanes: A bicycle lane is a designated lane on a street set aside solely for bicyclists. Motor vehicles are not permitted to use bike lanes for any purpose. In addition to alerting motorists to the presence of bicyclists, bike lanes provide some physical separation between them. Eight crashes occurred in bike lanes in 2023.
  • Bike Trails: A bike trail is an off-road or paved path designed for pedestrian or bicyclist use. These trails may sometimes cross traditional roads. Five bicycle accidents happened at trail crossings where a bike trail passed over a road meant for vehicular traffic.
  • Buffered Lane: Only two accidents were reported in which a buffered lane was present. These are bike lanes with a physical barrier to further reduce the likelihood of a motor vehicle crossing paths with a bicyclist.

While each type provides different levels of protection, accident data highlights the importance of continued improvements to ensure safer streets for all road users.

Bicyclist Safety In St. Louis

Bicyclists are at risk of collision with motor vehicles whenever they are close to one another. Just because there were no fatalities in St. Louis in 2023 does not mean cyclists face no risks. Bikers should obey all traffic laws, remain vigilant on streets like Grand and Arsenal, and make use of available infrastructure.