South Carolina: Bottom of the Heap on Bike Safety

On a biennial basis, the Alliance for Biking and Walking releases the U.S. Bicycling and Walking Benchmarking Report. This project is an on-going effort spearheaded by the Alliance to collect and analyze data on bicycling and walking in all 50 states and the 51 most-populated U.S. cities.

In the 2012 Report, released on January 23, South Carolina ranks 49th among states for bicycling safety. The Report shows that while 2.1% of work trips in South Carolina are by bicycle or foot, bicyclists and pedestrians account for 11.9% of traffic fatalities in the state.

Lack of investment in bicycling and walking could be to blame. When compared to the national average, South Carolina spends very little on bicycling and walking investments. Just 0.6% of federal transportation dollars, or $0.95 per capita, are spent on biking and walking projects. This puts South Carolina at 46th among states for investing in biking and walking.

The Report is a glaring reminder of the importance of federal programs that invest in biking and walking. Even though South Carolina's investment of federal transportation dollars remains low when compared to other states, without these programs, it is certain that virtually no funds would be invested from other sources. Local and state investment relies on a Federal match in funds, and without these Federal funds, very few communities would be willing to foot the entire bill for biking and walking programs.

Read more about South Carolina's ranking in the report on the Palmetto Cycling Coalition's website and blog. And please--contact your member of Congress!