According to data in a USA Today Story on the 4th, deaths from motor vehicle accidents were down approximately 10% across the country in 2008 from previous years.

The primary reason for this drop? Americans were also getting out of their cars at a record rate – we drove 112 BILLION fewer miles last year. There’s a clear connection here. Today, there are more than 4,000 people in our country who did not die from traffic accidents last year.

The most telling part of the article was the quote at the end:

There are fewer people on the roads,” says Rachel Kaprielian, registrar of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. “They’re going slower to save fuel. Job layoffs have people driving shorter distances on local roads.

How are these ex-drivers getting around? Bikes and transit.  The American Public Transportation Association reports that US transit usage was up 6.5% over 2007. Cities, like New York City which experienced a 35% increase in commuter cycling from 2007, that have been investing in bicycle infrastructure have seen cycling increase in huge numbers. Of course, a percentage of those new cyclists then went multi-modal and overwhelmed transit’s capacity to hold their bicycles.

Bike sales were also soaring as Americans found new ways to get around, and bicycle manufacturers were doing better than the overall economy.

Let’s hope this trend continues even when the economy recovers. Get out there and bike, but also keep pressure on our local, state and national governments to increase funding for bicycle infrastructure and transit.