Emergency Department Visits for Nonfatal Pedal Cyclist Injuries Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic, United States, 2019-2020

During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, many jurisdictions implemented stay-at-home orders (1). Vehicle miles traveled (VMT)* in April 2020 declined by 40% compared with VMT in April 2019; annual VMT in 2020 declined by 13% compared with those in 2019 (2). Despite decreased VMT, pedal cyclist traffic crash fatalities increased by 10% from 859 in 2019 to 948 in 2020 (3). In 2021, pedal cyclist fatalities increased to 966, the highest number reported since 1975 (3,4). Given the increase in pedal cyclist fatalities despite the decline in VMT in 2020, emergency department (ED) visits for nonfatal pedal cyclist injuries in 2019 and 2020 were compared.