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Walking and cycling in American cities are much more dangerous than in some European countries that invest more resources in safety measures for non-motorized transportation. Per kilometer and per trip walked, American pedestrians are roughly 3 times more likely to get killed than German pedestrians and over 6 times more likely than Dutch pedestrians. Per kilometer and per trip cycled, American bicyclists are twice as likely to get killed as German cyclists and over 3 times as likely as Dutch cyclists.
Pucher J, Dijkstra L. Promoting safe walking and cycling to improve public health: lessons from the Netherlands and Germany. American Journal of Public Health, September 2003; Vol 93, No. 9.
Cyclists in the United States face a two to three fold higher risk of death and an eight to 30 fold higher risk of injury as compared with those in Holland and Germany, using either of the traditional transportation denominators: per trip or per kilometer traveled.
Pucher J, Dijkstra L. Promoting safe walking and cycling to improve public health: lessons from the Netherlands and Germany. American Journal of Public Health, September 2003; Vol 93, No. 9.