5,571 Bicycle Traffic Accidents Last Year... 75 Fatalities, Youth Accidents Up 50%

Bicycle Accidents Among Those Aged 20 or Younger
Surge from 1,077 Cases in 2023 to 1,620 Cases in 2024

Thanks to the government's policies to promote bicycle use, facilities such as bicycle paths have been expanded. However, the number of bicycle traffic accidents has surged due to careless riding and other factors.

According to the "2024 Bicycle Usage Status" released by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on October 27, 2025, the number of bicycle traffic accidents increased by 8.3% (425 cases) from 5,146 cases in 2023 to 5,571 cases last year. Of these, 66% (3,684 cases) were caused by failure to fulfill the duty of safe riding, followed by signal violations (7%) and centerline violations (5%). The number of fatalities resulting from these accidents also increased. During the same period, the number of deaths from bicycle traffic accidents rose by 17%, from 64 to 75.

By age group, the increase in bicycle traffic accidents was particularly pronounced among those aged 20 and under.

The number of bicycle traffic accidents involving individuals aged 20 and under surged by more than 50%, from 1,077 cases in 2023 to 1,620 cases last year. In contrast, the number of bicycle traffic accidents involving riders aged 61 and over increased by only 2 cases during the same period, from 1,802 to 1,804.

The length of bicycle paths increased by 882 kilometers (3.3%) compared to the previous year, with 20,660 kilometers, or 74.4% of the total, classified as shared paths for both bicycles and pedestrians. As a result of local governments' efforts to expand bicycle paths, this represents a 13.4% increase compared to 2020 (24,484 kilometers).

The number of public bicycles nationwide rose by 6.2% to 69,572 units, and the number of rentals reached approximately 58 million, a 2.3% increase from the previous year.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety stated, "Recently, there has been a trend among teenagers of riding 'fixie bikes' with the brakes removed, raising safety concerns," adding, "We plan to promptly pursue an amendment to the 'Act on the Promotion of Bicycle Use' to prohibit the removal of braking devices from bicycles or riding bicycles with the braking devices removed."