Massachusetts Bike-Pedestrian Crashes a ‘Significant’ Issue

As more Massachusetts residents opt for a bike ride rather than a drive in the car, the number of crashes involving bicycles is increasing rapidly. Many of those crashes involve pedestrians who aren't used to dodging bikes in the street.

The Berkshire Eagle recently reported, "Mirroring statewide trends, car crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists on Pittsfield streets reached a three-year high in 2022."

Much of the increase has occurred since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Get our free mobile app

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation issued a report that says, "In Massachusetts and many other states, a steep decline in VRU (vulnerable road users) crashes occurred in 2020, a reflection of the absence of normal traffic volume."

The report states, "However, a marked increase of pedestrian fatalities, serious injuries, and cyclist serious injuries is now trending upward from 2020 to 2022."

Boston, Cambridge, Quincy, Brockton, Fall River and New Bedford are just some of the Massachusetts communities experiencing increased crashes involving vulnerable road users.

Recently, Massachusetts Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt addressed the issue of bicycle-pedestrian crashes.

"We're having a significant amount of issues with cyclists and pedestrians because we have a lot of these cycle tracks where people are just blowing through there and then they hit a crosswalk across from a hospital or across from a senior center, and they're in a situation where they're going fast enough that they can actually kill someone," Tibbits-Nutt told a meeting of the Charles River Chamber of Commerce in Watertown, according to State House News Service.

The Federal Highway Administration says, "Each year, unfortunately, pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities comprise about 19 percent of all traffic fatalities with approximately 6,000 pedestrian deaths and 850 bicyclist deaths."