Massachusetts Highway Deaths Soar to an 11-Year High

Prices for single-family homes are not the only thing shooting for the stratosphere in Massachusetts.

The State House News Service reported that, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, "Roadway fatalities soared in 2021 to the highest level in more than a decade, and the trend continues to head in the wrong direction nearly halfway through 2022."

Courtesy Rochester Fire Department/Facebook

Transportation Secretary Jamey Tesler addressed a meeting of the Department of Transportation board on Wednesday and delivered some sobering statistics.

"In 2021, Massachusetts sadly had more than 400 roadway deaths," Tesler said, according to SHNS. "This is the highest amount in more than 11 years and a 22 percent increase from 2020."

Courtesy Fairhaven Fire Department

According to Tesler, there have been 175 highway deaths in Massachusetts this year as of Wednesday, June 22 – about a dozen more than during the same period last year. Tesler said the number of fatalities so far this year will likely increase as some crashes are still under investigation and the deaths have not been included in the most recent tabulations.

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The Department of Transportation said motorcycle deaths are at a 25-year high in Massachusetts.

Courtesy Lakeville Fire Department

SHNS reported one board member expressed concerns at Wednesday's meeting about high rates of speed and distracted drivers.

The Department of Transportation has a Crash Data Portal on its website where you can keep track of the year-to-date number of traffic accidents (51,290+), traffic fatalities (175), crashes involving pedestrians (695), bicycles (313), and more.

Tesler said the DOT is attempting to "bring awareness, change behavior, and remind drivers" about ways to reduce traffic accidents and fatalities.

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LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.