One in every five fatal motor vehicle crashes in Mass. involves person walking, new study shows

BOSTON — Less than a week after a four-year-old was hit and killed in the Fort Point neighborhood, a new report is outlining fatal pedestrian crashes.

WalkMassachusetts findings showed one in every five fatal motor vehicle crashes in the state involved a person walking getting hit by the driver of a car.

They said the one factor that arises again and again in the crashes is vehicle speed and that Massachusetts roads are designed for people to drive too fast.

This is the third year WalkMassachusetts has released the numbers for fatal pedestrian crashes.

They looked at data from last year finding that forty cities and towns experienced at least one fatal pedestrian crash, with older adults being disproportionately harmed.

This new report finds that in 2023, more than three-quarters (76.8%) of fatal pedestrian crashes happened on local streets controlled by a city or town.

Almost 70 percent happened before sunrise or after sunset, in the dark.

70.8% percent of the vehicles people were driving were passenger cars, not vehicles like vans, pickups, or SUVs.

Co-Executive Director of WalkMassachusetts Brendan Kearney said when there are times of less congestion, people see the open road and drive much faster and that is a problem for people walking.

“If someone’s behind the wheel they’re driving to fast for the conditions, they have less time to react, and then if they’re doing anything else in the vehicle, if they’re distracted in some way, that also really diminishes their reaction time. So, speed is a factor here because that just leads to bad outcomes,” he said.

This is also what’s known as a driver’s “Cone of Vision.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gives an example of how the “Cone of Vision” shrinks when people drive faster.

At 20 miles per hour, a driver can see the road and roadside, at 30 they can see the roadway, and at 40 miles per hour, they can only see a small portion of the center of the road, which increases the fatality and injury risk for pedestrian to 73%.

The report finds that 7 of those crashes were hit and runs which resulted in 8 deaths.

While total pedestrian deaths have dipped from last year’s all-time high of 101 deaths, this year’s total of 69 deaths sits at the average of pedestrian deaths over the past 22 years.

Kearney said cities and towns can look at Boston’s “Safety Surge” project for solutions.

“They are reconstructing a number of streets with raised crosswalks, taking away a parking spot or two at corners to improve sightlines,” said Kearney. He continued, “When it comes down to it, the street is not going to look the same to make it a safe street.”

WalkMassachusetts said they’re offering a Walk Audit Academy training program and video series where they will work with people on how to organize and take action on specific streets.

To view the full findings, visit the link here.

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