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Report: Drop in fatal car crashes in Boston, but non-fatal hold steady

BOSTON — Recently enacted traffic safety measures including lowering speed limits and adding protected bike lanes are being credited with a decline in deadly car crashes in Boston, according to a new report.

The number of deadly car crashes in Boston has dropped by nearly half in the last three years, according to a report from the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition, an organization that advocates for policies that make roads and highways safer.

The report found that in 2018 there were 10 fatal crashes on Boston streets, down from 14 in 2017 and 21 in 2016, according to the report.

But safety advocates say the number of non-fatal crashes has remained steady with an average of 12 per day.

Among the 10 deaths in 2018 was a 3-year-old boy killed in a chain reaction crash in South Boston, which led to calls for lowering speed limits on city streets. In 2017 the speed limit was reduced to 25 mph from 30 mph, and now many want it dropped even lower, to 20 mph.

Read the full report

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