Massachusetts has seen a clear shift in the demographic percentage of the population over the past decade that is now being reflected in the number of pedestrian accidents involving bicyclists. This has resulted in a sharp increase in fatal accidents as well, as bikers have zero protection against a motorized vehicle when being struck. Police have been supplied more than ample resources to help with pedestrian safety, but there are still some stark numbers that stand out among the actual personal injury cases that have been filed.
Late night accidents
A recent study conducted by the state Department of Transportation shows that there have been an average of 70 fatal accidents just over the past five years. The year 2021 had 76. Of those 76, 75% were over 35 years of age. The stats did not include personal injury cases. Of those 76, 60% were also males.
Time and month stats
Another startling stat was the time and season of accidents. There were clearly more accidents in the winter, which can be attributed to shorter days and restrictions to accessing bike lanes due to uncontrollable factors such as ice and snow. Most occurred in the early part of the evening, but there were significant catastrophic injuries claimed across the board for all accumulating accidents whether they were fatal or non-fatal.
However, the real reason for this increase appears to be the shifting age demographic of the overall population increase. The state has experienced a small decline in the number of younger adult residents, but the aging population of 60 or above in taking a much higher percentage of the state population and appears set to increase in the near future as the boomers become senior citizens.
