Research/Boston Crash Patterns, 2015–2025
Boston Crash Patterns
A study of Boston crash records from 2015 through 2025, with the latest 2026 figures: where crashes cluster, when they happen, who is most often involved in fatal crashes, and what police recorded as contributing factors.
Key findings
- From 2015 through 2025, the City of Boston recorded 42,683 crashes that needed a public safety response. About one in four (24.7%) involved a pedestrian or a cyclist.
- Over the same years, the city recorded 156 fatal crashes on streets within Boston Police jurisdiction. Ninety-two of them (59%) involved a pedestrian.
- The busiest hour for crash calls was 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., both for all crashes and for crashes involving a pedestrian.
- Massachusetts Avenue at Melnea Cass Boulevard had more crash records than any other intersection: 143, including 55 involving a pedestrian.
- In MassDOT’s records of injury and fatal crashes from 2015 to 2023, the circumstance officers recorded most often was following too closely (14.6% of crashes), followed by failing to yield the right of way (9.9%).
Terms used on this page
- Crash record: one entry in the City of Boston’s Vision Zero crash data. The city describes these as incidents that required a public safety response, drawn from its 911 dispatch system. Each crash appears once, however many people were involved.
- Dispatch time: the time responders were sent. The city notes this is not the time of the crash itself.
- Vehicle only: a crash record that does not involve a pedestrian or a cyclist.
- MassDOT IMPACT: the state’s crash data portal, built from crash reports entered into the Registry of Motor Vehicles’ crash records system.
- Contributing circumstance: what the reporting officer entered on the crash report as a factor for each driver. It is an entry on a form, not a finding of fault.
How this study was put together
This study draws on five public files, each downloaded on September 23, 2026: the City of Boston’s Vision Zero crash records, its Vision Zero fatality records, the city’s neighborhood boundary map, and two Boston crash files from MassDOT’s IMPACT portal, a standard crash report and a custom query export. Every figure on this page was calculated by a script from those files, and the tables behind each number are kept so the work can be checked.
Full years run from 2015 through 2025. The newest records reach June 30, 2026 for city crash records, May 15, 2026 for the most recent city fatality record, and September 22, 2026 for MassDOT. These are the latest figures available at the time of writing. The partial 2026 numbers are shown on their own and never compared with full years.
Left out, and why:
- The city and MassDOT count crashes through different systems, and one crash can appear in both. Their counts are never added together.
- The city’s fatality records cover streets within Boston Police jurisdiction. The city excludes State Police roads, private property and streets the city does not own, deaths from driver medical emergencies, intentional assault or suicide, and cases where a driver or passenger fell out of a car.
- Interstate highways and ramps are left out of the street list.
- 274 crash records could not be placed in a neighborhood from their coordinates. They are left out of the neighborhood table only.
- MassDOT marks its data from 2024 onward as preliminary and subject to change, so the MassDOT sections use 2015 to 2023.
- In June 2024, Boston EMS moved to a new patient record system that captures more vehicle crashes. The city says differences in vehicle crash counts before and after that month reflect the new method, not a change in crashes, so this page makes no trend claims across it.
Data windows
- City crash records: January 1, 2015 to June 30, 2026.
- City fatality records: January 2015 to May 15, 2026 (latest record).
- MassDOT crash records: January 1, 2015 to September 22, 2026. MassDOT marks 2024 onward as preliminary.
- All files retrieved September 23, 2026.
Pedestrians: about one in six crash records, three in five fatal crashes
Pedestrians account for a modest share of Boston’s crash records and a much larger share of its fatal crashes. From 2015 through 2025, 6,656 of the city’s 42,683 crash records involved a pedestrian: 15.6%, or about one in six. Over the same years, the city recorded 156 fatal crashes on streets within Boston Police jurisdiction, and 92 of them involved a pedestrian: 59%, or about three in five.
Taken together, people walking or cycling were involved in 24.7% of crash records and 66% of fatal crashes.
The two city files are built differently. Crash records come from the 911 dispatch system. Fatality records are verified by Boston Police and cover only streets in its jurisdiction. Both count each crash once, however many people were involved. The comparison shows where the heaviest harm falls, not a precise death rate.
The evening rush is the peak
Crash calls build through the afternoon and peak between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., with 2,990 records in that hour from 2015 to 2025. Pedestrian crashes peak in the same hour (598 records), and cyclist crashes an hour later, between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. (343). Just under a third of pedestrian crash records (30.8%) were dispatched between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Crash records by hour of dispatch, Boston, 2015–2025 (all types)
Busiest hour highlighted: 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., 2,990 records. Times are when responders were dispatched, not when the crash happened. Source: City of Boston Vision Zero Crash Records.
Friday had more crash records than any other day of the week (6,765), and more pedestrian crash records (1,121).
Ten intersections that keep appearing
Two intersections on Massachusetts Avenue lead the city: Melnea Cass Boulevard, with 143 crash records, and Albany Street, with 109. They are also first and second for pedestrian crash records.
| Rank | Intersection | Crash records | Pedestrian | Cyclist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts Ave & Melnea Cass Blvd | 143 | 55 | 13 |
| 2 | Albany St & Massachusetts Ave | 109 | 42 | 17 |
| 3 | Cedar St & Columbus Ave | 97 | 4 | 9 |
| 4 | Harvard St & Morton St | 94 | 5 | 1 |
| 5 | American Legion Hwy & Walk Hill St | 93 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | Columbia Rd & Washington St | 80 | 15 | 5 |
| 7 | Freeport St & William T Morrissey Blvd | 80 | 2 | 2 |
| 8 | Columbia Rd & Quincy St | 77 | 7 | 3 |
| 9 | Hampden St & Melnea Cass Blvd | 72 | 3 | 4 |
| 10 | Blue Hill Ave & Morton St | 69 | 11 | 3 |
Counts use the two cross streets the city recorded for each intersection crash. They are not adjusted for traffic volume. Source: City of Boston Vision Zero Crash Records.
A high count reflects how many crashes the city recorded at a corner. It does not measure risk per person, because the counts are not adjusted for how many people and vehicles pass through.
Where people walking and cycling are hit
Massachusetts Avenue appears again when the lists narrow to people walking and cycling. It is one of the two streets at three of the five intersections with the most pedestrian crash records, and at three of the five with the most cyclist crash records. Talbot Avenue at Washington Street and Harrison Avenue at Massachusetts Avenue tie for third on the pedestrian list, with 24 records each.
| Intersection | Pedestrian |
|---|---|
| Massachusetts Ave & Melnea Cass Blvd | 55 |
| Albany St & Massachusetts Ave | 42 |
| Talbot Ave & Washington St | 24 |
| Harrison Ave & Massachusetts Ave | 24 |
| Melnea Cass Blvd & Washington St | 19 |
| Intersection | Cyclist |
|---|---|
| Beacon St & Massachusetts Ave | 27 |
| Commonwealth Ave & Massachusetts Ave | 25 |
| Albany St & Massachusetts Ave | 17 |
| Prentiss St & Tremont St | 15 |
| N Harvard St & Soldiers Field Rd | 14 |
Boston, 2015–2025. Source: City of Boston Vision Zero Crash Records.
Long streets, long lists
Some crashes are recorded along a street rather than at a corner. Counted that way, Washington Street has the most crash records (1,244), followed by Blue Hill Avenue (826) and Dorchester Avenue (466).
| Street | Crash records | Pedestrian | Cyclist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington St | 1,244 | 243 | 86 |
| Blue Hill Ave | 826 | 137 | 34 |
| Dorchester Ave | 466 | 107 | 50 |
| Columbia Rd | 451 | 66 | 24 |
| Massachusetts Ave | 436 | 111 | 62 |
Crashes the city recorded along a street rather than at an intersection. Interstate highways and ramps left out. Not adjusted for street length. Source: City of Boston Vision Zero Crash Records.
These totals are not adjusted for length, so long streets rise to the top. They show where crashes were recorded, not which stretch of road is most dangerous.
Neighborhood totals and neighborhood density
Dorchester had the most crash records of any neighborhood from 2015 to 2025 (10,989), followed by Roxbury (5,421). Both are among the larger neighborhoods by area on the city’s boundary map, and area alone can push totals up.
Dividing by area changes the order. Among neighborhoods of half a square mile or more, Downtown had the most crash records per square mile each year (253.4), then Back Bay (190.6) and the South End (188.8). Roxbury (149.6) and Dorchester (137.1) follow.
| Neighborhood | Crash records | Pedestrian | Cyclist | Per square mile, per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorchester | 10,989 | 1,505 | 590 | 137.1 |
| Roxbury | 5,421 | 904 | 449 | 149.6 |
| Jamaica Plain | 2,353 | 336 | 294 | 54.3 |
| South Boston | 2,038 | 375 | 199 | 82.3 |
| Mattapan | 1,980 | 261 | 56 | 85.2 |
| East Boston | 1,963 | 338 | 90 | 37.9 |
| Downtown | 1,731 | 388 | 206 | 253.4 |
| Hyde Park | 1,720 | 211 | 54 | 34.2 |
| Roslindale | 1,659 | 150 | 82 | 60.1 |
| South End | 1,531 | 374 | 186 | 188.8 |
| Allston | 1,497 | 205 | 316 | 87.2 |
| Brighton | 1,401 | 187 | 230 | 44.3 |
| Back Bay | 1,308 | 338 | 267 | 190.6 |
| Fenway | 1,286 | 263 | 238 | 133.5 |
| Charlestown | 1,072 | 91 | 118 | 71.6 |
| West Roxbury | 1,057 | 97 | 52 | 17.5 |
| West End | 745 | 96 | 71 | 227.3* |
| Mission Hill | 617 | 125 | 121 | 102.4 |
| South Boston Waterfront | 580 | 111 | 63 | 54.2 |
| Beacon Hill | 432 | 69 | 80 | 125.5* |
| Longwood | 353 | 81 | 44 | 108.8* |
| Chinatown | 264 | 67 | 22 | 201.7* |
| North End | 249 | 45 | 35 | 114.3* |
| Leather District | 110 | 26 | 5 | 416.7* |
| Bay Village | 52 | 10 | 5 | 115.3* |
*Area under half a square mile; a few crashes move the rate a lot. Neighborhoods assigned from each record’s coordinates using the city’s neighborhood boundary map, which the city says is not an official boundary. 274 records could not be placed and are left out of this table; Harbor Islands (1 record) not shown. Sources: City of Boston Vision Zero Crash Records; Boston Neighborhood Boundaries.
Year by year, 2015 to mid-2026
The city’s yearly totals ranged from 4,533 crash records in 2017, the highest, to 3,300 in 2022, the lowest. There were 3,455 in 2024 and 3,412 in 2025. The first half of 2026 had 1,660.
Year-to-year changes need care. Boston EMS moved to a new patient record system in June 2024, and the city says vehicle crash counts before and after reflect the new method rather than a change in crashes.
| Year | Crash records | Pedestrian | Cyclist | Vehicle only | Fatal crashes | Fatal pedestrian crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 4,103 | 783 | 502 | 2,818 | 20 | 9 |
| 2016 | 4,361 | 893 | 424 | 3,044 | 21 | 14 |
| 2017 | 4,533 | 773 | 390 | 3,370 | 14 | 8 |
| 2018 | 4,370 | 683 | 425 | 3,262 | 10 | 7 |
| 2019 | 4,349 | 696 | 365 | 3,288 | 11 | 8 |
| 2020 | 3,349 | 398 | 295 | 2,656 | 14 | 5 |
| 2021 | 3,911 | 357 | 239 | 3,315 | 15 | 6 |
| 2022 | 3,300 | 448 | 242 | 2,610 | 10 | 6 |
| 2023 | 3,540 | 589 | 390 | 2,561 | 11 | 6 |
| 2024 | 3,455 | 465 | 366 | 2,624 | 16 | 12 |
| 2025 | 3,412 | 571 | 256 | 2,585 | 14 | 11 |
| 2026* | 1,660 | 246 | 93 | 1,321 | 5 | 1 |
| 2015–2025 | 42,683 | 6,656 | 3,894 | 32,133 | 156 | 92 |
*2026 is partial: crash records through June 30, 2026; the latest fatal crash record is dated May 15, 2026. Crash records: City of Boston Vision Zero Crash Records. Fatal crashes: City of Boston Vision Zero Fatality Records, streets within Boston Police jurisdiction only. Boston EMS changed its patient record system in June 2024; the city notes that vehicle crash counts before and after that month reflect the new method, not a change in crashes.
Get the data: the underlying records are published by the City of Boston on Analyze Boston (Vision Zero Crash Records, Vision Zero Fatality Records) and by MassDOT through its IMPACT Crash Data Portal.
What officers wrote down as contributing factors
This section switches to MassDOT’s crash data, because the city’s records do not say why a crash happened. MassDOT’s records come from police crash reports, and each report lists what the officer recorded as contributing circumstances for each driver.
One caution shapes everything below. MassDOT’s Boston file states that the Boston Police Department does not send most of its crash reports to the Registry of Motor Vehicles. From 2015 to 2023, 70.7% of the 41,999 Boston records in MassDOT’s data were filed by State Police, so these figures lean toward the roads State Police cover.
Of 11,238 injury and fatal crashes in that period, officers most often recorded following too closely (14.6%) and failing to yield the right of way (9.9%). Speed appears two ways: exceeding the speed limit (4.1%) and driving too fast for conditions (3.4%).
| What the officer recorded | Share of crashes | Crashes |
|---|---|---|
| Following too closely | 14.6% | 1,640 |
| Failing to yield the right of way | 9.9% | 1,114 |
| Disregarding signs, signals or road markings | 6.0% | 672 |
| Inattention | 5.7% | 644 |
| Exceeding the speed limit | 4.1% | 461 |
| Driving too fast for conditions | 3.4% | 382 |
| Distracted | 1.5% | 169 |
A crash can carry more than one circumstance, so shares do not add to 100%. Mostly State Police reports; see the note above. Source: MassDOT IMPACT crash data, exported September 23, 2026.
In 62.3% of these crashes, at least one driver was recorded as having done nothing improper. Each driver in a crash gets a separate entry, so a two-car crash can list a factor for one driver and none for the other.
After dark
MassDOT’s reports also record the light at the scene. From 2015 to 2023, 44 of the 82 fatal crashes involving a pedestrian in Boston happened in the dark (53.7%), counting lit, unlit and unknown lighting. Among pedestrian crashes that injured someone but killed no one, the share in the dark was lower: 300 of 936 (32.1%).
The same caution applies: these are mostly State Police reports. They describe the light recorded at the scene, not the cause of any crash.
What these records cannot show
- How badly anyone was hurt. The city leaves severity out of its crash records to protect privacy.
- The exact time and place of each crash. City times are dispatch times, and city fatality locations are where responders were sent.
- Risk per person. Counts are not adjusted for traffic volume, population or street length, so a busy corner can top a list simply because more people pass through it.
- Every crash at a corner. Street names are recorded as entered, so a few crashes at the same place may be split between spellings.
- Most Boston Police reports. MassDOT’s file notes that the Boston Police Department does not send most of its crash reports to the Registry of Motor Vehicles.
- Impairment. The crash-level MassDOT fields used here do not include a driver alcohol or drug field, so this page does not report on it.
- Fault. An officer’s contributing-circumstance entry is not a finding of who was responsible.
If you were hurt in a crash in Boston
Crash data describes patterns across thousands of crashes. It says nothing about what happened in any one of them. For a single crash, the records that matter are the crash report written by the responding police department and the medical records of anyone hurt.
MassDOT directs people who need an official copy of a crash report to the Registry of Motor Vehicles, and names the Boston Police Department as the contact for official copies of Boston crash reports. What applies to a particular crash depends on its facts.
Citing this page
Larson Law Boston, “Boston Crash Patterns, 2015–2025,” published September 25, 2026. Data window: January 1, 2015 to September 22, 2026. Data retrieved September 23, 2026.
The tables and chart on this page may be reproduced with attribution and a link to this page. Press and research inquiries: marketing@dlarsonlaw.com
Sources
- City of Boston, Analyze Boston: Vision Zero Crash Records. Retrieved September 23, 2026.
- City of Boston, Analyze Boston: Vision Zero Fatality Records. Retrieved September 23, 2026.
- City of Boston, Analyze Boston: Boston Neighborhood Boundaries. Retrieved September 23, 2026.
- MassDOT, IMPACT Crash Query and Visualization Tool. Crash-level query, City/Town: Boston, January 1, 2015 to September 23, 2026. Exported September 23, 2026.
- MassDOT, IMPACT Crash Data Portal: MassDOT Crash Report for Boston, 2015–2026, created September 23, 2026.
If you were hurt and have questions
These pages explain what the public record shows. They are not advice about a specific situation, and what applies to a particular case depends on its facts. If something here raises a question about your own circumstances, you are welcome to get in touch.