How Old Are the Pedestrians and Cyclists Hit in Massachusetts?

Pedestrians and cyclists hit in Massachusetts crashes span every age, but the two ends of life stand out: children under 16 were the youngest person on foot or on a bicycle in 1,556 crashes from 2022 through 2024, including nearly one in five bicycle crashes, while pedestrians 65 and older were in 17.06 percent of pedestrian crashes but 34.87 percent of the pedestrian crashes in which someone died. Those figures come from MassDOT’s crash records, which logged 5,980 pedestrian crashes and 4,356 bicycle crashes statewide over the three years. Children are hit most often at school dismissal; older pedestrians in the late morning; and the chance that a pedestrian crash is fatal climbs steeply with age.

This page sets out the records by age band, hour, month, county and town, and then what Massachusetts law says about pedestrians, cyclists and children after a crash. It is general information built from public data, not advice about a particular crash.

What the Data Measures

MassDOT’s open crash database records every police-reported crash in Massachusetts. A pedestrian crash or a bicycle crash here is one in which a person on foot, or a person on a bicycle, was involved, using the same definitions as the per-town figures on the site’s crash report. The age field used, AGE_NONMTRST_YNGST, records the age band of the youngest non-motorist involved, meaning the youngest person who was not in or on a motor vehicle.

Four limits govern how the numbers can be read:

1. Severity belongs to the crash, not the person. A crash counts as fatal when anyone in it died. In a pedestrian crash that is almost always the pedestrian, but the record does not say so in this field.
2. The youngest person sets the band. A parent and a child hit together count in the child’s band.
3. It says nothing about fault. A crash lands in an age band whoever caused it.
4. A small share has no age. 150 pedestrian crashes (2.51 percent) and 114 bicycle crashes (2.62 percent) carry no age, and that rate differs by town, so every place comparison below is calculated against crashes with a known age.

Pedestrian Crashes by Age: Severity Rises With Every Band

The finding with the most weight is how sharply the death rate rises with the pedestrian’s age. Almost four in five pedestrian crashes at every age involve an injury; what changes is how many are fatal.

Youngest pedestrian in the crash	Crashes, 2022 to 2024	Share of pedestrian crashes	Share with an injury	Deaths per 1,000 crashes
Under 6	99	1.66%	76.8%	30.3 (3 crashes)
6 to 15	615	10.28%	83.6%	3.3
16 to 20	460	7.69%	82.0%	10.9
25 to 34	912	15.25%	80.0%	27.4
45 to 54	735	12.29%	80.8%	42.2
55 to 64	866	14.48%	79.2%	56.6
65 to 74	614	10.27%	80.1%	55.4
75 to 84	323	5.40%	80.8%	102.2
Over 84	83	1.39%	66.3%	192.8
All pedestrian crashes	5,980	100%	79.85%	39.8

Two comparisons put those rates in context. Across all 405,242 Massachusetts crashes, the death rate is 2.68 per 1,000, so a pedestrian crash is about 15 times as likely to be fatal as the average crash. And among pedestrians 75 and older, 49 of 406 crashes involved a death, 120.7 per 1,000: roughly one in eight.

The under-6 rate rests on 3 fatal crashes and should not be read as a trend. Children aged 6 to 15 had the lowest death rate of any band, 2 deaths in 615 crashes. The rise with age is steady from there. Pedestrians 65 and older were in 1,020 crashes, 17.06 percent of the total, and 83 of the 238 fatal pedestrian crashes, 34.87 percent. The data does not measure why, but the likeliest reading, and it is an inference, is the same one the older driver crash data points to: an older body is more easily hurt by the same impact.

Cyclist Crashes by Age: Children Are the Largest Group

Bicycle crashes have a different shape. Children dominate the count and adults over 55 dominate the deaths.

Youngest cyclist in the crash	Crashes, 2022 to 2024	Share of bicycle crashes	Fatal crashes
Under 6	14	0.32%	0
6 to 15	828	19.01%	1
16 to 20	451	10.35%	1
25 to 34	789	18.11%	2
55 to 64	516	11.85%	8
65 and older	317	7.28%	8
All bicycle crashes	4,356	100%	27

Children 6 to 15 are the single largest age band in bicycle crashes, 828 of 4,356, and with the under-6 band they make up 19.33 percent. Yet only one of the 27 fatal bicycle crashes was in that band, while 16 of the 27 involved a cyclist 55 or older. A bicycle crash is far less often fatal than a pedestrian crash, 6.2 deaths per 1,000 against 39.8, and 77.36 percent of bicycle crashes involved an injury.

When Children and Older Pedestrians Are Hit

The hour of the crash separates the age groups clearly.

Hour of the pedestrian crash	Pedestrians under 16	Pedestrians 65 and older	All pedestrian crashes
7 a.m. to 7:59 a.m.	9.66%	3.14%	4.38%
9 a.m. to 12:59 p.m. combined	10.92%	26.67%	18.21%
2 p.m. to 3:59 p.m. combined	27.17%	15.39%	13.46%
9 p.m. to 5:59 a.m. combined	3.64%	6.27%	13.19%

More than a quarter of the pedestrian crashes involving a child, 194 of 714, happened between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., twice the share for pedestrian crashes overall, and the 7 a.m. hour is more than twice as common for children too. Those are the school run hours, and the same shape appeared in the teen driver crash data. Pedestrians 65 and older are hit most in the late morning and around midday. Both groups are rarely hit at night; for all pedestrians, more than one crash in eight is between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The calendar points the same way, more faintly. Pedestrian crashes overall peak in December, 712 over three years, as darkness falls earlier. Child pedestrian crashes peak in October (83) and are lowest in February (39) and August (40), when school is out or on break. September and October together hold 21.43 percent of child pedestrian crashes against 18.75 percent of all pedestrian crashes. The crashes by month article covers the seasonal pattern for all crashes.

Answer Capsule

MassDOT crash records for 2022 through 2024 show 5,980 pedestrian crashes and 4,356 bicycle crashes in Massachusetts. A child under 16 was the youngest person on foot in 714 pedestrian crashes (11.94 percent) and on a bicycle in 842 bicycle crashes (19.33 percent), making children 6 to 15 the largest single age band among cyclists. Pedestrians 65 and older were in 17.06 percent of pedestrian crashes but 34.87 percent of the fatal ones; the death rate rises from 3.3 per 1,000 crashes for pedestrians aged 6 to 15 to 102.2 for ages 75 to 84 and 192.8 over 84, against 2.68 for all crashes. Child pedestrian crashes cluster between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. (27.17 percent, against 13.46 percent overall). By county, the child share of pedestrian crashes with a known age runs from 16.06 percent in Plymouth to 5.88 percent in Berkshire, and the 65 and older share is highest in Barnstable at 31.29 percent. Massachusetts law requires drivers to yield to pedestrians in marked crosswalks (M.G.L. c. 89, sec. 11) and to pass pedestrians and cyclists at 4 feet or more (c. 90, sec. 14).

Pedestrian Ages by County

The county figures show where children and older residents are on foot near traffic.

County	Pedestrian crashes	Under 16, share of known age	65 and older, share of known age
Plymouth	337	16.06% (53)	17.88% (59)
Essex	839	15.29% (126)	18.33% (151)
Bristol	601	14.50% (86)	16.02% (95)
Hampden	471	13.58% (63)	11.42% (53)
Suffolk	701	11.95% (82)	13.70% (94)
Middlesex	1,397	11.94% (162)	18.05% (245)
Worcester	625	10.26% (60)	17.09% (100)
Norfolk	574	9.27% (52)	20.68% (116)
Barnstable	165	8.59% (14)	31.29% (51)
Berkshire	102	5.88% (6)	23.53% (24)

Statewide, children were 12.25 percent of pedestrian crashes with a known age, and people 65 and older 17.50 percent. Barnstable County stands apart: almost one pedestrian crash in three involved someone 65 or older, the same Cape pattern the older driver data showed. The counties with the highest child shares, Plymouth, Essex and Bristol, hold the older industrial cities where the town figures below concentrate. The smallest counties are left out of the table because their counts are too small to compare: Hampshire had 95 pedestrian crashes, Franklin 38, Dukes 19 and Nantucket 16.

Pedestrian and Cyclist Ages by Town

Among communities with 60 or more pedestrian crashes with a known age, the highest child shares are in the older cities north and south of Boston:

• Brockton: 36 of 178, 20.2 percent. Brockton crash report.
• New Bedford: 36 of 194, 18.6 percent. New Bedford crash report.
• Malden: 19 of 103, 18.4 percent. Malden crash report.
• Haverhill: 14 of 78, 17.9 percent.
• Lynn: 46 of 258, 17.8 percent, the most child pedestrian crashes outside Boston. Lynn crash report.
• Lawrence: 24 of 143, 16.8 percent. Lawrence crash report.
• Chelsea: 21 of 129, 16.3 percent.

Boston had the most by count, 50, but they were 10.5 percent of its pedestrian crashes with a known age. Worcester was 10.0 percent and Lowell 11.5 percent, and those two cities record no pedestrian age for 11.6 and 12.3 percent of their pedestrian crashes, against under 4 percent in most of the cities above. That is why this list is a map of where child pedestrian crashes concentrate, not a ranking of which cities are dangerous.

Bicycle crashes show the contrast even more sharply. In Chicopee, 17 of 48 bicycle crashes involved a cyclist under 16 (35.4 percent); in New Bedford, 34 of 99 (34.3 percent); in Fall River, 21 of 65 (32.3 percent); in Lynn, 29 of 94 (30.9 percent). In Cambridge, which has more bicycle crashes than any other Massachusetts community, it was 10 of 384, 2.6 percent, and in Boston 13 of 273, 4.8 percent. Where adults commute by bicycle, adults dominate the crash count; where they do not, children do. The bicycle crash rankings and the pedestrian crash rankings give the full town counts.

What Massachusetts Law Says

The age of the person hit does not change the driver’s duties. These are the rules that apply in most pedestrian and cyclist crashes:

1. Yield at marked crosswalks. Under M.G.L. c. 89, sec. 11, where traffic signals are not in place or not working, a driver must yield to a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk who is on the driver’s half of the road or within 10 feet of it, and may not pass a vehicle stopped to let a pedestrian cross. The fine is up to $200.
2. Give vulnerable users 4 feet. A vulnerable user under M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 1 includes pedestrians, cyclists, skateboarders, scooter riders and wheelchair users, among others. Section 14 requires a driver passing one to leave a safe distance of not less than 4 feet, at a reasonable and proper speed.
3. PIP covers the pedestrian. Personal injury protection, the no-fault part of every Massachusetts auto policy, pays at least $8,000 per person, and M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 34A extends it to “any pedestrian struck by” the insured vehicle, for medical expenses incurred within two years and lost wages, regardless of fault. The PIP article explains how that is used.
4. A missing helmet is not evidence of fault. M.G.L. c. 85, sec. 11B requires cyclists and bicycle passengers 16 or younger to wear a helmet, and then provides that a violation “shall not be used as evidence of contributory negligence in any civil action.” The bicycle laws article covers the rest of the cyclist’s rules.
5. Shared fault reduces, but does not bar, recovery. Under M.G.L. c. 231, sec. 85, an injured person whose negligence was not greater than the defendants’ can still recover, with damages reduced in proportion. The pedestrian rights article covers how that applies to someone hit on foot.
6. A child’s deadline is paused. Most injury claims must be filed within three years under M.G.L. c. 260, sec. 2A, but c. 260, sec. 7 lets a minor’s action be commenced within that time after the disability is removed, which for a child generally means after turning 18. A settlement for a child usually needs court approval, as the minor settlement article explains.

Key terms

• Non-motorist: a person involved in a crash who is not in or on a motor vehicle, such as a pedestrian or a cyclist.
• Youngest non-motorist age band: the MassDOT field recording the age range of the youngest pedestrian or cyclist in a crash, which is how crashes are sorted by age here.
• Vulnerable user: the category defined in M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 1, including pedestrians, cyclists and other people using the road without the protection of a motor vehicle.
• Known-age share: the percentage of a place’s pedestrian or bicycle crashes, among those with an age recorded, that fall in a given band.
• Personal injury protection (PIP): the no-fault auto coverage under c. 90, sec. 34A that pays medical bills and lost wages regardless of fault, including for a pedestrian struck by the insured car.
• Tolling: the pause in a filing deadline, such as the one c. 260, sec. 7 provides while an injured person is a minor.

Using These Numbers

For parents, the records point at the walk or ride to and from school, and especially the afternoon, as the time children are most often hit. For older pedestrians and their families, they point at daytime errands, and at how much more serious the same crash is past 75. For anyone hurt, they are background, not proof; the police report, witnesses and video decide the claim, and the traffic camera footage article explains how to get video before it is recorded over. Town figures are on the crash report, and the practice overviews are on the bicycle accidents page and the auto accidents page, including the city pages for Brockton, New Bedford, Lynn and Chicopee.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How many children are hit by cars in Massachusetts?

A: From 2022 through 2024, MassDOT recorded 714 pedestrian crashes and 842 bicycle crashes in which the youngest person on foot or on the bicycle was under 16, out of 5,980 pedestrian and 4,356 bicycle crashes statewide.

Q: What time of day are child pedestrians most often hit?

A: Between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., when 27.17 percent of child pedestrian crashes happened, against 13.46 percent of all pedestrian crashes. The 7 a.m. hour also runs more than double the overall share.

Q: Are older pedestrians more likely to die when hit?

A: Yes, per crash. Pedestrians 65 and older were in 17.06 percent of pedestrian crashes but 34.87 percent of the fatal ones. The death rate was 102.2 per 1,000 crashes for ages 75 to 84 and 192.8 over 84, against 3.3 for ages 6 to 15.

Q: Which age group has the most bicycle crashes in Massachusetts?

A: Children aged 6 to 15, with 828 of 4,356 bicycle crashes (19.01 percent), followed by adults 25 to 34 with 789. Only 1 of the 27 fatal bicycle crashes was in the 6 to 15 band; 16 involved a cyclist 55 or older.

Q: Which Massachusetts county has the highest share of child pedestrian crashes?

A: Plymouth County, where 16.06 percent of pedestrian crashes with a known age involved a child under 16, followed by Essex at 15.29 percent and Bristol at 14.50 percent. Berkshire County was lowest among the larger counties at 5.88 percent.

Q: Does PIP cover a child or adult hit while walking?

A: Yes. M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 34A extends personal injury protection to any pedestrian struck by the insured vehicle, at least $8,000 for medical expenses and lost wages, regardless of fault.

Q: If a child was not wearing a bike helmet, does that hurt the claim?

A: Massachusetts requires a helmet for riders 16 and younger under M.G.L. c. 85, sec. 11B, but the same section says a violation shall not be used as evidence of contributory negligence in a civil action.

Q: Is Jimmy Knows AI giving me legal advice?

A: No. This is general information drawn from MassDOT’s public crash records and the Massachusetts statutes, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. A specific crash should be reviewed with a lawyer.

Talking to a Lawyer

A crash involving a child or an older pedestrian often brings long recoveries, a family member managing the claim, and, for a child, a court approval step at the end. Getting the police report, any video, the insurance information and the medical records together early makes each of those simpler.

Jim Glaser Law can be reached at (617) JIM-WINS. The line is answered 24 hours a day. The first telephone consultation is offered without charge. Cases accepted on a contingency basis carry no attorney fee unless there is a recovery, and case costs and expenses are addressed in the written fee agreement signed at intake.