World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is Sunday, November 17th. To mark this occasion, we remember the eight bicyclists who were killed on our roadways this year- Donald MacManus, Kim Staley, Minh-Thi Nguyen, Tamar Vishlitzy, John Wilding, John Corcoran, and two unidentified riders. MassBike believes that even one death is too many and we invite you to join us in our work to honor these losses along with all the victims of serious and fatal crashes on our roadways in 2024.

If you are in Cambridge or Boston this Sunday, we encourage you to join the Ride for Your Life. We’ll ride from the Cambridge Common at 11:00 am to the State House in Boston for a rally to demand safer streets. If you can’t join the ride, the rally will start at noon and MassBike Executive Director, Galen Mook, will provide remarks.

For a list of World Day of Remembrance events happening across the state, please see our calendar or the list below. Thank you to the Charlie Proctor Memorial Fund for providing financial support to these community events.

Legislative Advocacy for Safer Roadways

This past Wednesday, November 13th, Vision Zero Coalition members and safer roadways advocates met at the State House to spread awareness about World Day of Remembrance to our Massachusetts legislators and invite them to attend local events. Thank you to the 18 volunteers who joined us, and ended their elected officials in conversations. We will bring this passion, and your voice, into our legislative work in the coming session.

More Than Traffic: Rethinking Crashes, Acknowledging Loss

In 2024 so far, over 2,000 lives have been lost to, or seriously injured by, a traffic crash in Massachusetts— not including the countless friends, family, and loved ones impacted as well. MassBike co-sponsored a panel discussion with the GBH Forum Network on a special event to discuss the impact of fatal crashes and how journalists can better cover these tragedies.

GBH reporter Jeremy Siegel moderated the event and panelists included Galen Mook (MassBike), Christian MilNeil (Streetsblog MASS), Alexa Jakob (Critical Mass Boston), Alexa Gomberg (organizer and close friend of Minh-Thi Nguyen who was killed while biking in Cambridge), Eric Olson (activist and father of 5-year-old Sidney Mae Olson who was killed crossing a street in Andover), and Fatima Ali-Salaam (survivor and head of the Mattapan Neighborhood Council).

We appreciate all the panelists for sharing their experiences and insights on how to talk about these tragedies. MassBike sees this as beginning a conversation to help journalists report fatal crashes with more empathy and respect.

View the Recording

World Day of Remembrance Events

We invite you to join a local event to remember traffic victims in your community.

Saturday, November 16th

• Methuen World Day of Remembrance - join the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission from 10:00 am-2:00 pm at the Methuen Rail Trail to paint a flag that will be part of a memorial to honor the 94 people killed in crashes on roads in the Merrimack Valley since 2020.

Sunday, November 17th

• Hampden County World Day of Remembrance - WalkBike Springfield and Holyoke Bike & Ped Committee are hosting an event on the steps of Springfield Central Library on State St. at 1:00 pm
• Worcester World Day of Remembrance - WalkBike Worcester, MassBike, Etel Haxhiaj (District 5 City Councilor), and Robert Bilotta (City Council Candidate) are hosting an event at the Worcester Auditorium, 2 Highland Street (Grove St Plaza) at 3:00 pm
• Ride for Your Life - Cambridge and Boston area advocates are hosting a group bike ride starting in Cambridge, MA at 11:00 am and ending with a rally at the State House in Boston at noon. 

Monday, November 18th

• Brockton World Day of Remembrance March - Brockton Bikes is hosting a march to fatal crash sites, meeting at 4:00 pm at the plaza outside Brockton City Hall. Attendees are encouraged to bring candles, flashlights, bike lights, or other glowing items to light up the march.

Wednesday, November 20th

• Pittsfield World Day of Remembrance - everyone is invited to remember someone lost due to a traffic crash, whether cycling, walking, or driving at the Pittsfield Community Design Center (429 North Street, Pittsfield) from 4:00-6:00 pm. 

Thursday, November 28th

• The Second Annual Sidney’s Rainbow Run will be held in Andover, in honor of Sidney Mae Olson as part of the Feaster Five Thanksgiving Day Road Race.