The Boston-Manchester media market is really two states stitched together by I-93: eastern Massachusetts anchored by Boston, and southern New Hampshire anchored by Manchester, about 50 miles up the highway. The two halves post very different numbers. Massachusetts recorded 128,769 total crashes statewide in 2025, per state crash data compiled by thatcarhitme.com1, while sitting on one of the lowest per-mile fatality rates in the country. New Hampshire's fatality count has swung much harder over the past five years, and the roads connecting the two cities, especially I-93 and I-95, are now the subject of major rebuilding projects aimed at cutting down on the worst crash types.
The statewide baseline
Massachusetts fatalities have bounced between 336 and 435 a year since 2019, landing at 343 in 2023 with 2,849 serious injuries statewide, according to the Federal Highway Administration's state safety performance reporting2. That works out to a fatality rate of 0.56 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, the lowest of any state in the country for 2023, against a national rate of 1.26 and 40,901 total US deaths that year, per the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety3. New Hampshire's numbers moved differently over the same stretch: 101 deaths in 2019, climbing to 146 in 2022, then dropping back to 130 in 2023, with a fatality rate of 0.96 per 100 million miles, nearly double Massachusetts's4. NH DOT's own count puts 2024 at 135 crash deaths, split roughly 45% urban and 55% rural5.
In greater Boston specifically, the regional numbers run worse than the statewide average. The Boston Region MPO tracked fatalities climbing from 99 in 2018 to 142 in 2022, with serious injuries rising from 779 to 1,066 over the same five years6. Intersection-related crashes made up 44.1% of the region's fatal and serious-injury total, compared to 39.7% statewide, and pedestrians accounted for 19.6% regionally versus 14.9% statewide6. For 2026, the Commonwealth's adopted safety targets call for holding the five-year rolling average to 357 fatalities near-term and pulling it down to 323 by 20287.
Where crashes cluster
MassDOT's most recent Top Crash Locations analysis, still built on 2015-2017 crash records and a 25-meter cluster radius that weighs injury crashes 21 times more heavily than property-damage-only ones, ranks Morton Street and Harvard Street in Dorchester, Granite Street and Common Street in Braintree, Randolph Avenue and Chickatawbut Road in Milton, and Broadway and Third Street in Chelsea among the highest-scoring intersections in the Boston area8. Chelsea and Cambridge separately top the state's pedestrian and bicycle crash-cluster rankings8.
The Boston Region MPO's High-Injury Network, a set of roads that make up just 7% of regional mileage but account for about 65% of fatal and serious-injury crashes, singles out corridors including Massachusetts Avenue in Boston between Columbus Avenue and Pomeroy Street, the Middlesex Turnpike in Burlington near I-95, and Route 28/North Main Street in Randolph near I-936.
A death that reset the clock
On July 9, 2026, Louisa Gag, a 36-year-old transportation planner and bike-share coordinator for Boston City Hall, was struck and killed by a truck at the intersection of Tremont Street and Parker Street near Roxbury Crossing, an area near Southwest Corridor Park known for heavy, fast-moving traffic9. Two weeks later, the Boston City Council voted unanimously to recommit to Vision Zero, the city's pledge, first made in 2015, to eliminate traffic deaths by 203010. Mayor Michelle Wu has since promised stepped-up enforcement against blocked crosswalks and double parking and new bike lane installations, though transit advocates argue the response still leans on the same review process that has slowed projects for years10.
Manchester and the I-93 corridor
Manchester's police department logged 2,943 motor vehicle accident calls in 2024 and processed 2,700 requests for accident reports that same year, in a city of 115,644 people spread across 33 square miles11. Just south of the city, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation is in the middle of one of its largest projects ever: widening 20 miles of I-93 between the Massachusetts state line and Manchester from two lanes to four in each direction, replacing 20 bridges and rehabilitating 23 more. The highway was built in the early 1960s to handle 60,000 to 70,000 vehicles a day; by the late 1990s, Salem alone was already seeing more than 100,00012.
Further north and east, NHDOT is adding median barriers to I-95 between Route 151 in North Hampton and the Sherburne Road overpass in Portsmouth after five people were killed in 2024 crashes there, most involving cars crossing the median. The $3 million to $3.5 million project went to bid in spring 202513.
Massachusetts targets wrong-way crashes
In June 2026, Governor Maura Healey announced a $50 million to $75 million statewide effort to cut down on wrong-way driving, identifying more than 500 high-risk locations, including stretches of Route 1, where confusing ramp geometry makes it easier for drivers to enter a highway going the wrong direction14. About 430 of those locations, mostly signalized intersections and highway ramps, will get camera-based detection technology that flags a wrong-way vehicle and triggers flashing LED warning signs and a real-time alert to state police, with installation running through 2026 and 202714.
If you're sorting out a crash right now
None of these numbers do much for you if you're the one holding a claim number and a rental car receipt. Start with the official report: Manchester's Records Unit alone fielded 2,700 accident-report requests in a single year11, so you're far from the only one asking. If liability, injuries, or an insurer's lowball offer are in play, an attorney who works these roads regularly can tell you fast whether your case is straightforward or not; the legal directory is a place to start looking.
This article is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
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thatcarhitme.com, "Massachusetts, MA Year-over-Year Crash Report — 2025 vs 2024" — https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/statewide/2025-annual-report
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Federal Highway Administration, "State Highway Safety Report: Massachusetts" — https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/tpm/reporting/state/safety.cfm?state=Massachusetts
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Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, "Fatality Facts 2023: State by state" — https://www.iihs.org/research-areas/fatality-statistics/detail/state-by-state
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Federal Highway Administration, "State Highway Safety Report: New Hampshire" — https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/tpm/reporting/state/safety.cfm?state=New+Hampshire
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New Hampshire Department of Transportation, "NH Driving Toward Zero" — https://www.dot.nh.gov/projects-plans-and-programs/programs/nh-driving-toward-zero
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Boston Region MPO, "Vision Zero Action Plan" — https://www.ctps.org/data/html/plans/Vision-Zero/Vision-Zero-Action-Plan.html
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Boston Region MPO, "Roadway Safety Targets" memo, February 2026 — https://www.bostonmpo.org/data/calendar/htmls/2026/0205_MPO/Roadway-Safety-Targets-Memo/Roadway-Safety-Targets.html
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Massachusetts Department of Transportation, "2017 Top Crash Locations Report" — https://www.mass.gov/doc/2017-top-crash-locations-report/download
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The Boston Globe, "Boston transportation planner fatally struck by car near Roxbury Crossing" — https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/09/metro/pedestrian-struck-killed-in-roxbury-crossing/
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WBUR, "Following cyclist's death, Boston City Council recommits to eliminating traffic fatalities by 2030" — https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/07/23/boston-council-vision-zero
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Manchester, New Hampshire Police Department, "2024 Annual Report" — https://www.manchesternh.gov/Portals/2/Departments/police_web/2024%20Annual%20Report(1).pdf
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New Hampshire Department of Transportation, "Rebuilding I-93: Salem to Manchester, Project Background" — https://www.rebuildingi93.com/content/background
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CBS News Boston, "Stretch of I-95 in New Hampshire to get median barriers after deadly crashes" — https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/i-95-new-hampshire-median-barriers
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Mass.gov, "Governor Healey Announces Statewide Deployment of State-of-the-Art Technology to Improve Road Safety and Prevent Wrong-Way Driving" — https://www.mass.gov/news/governor-healey-announces-statewide-deployment-of-state-of-the-art-technology-to-improve-road-safety-and-prevent-wrong-way-driving