This Weekend Is the ‘World Day of Remembrance’ For Motor Vehicle Homicide Victims
Safety advocates and families across Massachusetts, from Pittsfield to Lynn, will come together to honor the annual World Day of Remembrance for victims of traffic violence this weekend.
The World Day of Remembrance is an international day of mourning when communities gather to remember friends, neighbors, and family members who have been killed by cars and trucks, and to demand safer streets and roadways.
This year, event organizers in the U.S. are asking elected officials to “invest in safety, not speed” – a theme that urges leaders to reject obsolete 20th-century traffic engineering principles that prioritized deadly, high-speed roadways, and start undoing their damage with streets designed for slower traffic, lower speed limits, and safer vehicle design and technologies.
According to MassDOT crash records, drivers have killed at least 276 people on Massachusetts roadways so far in 2026.
That includes 16 people who have been killed while riding a bicycle so far this year, making 2026 the deadliest year for bicyclists by far since MassDOT’s crash database began collecting records in 2015.
Among the events being planned:
Holyoke
The Holyoke Bike and Pedestrian Committee and WalkBike Springfield are co-hosting a memorial event at Holyoke City Hall on Friday afternoon, from 3 to 4 p.m.
Planned speakers will include Holyoke Mayor Joshua A. Garcia, State Senator John Velis, former Holyoke City Councilor Kocayne Givner, and Holyoke Biking & Pedestrian Committee Chair Kristen Sykes.
Pittsfield
On Sunday, Nov. 15 at noon, Pittsfield Public Works Commissioner Ricardo Morales and Berkshire Regional Planning Commission member Nicholas Russo will lead a walking tour of the city’s newly-rebuilt West Street, where a driver struck and killed a pedestrian and seriously injured her daughter in winter 2023.
In the aftermath of that killing, safety advocates demanded safety improvements, including new raised crosswalks, improved lighting, and painted bike lanes, which were implemented earlier this year.
The Pittsfield event will begin at noon at Dorothy Amos Park (310 West Street).
New Bedford
Pope’s Island was the site of two deadly crashes over the 4th of July weekend last summer. South Coast Places for People plans a vigil in their memory, plus a call to action for officials to implement speed-lowering safety improvements on Route 6 across the harbor.
Worcester
WalkBike Worcester is hosting their fifth annual World Day of Remembrance event this year, with speeches from crash survivors followed by a march to City Hall. Attendees are being encouraged to wear or carry something yellow to show their support.
The event will begin at 3 p.m. from the YMCA Fuller Family Park at 766 Main Street.
Brockton
Safety advocates in Brockton plan to hold a brief rally and march on Monday afternoon, Nov. 16th. The event is scheduled to meet at the Brockton Workers Alliance at 826 Belmont Street at 4 p.m.
Lynn
The City of Lynn has had a violent year with four traffic homicides so far, plus 11 additional crashes that inflicted severe injuries.
“This observance is an opportunity to honor the lives lost and stand with the families and loved ones forever impacted by traffic crashes,” Lynn Mayor Jared C. Nicholson said in a statement announcing the event. “As we remember those we have lost, we also renew our commitment to building safer streets and preventing future tragedies.”
