Cyclists rally for road safety in Massachusetts and remember those lost at Ride for Your Life event
CAMBRIDGE - Hundreds of cyclists gathered in Massachusetts Sunday for the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims' Ride for Your Life event, remembering cyclists and pedestrians who lost their lives in crashes and calling for improved road safety.
Calling for better road safety
For Eric Olson, the ride is very personal.
"I want to remember my daughter Sidney, she was 5 years old, she was hit by a driver driving an 18-wheeler through our downtown neighborhood in North Andover," said Olson. "And so, there's a lot of people like me out here today and we're all here to remember but we're also here to look forward."
During the 6.5-mile route from Cambridge Common to the State House in Boston, they rode past sites where cyclists and pedestrians lost their lives in crashes.
"My message to drivers is that this isn't about trying to get you out of your cars, this isn't a divisive issue," said Olson. "This is about creating better communities and saving lives."
State Sen. Will Brownsberger said there is legislation pending to protect cyclists and pedestrians.
"We've been fighting for, actually, three or four sessions now to get automated enforcement in place, which I think will help reduce speeds, it just means you should be able to use a camera and send someone a ticket if they violate a red light or they violate speeding," said Brownsberger.
8 cyclists killed in 2024
Organizers said eight cyclists lost their lives to road violence this year alone in Massachusetts. Three of them were from Cambridge. They said these deaths are preventable.
At the State House rally, a moment of silence was held in memory of those who lost their lives as they push for more traffic safety.
"Our second legislative ask is to regulate the size and safety restrictions on large vehicles and trucks which disproportionately kill people on our streets," said Alexa Gomberg, an organizer for Ride for Your Life.
