In Portland, homelessness is part of the street-level reality visible at intersections, bus stops, and along high-speed corridors where pedestrians already face uneven risk. For people living outside, a crash can feel like hitting a wall with no backup plan, no insurance, no clear way forward. But the legal reality is different. A person’s housing status doesn’t shrink their rights. When someone is hit, responsibility still applies, and the right to pursue compensation doesn’t disappear because of where that person sleeps. Treating these cases as less serious or less deserving misses what the law actually requires....
Portland Blog
Cycling is often promoted as a healthy, sustainable, and affordable way to get around cities. But whether it’s truly safe depends a lot on the kind of infrastructure available. Not all bike lanes are created equal, and in Washington State (especially Seattle) the difference between a painted line and a protected lane has meant the...
The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) analyzes traffic crash data to identify the areas where severe injuries and fatalities occur most frequently. Each year, Portland records approximately 10,000 to 12,000 traffic crashes. Crash data serves as a key tool for understanding where and how people are injured or killed while navigating Portland’s streets. However, most...
Portland recorded 39 traffic deaths in 2025, according to the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Vision Zero crash report. While that number is lower than the recent peak of 69 deaths in 2023, the data still shows persistent safety risks, especially for pedestrians, cyclists, and people traveling on high-speed arterial roads. Behind each statistic is a...
2021 State Highway Crashes in Portland: Key Totals In 2021, there were a total of 2,726 crashes on state highways in Portland. Among these, 28 were fatal, 1,495 resulted in injuries, and 1,203 involved property damage. A significant portion of these accidents, 150, were collisions with fixed objects, 46 involved pedestrians, and 18 were with...
Portland Pedestrian Overview 2021 – Present Portland’s 2021 traffic data reveals a troubling reality: pedestrians are the most vulnerable group on the city’s roads. Of the 155 pedestrian-related accidents reported that year, 25 resulted in fatalities, making pedestrians the highest category of victims in fatal accidents. This number exceeds deaths from motor vehicle collisions, which...