Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

18 CRASHES IN
ACTON, MA
MAY 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstMay 2022

In May 2023, the city of ACTON experienced 18 crashes, a 50% increase compared to the 12 crashes recorded in May 2022. The most significant year-over-year shift was in total injuries, which surged from 1 injury in May 2022 to 8 injuries in May 2023, representing a 700% increase.

18

50.0%was 12

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

8

700.0%was 1

Persons Injured

0

Fatal Crash Events

Note: "Persons Killed" (0) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (0) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash data for May 2023 indicates a significant upward trend compared to May 2022. Total crashes increased by 50%, rising from 12 to 18, while total injuries saw a substantial 700% increase, going from 1 to 8.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 0%

7

Motorists Injured

Prior: 1600.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes remained Thursday in both periods, increasing from 3 crashes in May 2022 to 5 crashes in May 2023. However, the peak hour for crashes shifted from 9a with 3 crashes in May 2022 to 3p with 6 crashes in May 2023, indicating a change in the timing of peak crash activity.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatal crashes in either May 2022 or May 2023. The proportion of crashes resulting in minor injury (code B) increased significantly from 8.3% (1 crash) in May 2022 to 33.3% (6 crashes) in May 2023. Additionally, crashes with possible injury (code C) appeared in May 2023 with 1 crash (5.6%), where none were reported in May 2022.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury6minor injury crashes33.3%
500.0%prior 1
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes5.6%
No Injury11no injury crashes61.1%
0.0%prior 11

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The top contributing factor shifted from 'Inattention' (3 crashes) in May 2022 to 'Followed too closely' (6 crashes) in May 2023, marking a 200% increase for the latter. 'Failed to yield right of way' also saw a 100% increase in count, rising from 2 crashes in May 2022 to 4 crashes in May 2023. 'Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway' emerged as a factor in May 2023 with 4 crashes, having not been present in May 2022.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Followed too closely6 (33.3%)
Failed to yield right of way4 (22.2%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway4 (22.2%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (11.1%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (5.6%)
Visibility obstructed1 (5.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Clear weather conditions were associated with an increase in crashes, rising from 9 in May 2022 to 14 in May 2023. Rain conditions, which were not reported in May 2022, contributed to 2 crashes in May 2023. Similarly, dry road surface conditions saw an increase from 11 crashes in May 2022 to 16 crashes in May 2023.

Weather

Clear14 (82.4%)
55.6%prior 9
Rain2 (11.8%)
Cloudy/Clear1 (5.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Road Surface

Dry16 (88.9%)
45.5%prior 11
Wet2 (11.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (31 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA6 (19.4%)
-14.3%prior 7
2
HONDA5 (16.1%)
0.0%prior 5
3
NISSAN3 (9.7%)
4
SUBARU2 (6.5%)
5
FORD2 (6.5%)
6
ACURA2 (6.5%)
7
LEXUS1 (3.2%)
8
RAM1 (3.2%)
9
SAA1 (3.2%)
10
VOLKSWAGEN1 (3.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Vehicle unit records

Sex Distribution (36 persons with recorded sex)

Male22 (61.1%)
15.8%prior 19
Female14 (38.9%)
27.3%prior 11

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 30 mph speed zone increased from 2 in May 2022 to 5 in May 2023, representing a 150% increase. Crashes in the 45 mph speed zone also rose from 3 to 5, an increase of 66.7%. The 35 mph speed zone appeared in May 2023 with 1 crash, not having been present in May 2022.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Posted speed limit at crash location

Data Sources & Methodology

Primary Data Source

All crash data in this report is sourced from Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), accessed programmatically via the Arcgis_yearly Open Data API (SODA). This dataset contains official police-reported motor vehicle traffic crash records maintained by the reporting jurisdiction's law enforcement agency. Records are published to the open data portal by the municipality and are subject to the portal's terms of use.

Data Retrieval

  • Access method: Arcgis_yearly Open Data API (SoQL queries)
  • Data format: Structured JSON via REST API
  • Record types queried: Crash events, person records, and vehicle unit records
  • Date filter applied: 2023-05-01 through 2023-05-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-05-01 through 2023-05-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: ACTON, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 18
  • Total persons involved: 39
  • Total vehicles involved: 31

Analytical Methodology

  • Severity classification: Uses the KABCO injury scale (K=Fatal, A=Incapacitating injury, B=Non-incapacitating injury, C=Possible injury, O=No injury/property damage only), the standard classification in U.S. Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC). Severity is assigned per crash event based on the most severe injury in that crash. A single fatal crash (K) may involve multiple fatalities; therefore the "Persons Killed" count in the headline KPIs may differ from the "Fatal" crash count in the severity breakdown.
  • Contributing factors: Reflect the officer-determined primary contributory cause recorded at the time of the crash report. These are preliminary determinations and may not reflect final investigation findings.
  • Hit-and-run classification: Based on the hit-and-run indicator field in the official crash report, as determined by the responding officer at the scene.
  • Temporal analysis: Day-of-week and hour-of-day distributions are computed from the crash date/time timestamp in each record.
  • Demographics: Age and sex distributions are drawn from person-level records linked to each crash event. A single crash may involve multiple persons.
  • Vehicle data: Make information is drawn from vehicle unit records linked to each crash event.
  • AI commentary: Narrative sections are generated by Google Gemini (large language model) based on the structured data. Commentary is descriptive, not predictive, and should not be interpreted as expert opinion.

Limitations & Disclaimers

  • Only crashes reported to and documented by law enforcement are included. Minor incidents, unreported crashes, and near-misses are not captured in this dataset.
  • Data reflects conditions at the time of the initial police report and may be subject to subsequent corrections, reclassifications, or supplements by the reporting agency.
  • Open data portal records may experience a publication lag - recently occurring crashes may not yet appear in the dataset at the time of report generation.
  • AI-generated commentary is produced by a large language model and is intended to highlight patterns in the data. It does not constitute legal, medical, or professional analysis.
  • Percentages are calculated from reported data and are subject to rounding.

Non-Affiliation Disclosure

This report is produced independently by ThatCarHitMe.com (Injuria.ai). It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in partnership with any law enforcement agency, municipal government, state department of transportation, or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Data is sourced from publicly available government open data portals.

Data License

The underlying crash data is provided under the municipality's Open Data Terms of Use and is made available to the public for unrestricted use. This analysis and report is © 2026 Injuria.ai and may be cited with attribution using the suggested citation below.

Corrections & Feedback

If you believe any data in this report is inaccurate or have questions about our methodology, please contact: data@injuria.ai. We are committed to accuracy and will issue corrections promptly.

Suggested Citation

ThatCarHitMe.com (Injuria.ai). "ACTON, MA Crash Intelligence Report: May 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/acton/may-2023-report

About the Publisher

ThatCarHitMe.com is a crash data intelligence platform developed by Injuria.ai, a legal technology company specializing in traffic safety analytics. We aggregate and analyze publicly available government crash data to produce structured intelligence reports for communities, researchers, journalists, and legal professionals. Our reports combine programmatic data retrieval from official open data portals with AI-assisted narrative analysis.

Questions about this report's data or methodology: data@injuria.ai

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Acton, MA Crash Report — May 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com