Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

155 CRASHES IN
ADAMS, MA
2024

All metrics benchmarked against2023

In 2024, Adams recorded 155 total crashes, a 3.1% decrease from the 160 crashes recorded in 2023. While the overall number of crashes declined, the most notable change was the occurrence of one fatal crash resulting in one death in 2024, whereas no fatalities were reported in the previous year.

155

-3.1%was 160

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

31

3.3%was 30

Persons Injured

9

-40.0%was 15

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (1) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (1) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities. 9 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The total number of crashes in Adams saw a slight year-over-year decline, falling by 3.1% from 160 in 2023 to 155 in 2024. Despite the decrease in total crashes, the number of resulting injuries increased slightly from 30 to 31. The data indicates a marginal reduction in crash frequency but a stable level of injury outcomes.

9

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2024

-40.0% vs prior (15)

The incidence of hit-and-run crashes showed a notable decrease in 2024 compared to the previous year. The total count of hit-and-run incidents fell from 15 in 2023 to 9 in 2024. Correspondingly, the hit-and-run rate, representing the percentage of total crashes that were hit-and-runs, declined from 9.4% to 5.8%.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

5

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 366.7%

2

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 1100.0%

24

Motorists Injured

Prior: 26-7.7%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes shifted between the two periods. In 2024, the peak day for crashes was Sunday with 27 incidents, a significant change from 2023 when Thursday was the peak day with 32 crashes. The peak hour for crashes also shifted slightly, moving from 4 PM in 2023 (15 crashes) to 3 PM in 2024 (17 crashes).

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Crash severity saw a significant change with the recording of one fatal crash in 2024, compared to zero in 2023. The number of serious injury crashes remained constant at two for both years. The proportion of minor injury crashes increased from 11.9% of total crashes (19 incidents) in 2023 to 14.2% (22 incidents) in 2024.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes0.6%
Serious Injury2serious injury crashes1.3%
0.0%prior 2
Minor Injury22minor injury crashes14.2%
15.8%prior 19
Possible Injury3possible injury crashes1.9%
-40.0%prior 5
No Injury118no injury crashes76.1%
-1.7%prior 120

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The leading contributing factors remained consistent year-over-year, with 'No improper driving' (46 crashes in 2024 vs. 47 in 2023) and 'Inattention' (35 crashes vs. 34) being the top two in both periods. However, the third-ranked factor shifted; crashes attributed to 'Failed to yield right of way' decreased in count from 17 to 8. Concurrently, crashes involving 'Followed too closely' increased in count from 12 in 2023 to 16 in 2024, making it the third most cited factor in the current period.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving46 (29.7%)-2.1%prior 47
Inattention35 (22.6%)2.9%prior 34
Followed too closely16 (10.3%)33.3%prior 12
Failed to yield right of way8 (5.2%)-52.9%prior 17
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner6 (3.9%)-25.0%prior 8
Driving too fast for conditions5 (3.2%)
Visibility obstructed4 (2.6%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road4 (2.6%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway3 (1.9%)
Glare3 (1.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

In both 2023 and 2024, the majority of crashes occurred in daylight (117 and 114, respectively) and on dry roads (130 and 121). Crashes during clear weather were nearly identical, with 114 in 2023 and 115 in 2024. A notable shift was observed in crashes under cloudy conditions, which decreased from 24 in 2023 to 12 in 2024. Conversely, crashes on wet road surfaces increased from 17 to 20.

Weather

Clear115 (74.2%)
0.9%prior 114
Cloudy12 (7.7%)
-50.0%prior 24
Rain8 (5.2%)
Snow6 (3.9%)
Fog, smog, smoke2 (1.3%)
Clear/Other2 (1.3%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)/Snow2 (1.3%)
Clear/Snow1 (0.6%)
Clear/Fog, smog, smoke1 (0.6%)
Rain/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (0.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight114 (73.5%)
-2.6%prior 117
Dark - lighted roadway25 (16.1%)
4.2%prior 24
Dark - roadway not lighted14 (9.0%)
27.3%prior 11
Dawn1 (0.6%)
Dusk1 (0.6%)
-80.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry121 (78.1%)
-6.9%prior 130
Wet20 (12.9%)
17.6%prior 17
Snow10 (6.5%)
42.9%prior 7
Ice3 (1.9%)
Slush1 (0.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The top vehicle makes involved in crashes remained largely consistent, with Toyota, Honda, Chevrolet, and Ford leading in both years; however, Ford's involvement decreased from 35 vehicles in 2023 to 25 in 2024. A significant shift occurred in the age distribution of persons involved in crashes. While the 26-34 age group was prominent in both years (42 individuals each), the 35-44 age group became the largest cohort in 2024 with 46 individuals, up from 35 the prior year. In contrast, the number of individuals aged 65 and older decreased from 42 in 2023 to 36 in 2024.

Top Vehicle Makes (257 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA36 (14%)
-10.0%prior 40
2
HONDA29 (11.3%)
7.4%prior 27
3
CHEVROLET26 (10.1%)
4.0%prior 25
4
FORD25 (9.7%)
-28.6%prior 35
5
JEEP21 (8.2%)
40.0%prior 15
6
HYUNDAI17 (6.6%)
21.4%prior 14
7
NISSAN16 (6.2%)
14.3%prior 14
8
SUBARU13 (5.1%)
-7.1%prior 14
9
GMC12 (4.7%)
-20.0%prior 15
10
DODGE8 (3.1%)
60.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

43 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.

Sex Distribution (259 persons with recorded sex)

Male133 (51.4%)
-8.3%prior 145
Female126 (48.6%)
17.8%prior 107

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

The distribution of crashes across speed zones shifted year-over-year. In 2023, the 30 mph zone had the highest number of crashes at 51, but this dropped to 31 in 2024. Conversely, crashes in 25 mph zones increased from 41 to 49, and in 35 mph zones from 31 to 41. The single fatal crash recorded in 2024 occurred in a 45 mph zone, a zone which had no fatal crashes in the prior year.

Fatal crashes by zone: 45 mph: 1 of 17 (5.882%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · 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: 2024-01-01 through 2024-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-01-01 through 2024-12-31 (366 days)
  • Geographic scope: ADAMS, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 155
  • Total persons involved: 307
  • Total vehicles involved: 257

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). "ADAMS, MA Crash Intelligence Report: 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/adams/2024-annual-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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Adams, MA Crash Report — 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com