Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

35 CRASHES IN
ARLINGTON, MA
AUGUST 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstAugust 2021

Total crashes in August 2022 were 35, an increase from 29 crashes in August 2021. This represents a 20.69% rise year-over-year. A notable shift is the increase in crashes occurring in 30 mph speed zones, which rose from 1 crash in the prior period to 7 crashes in the current period.

35

20.7%was 29

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

8

-11.1%was 9

Persons Injured

3

-40.0%was 5

Hit-and-Run Crashes

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. 4 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash incidents in Arlington increased year-over-year, with total crashes rising by 20.69% from 29 in August 2021 to 35 in August 2022. This indicates an upward trend in crash frequency for the specified month.

3

Hit-and-Run Crashes — August 2022

-40.0% vs prior (5)

Hit-and-run crashes decreased from 5 incidents in August 2021 to 3 incidents in August 2022. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate declined from 17.2% in the prior period to 8.6% in the current period, indicating a downward trend.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

2

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 1100.0%

6

Motorists Injured

Prior: 8-25.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes shifted from Monday with 6 incidents in August 2021 to Friday with 8 incidents in August 2022. Similarly, the peak hour changed from 11 AM with 6 crashes in the prior period to 5 PM with 6 crashes in the current period, suggesting a shift in high-incident times.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

While no fatalities were reported in either period, total injuries slightly decreased from 9 in August 2021 to 8 in August 2022. Serious injury crashes increased from 0 to 1, and minor injury crashes rose from 6 to 7. Conversely, possible injury crashes, which were 1 in the prior period, were not reported in the current period.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes2.9%
Minor Injury7minor injury crashes20%
16.7%prior 6
No Injury23no injury crashes65.7%
27.8%prior 18

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Crashes attributed to "No improper driving" decreased by 1, from 10 in August 2021 to 9 in August 2022. Factors like "Over-correcting/over-steering" and "Visibility obstructed" each increased by 2 crashes, appearing in the current period with 2 incidents each after not being reported in the prior period. "Distracted" driving crashes decreased from 2 to 1, while "Other improper action" increased from 1 to 2.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving9 (25.7%)-10.0%prior 10
Failed to yield right of way2 (5.7%)
Other improper action2 (5.7%)
Over-correcting/over-steering2 (5.7%)
Visibility obstructed2 (5.7%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings1 (2.9%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (2.9%)
Distracted1 (2.9%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (2.9%)
Followed too closely1 (2.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in daylight conditions increased from 21 in August 2021 to 30 in August 2022, representing a notable shift. The number of crashes on dry road surfaces also increased from 25 to 32 year-over-year. Crashes under "Clear/Clear" weather conditions rose from 7 to 11.

Weather

Clear18 (51.4%)
0.0%prior 18
Clear/Clear11 (31.4%)
57.1%prior 7
Cloudy/Cloudy3 (8.6%)
Rain/Cloudy2 (5.7%)
Clear/Unknown1 (2.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight30 (85.7%)
42.9%prior 21
Dark - lighted roadway2 (5.7%)
Dusk2 (5.7%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (2.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry32 (91.4%)
28.0%prior 25
Wet3 (8.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased from 50 in August 2021 to 60 in August 2022. There was an increase in persons aged 45-54 involved in crashes, rising from 8 to 13, and in those aged 65+, increasing from 5 to 9. Among vehicle makes, Honda saw a rise from 4 to 9 vehicles involved, while Mazda, which had 5 vehicles involved in the prior period, was not a top make in the current period.

Top Vehicle Makes (60 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA11 (18.3%)
10.0%prior 10
2
HONDA9 (15%)
3
FORD6 (10%)
-25.0%prior 8
4
NISSAN4 (6.7%)
5
SUBARU3 (5%)
6
VOLKSWAGEN3 (5%)
7
BMW2 (3.3%)
8
CHEVROLET2 (3.3%)
9
MERCEDES-BENZ1 (1.7%)
10
MINI1 (1.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (63 persons with recorded sex)

Male35 (55.6%)
40.0%prior 25
Female28 (44.4%)
16.7%prior 24

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes occurring in 25 mph speed zones increased from 22 in August 2021 to 24 in August 2022. A more significant increase was observed in 30 mph zones, which rose from 1 crash in the prior period to 7 crashes in the current period. No fatalities were recorded in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · 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: 2022-08-01 through 2022-08-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-08-01 through 2022-08-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: ARLINGTON, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 35
  • Total persons involved: 73
  • Total vehicles involved: 60

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). "ARLINGTON, MA Crash Intelligence Report: August 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/arlington/august-2022-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

ThatCarHitMe.com · An Injuria.ai Company

Arlington, MA Crash Report — August 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com