Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

92 CRASHES IN
ASHBURNHAM, MA
2023

All metrics benchmarked against2022

In Ashburnham, total vehicle crashes increased by 8.2%, from 85 incidents in 2022 to 92 in 2023. While fatalities remained at zero in both years, the most notable year-over-year change was a 93.3% increase in the number of people injured, which rose from 15 to 29. This increase was driven by a rise in crashes resulting in minor injuries.

92

8.2%was 85

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

29

93.3%was 15

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Crash trends in Ashburnham show an overall increase in 2023 compared to the prior year. Total collisions rose from 85 to 92, an 8.2% increase. More significantly, the number of individuals injured in these crashes nearly doubled, climbing from 15 in 2022 to 29 in 2023, while fatalities remained at zero for both periods.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

29

Motorists Injured

Prior: 14107.1%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The timing of crashes shifted between the two years. In 2023, the peak day for crashes was Friday with 18 incidents, a change from 2022 when Sunday was the peak day with 17 incidents. However, the peak hour for collisions remained consistent, with the 5 p.m. hour having the highest frequency in both years, recording 9 crashes in each period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

While there were no fatal crashes in either 2022 or 2023, the severity of collisions worsened. The total number of people injured increased from 15 to 29. The share of crashes resulting in a minor injury more than doubled, rising from 5.9% of all crashes in 2022 (5 incidents) to 12.0% in 2023 (11 incidents). Consequently, the proportion of non-injury crashes decreased from 84.7% to 76.1% of the total.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury11minor injury crashes12%
120.0%prior 5
Possible Injury7possible injury crashes7.6%
0.0%prior 7
No Injury70no injury crashes76.1%
-2.8%prior 72

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

While "No improper driving" remained the most cited factor in both periods, its count decreased from 39 in 2022 to 27 in 2023. Several specific driver actions saw notable increases; crashes attributed to "Failed to yield right of way" rose from 2 to 10 incidents, and those involving "Driving too fast for conditions" increased from 3 to 8. Conversely, crashes involving "Inattention" decreased from 13 incidents in 2022 to 9 in 2023.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving27 (29.3%)-30.8%prior 39
Failed to yield right of way10 (10.9%)
Inattention9 (9.8%)-30.8%prior 13
Driving too fast for conditions8 (8.7%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner6 (6.5%)
Fatigued/asleep4 (4.3%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road4 (4.3%)
Other improper action3 (3.3%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway3 (3.3%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit2 (2.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Year-over-year analysis shows a shift in crash conditions. Collisions in daylight increased from 44 to 57, while crashes in dark, unlighted conditions decreased from 30 to 20. Crashes on wet roads rose from 12 to 20 incidents, and collisions during cloudy weather more than doubled from 9 to 21. Conversely, crashes on snowy roads and during clear weather both saw decreases, from 17 to 13 and 55 to 46, respectively.

Weather

Clear46 (50.0%)
-16.4%prior 55
Cloudy21 (22.8%)
133.3%prior 9
Rain7 (7.6%)
Snow/Blowing sand, snow5 (5.4%)
Snow4 (4.3%)
-55.6%prior 9
Snow/Rain2 (2.2%)
Cloudy/Snow2 (2.2%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (1.1%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)/Snow1 (1.1%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (1.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight57 (62.0%)
29.5%prior 44
Dark - roadway not lighted20 (21.7%)
-33.3%prior 30
Dark - lighted roadway10 (10.9%)
100.0%prior 5
Dusk3 (3.3%)
Dawn2 (2.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry52 (56.5%)
2.0%prior 51
Wet20 (21.7%)
66.7%prior 12
Snow13 (14.1%)
-23.5%prior 17
Ice5 (5.4%)
0.0%prior 5
Sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel1 (1.1%)
Slush1 (1.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Demographics of those involved in crashes shifted year-over-year. The number of people in the 65+ age group involved in crashes more than doubled, from 12 in 2022 to 26 in 2023. Among vehicle makes, Toyota and Chevrolet involvement remained consistent, while the number of Fords in crashes increased from 13 to 18. Subarus also saw a notable increase, with their involvement rising from 6 vehicles in 2022 to 11 in 2023.

Top Vehicle Makes (128 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA18 (14.1%)
0.0%prior 18
2
FORD18 (14.1%)
38.5%prior 13
3
SUBARU11 (8.6%)
83.3%prior 6
4
CHEVROLET11 (8.6%)
0.0%prior 11
5
HONDA10 (7.8%)
25.0%prior 8
6
NISSAN8 (6.3%)
7
GMC5 (3.9%)
-44.4%prior 9
8
BMW4 (3.1%)
9
HYUNDAI3 (2.3%)
-50.0%prior 6
10
JEEP3 (2.3%)
-57.1%prior 7

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (156 persons with recorded sex)

Male97 (62.2%)
38.6%prior 70
Female59 (37.8%)
-1.7%prior 60

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 2023 were more concentrated in 35 mph zones compared to the previous year, with the count rising from 13 to 22 incidents. Crash counts in 30 mph and 40 mph zones remained relatively stable, at 30 and 21 respectively. No fatal crashes were recorded in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · 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: 2023-01-01 through 2023-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-01-01 through 2023-12-31 (365 days)
  • Geographic scope: ASHBURNHAM, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 92
  • Total persons involved: 160
  • Total vehicles involved: 128

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). "ASHBURNHAM, MA Crash Intelligence Report: 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/ashburnham/2023-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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Ashburnham, MA Crash Report — 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com