Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

6 CRASHES IN
ASHLAND, MA
JANUARY 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstJanuary 2021

In January 2022, Ashland experienced 6 total crashes, marking a 50% decrease compared to the 12 crashes recorded in January 2021. This reduction was accompanied by a significant drop in injuries, with 0 injuries in the current period compared to 4 in the prior period. The most notable shift was the halving of total crashes year-over-year.

6

-50.0%was 12

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

0

-100.0%was 4

Persons Injured

1

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

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

Trend Summary

Overall, the trend indicates a substantial decrease in crash incidents in Ashland, with total crashes falling by 50% from 12 in January 2021 to 6 in January 2022. Additionally, total injuries dropped from 4 to 0, suggesting an improvement in safety outcomes.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — January 2022

16.7% hit-and-run rate this period vs 0.0% prior. Prior period: 0.

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes shifted year-over-year. In January 2022, the peak day for crashes was Monday with 2 incidents, a change from January 2021 when Sunday recorded the highest count with 4 crashes. The peak hour also shifted, with 5p having the most crashes (1 incident) in January 2022, while 2p was the peak hour in January 2021 with 3 crashes.

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

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

Top Contributing Factors

Several contributing factors saw changes year-over-year. The factor 'No improper driving' decreased from 5 crashes in January 2021 to 0 crashes in January 2022. Factors like 'Driving too fast for conditions' and 'Failed to yield right of way' also decreased from 1 crash each in January 2021 to 0 crashes in January 2022. Conversely, 'Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings' and 'Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway' each appeared as a factor in 1 crash in January 2022, not having been present in January 2021.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings1 (16.7%)
Inattention1 (16.7%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (16.7%)
Other improper action1 (16.7%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (16.7%)

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

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring under clear weather conditions decreased from 6 in January 2021 to 5 in January 2022, and cloudy conditions, present in 4 crashes in the prior year, were not a factor in the current period. Similarly, crashes during daylight decreased from 8 to 5, and crashes on dry road surfaces decreased from 8 to 4. Ice as a road surface condition was associated with 2 crashes in January 2021 but 0 crashes in January 2022, while wet road conditions were associated with 1 crash in January 2022, up from 0 in January 2021.

Weather

Clear5 (83.3%)
-16.7%prior 6
Snow1 (16.7%)

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

Lighting

Daylight5 (83.3%)
-37.5%prior 8
Dark - lighted roadway1 (16.7%)

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

Road Surface

Dry4 (66.7%)
-50.0%prior 8
Snow1 (16.7%)
Wet1 (16.7%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (11 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA4 (36.4%)
2
CHEVROLET2 (18.2%)
3
AMER1 (9.1%)
4
SUBARU1 (9.1%)
5
JEEP1 (9.1%)
6
FORD1 (9.1%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (10 persons with recorded sex)

Male8 (80.0%)
-20.0%prior 10
Female2 (20.0%)
-83.3%prior 12

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

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 25 mph speed zone decreased from 4 in January 2021 to 1 in January 2022, and crashes in the 35 mph zone decreased from 6 to 2. Conversely, crashes in the 30 mph zone increased from 1 in January 2021 to 2 in January 2022. Fatal crashes remained at 0 for all speed zones in both periods.

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

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-01-01 through 2022-01-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: ASHLAND, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 6
  • Total persons involved: 11
  • Total vehicles involved: 11

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

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Ashland, MA Crash Report — January 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com