Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

19 CRASHES IN
ATHOL, MA
MAY 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstMay 2021

In May 2022, ATHOL experienced 19 crashes, a 24% decrease from the 25 crashes reported in May 2021. Total injuries saw a significant reduction, falling by 81.8% from 11 injuries in May 2021 to 2 injuries in May 2022. Fatalities remained at zero in both periods.

19

-24.0%was 25

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

2

-81.8%was 11

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. 1 crash with unreported severity is not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates a decrease in crash incidents year-over-year, with total crashes falling by 24% from 25 to 19. This decline is accompanied by a substantial 81.8% reduction in total injuries, decreasing from 11 to 2.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — May 2022

5.3% hit-and-run rate this period vs 0.0% prior. Prior period: 0.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

2

Motorists Injured

Prior: 11-81.8%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes shifted, with May 2021 seeing Monday as the peak with 6 crashes, while May 2022 had multiple peak days (Sunday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday) each with 4 crashes. The peak hour also changed from 12 p.m. with 4 crashes in May 2021 to 3 p.m. with 3 crashes in May 2022.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

The proportion of crashes resulting in injury significantly decreased, with 9 injuries (36% of crashes) in May 2021 compared to 2 injuries (10.5% of crashes) in May 2022. Specifically, serious injuries (code A) were 1 in May 2021 and 0 in May 2022, while minor injuries (code B) decreased from 3 to 1, and possible injuries (code C) decreased from 5 to 1. Conversely, crashes with no reported injury increased from 15 (60% share) to 16 (84.2% share) year-over-year.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury1minor injury crashes5.3%
-66.7%prior 3
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes5.3%
-80.0%prior 5
No Injury16no injury crashes84.2%
6.7%prior 15

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The leading contributing factor shifted from 'Inattention' in May 2021 (11 crashes, 44% share) to 'No improper driving' in May 2022 (5 crashes, 26.3% share). Crashes attributed to 'Inattention' decreased significantly by 9, from 11 to 2, while 'No improper driving' increased by 4 crashes, from 1 to 5. 'Distracted' driving crashes increased by 1, from 1 crash in May 2021 to 2 crashes in May 2022.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving5 (26.3%)
Distracted2 (10.5%)
Inattention2 (10.5%)-81.8%prior 11
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway2 (10.5%)
Visibility obstructed1 (5.3%)
Made an improper turn1 (5.3%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit1 (5.3%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (5.3%)
Over-correcting/over-steering1 (5.3%)
Failed to yield right of way1 (5.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

In May 2022, all 19 crashes occurred in clear or mostly clear weather conditions, while in May 2021, 22 of 25 crashes occurred in clear or mostly clear conditions, with 3 crashes in cloudy or rainy conditions. Crashes occurring during daylight decreased from 21 in May 2021 to 15 in May 2022, while crashes in dark conditions increased from 3 to 4.

Weather

Clear12 (63.2%)
-14.3%prior 14
Clear/Other6 (31.6%)
-14.3%prior 7
Clear/Unknown1 (5.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight15 (78.9%)
-28.6%prior 21
Dark - lighted roadway3 (15.8%)
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (5.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Lighting condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (32 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA7 (21.9%)
40.0%prior 5
2
JEEP5 (15.6%)
3
NISSAN3 (9.4%)
4
SUBARU3 (9.4%)
5
GMC3 (9.4%)
6
FORD3 (9.4%)
-50.0%prior 6
7
DODGE2 (6.3%)
8
HONDA2 (6.3%)
9
VOLKSWAGEN1 (3.1%)
10
HYUNDAI1 (3.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (31 persons with recorded sex)

Male17 (54.8%)
-46.9%prior 32
Female14 (45.2%)
-46.2%prior 26

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 30 mph speed zones decreased from 14 in May 2021 to 8 in May 2022. Conversely, crashes in 40 mph speed zones increased from 4 to 5 year-over-year. May 2021 recorded crashes in 20, 25, 45, and 55 mph zones, which were not present in May 2022, while May 2022 had 1 crash in a 10 mph zone not present in May 2021. Fatalities remained at zero across all speed zones in both periods.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · 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: 2022-05-01 through 2022-05-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-05-01 through 2022-05-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: ATHOL, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 19
  • Total persons involved: 35
  • Total vehicles involved: 32

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). "ATHOL, MA Crash Intelligence Report: May 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/athol/may-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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Athol, MA Crash Report — May 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com