Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

118 CRASHES IN
BARNSTABLE, MA
MAY 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstMay 2023

In May 2024, Barnstable experienced 118 total crashes, a 7.08% decrease from the 127 crashes reported in May 2023. Total injuries decreased by 38%, from 50 to 31. The most notable year-over-year shift was the complete elimination of crashes involving driving under the influence (DUI), which dropped from 8 in May 2023 to 0 in May 2024.

118

-7.1%was 127

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

31

-38.0%was 50

Persons Injured

9

-30.8%was 13

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 · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates a decrease in crash activity year-over-year in Barnstable for the month of May. Total crashes decreased by 7.08%, from 127 in May 2023 to 118 in May 2024. This reduction in crash frequency was accompanied by a significant 38% decrease in total injuries, falling from 50 to 31 over the same period, with fatalities remaining at 0 in both years.

9

Hit-and-Run Crashes — May 2024

-30.8% vs prior (13)

Hit-and-run crashes decreased from 13 in May 2023 to 9 in May 2024. The hit-and-run rate also saw a decline, dropping from 10.2% of all crashes in May 2023 to 7.6% in May 2024. This indicates a downward trend in both the count and proportion of hit-and-run incidents.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

31

Motorists Injured

Prior: 46-32.6%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns for crashes showed shifts in both peak day and peak hour. In May 2024, the peak day for crashes was Thursday with 24 incidents, whereas in May 2023, Wednesday had the highest count with 21 crashes. The peak hour also shifted from 2 PM with 17 crashes in May 2023 to 4 PM with 11 crashes in May 2024.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

While total fatalities remained at 0 in both periods, the distribution of injury severities changed. Serious injury crashes increased from 3 (2.4% of total crashes) in May 2023 to 4 (3.4%) in May 2024. Conversely, minor injury crashes saw a substantial decrease, dropping from 30 (23.6%) to 11 (9.3%) year-over-year.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury4serious injury crashes3.4%
33.3%prior 3
Minor Injury11minor injury crashes9.3%
-63.3%prior 30
Possible Injury8possible injury crashes6.8%
0.0%prior 8
No Injury94no injury crashes79.7%
19.0%prior 79

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Several contributing factors saw shifts in crash counts year-over-year. Crashes attributed to 'Failed to yield right of way' increased by 6 incidents, from 12 in May 2023 to 18 in May 2024. Crashes involving 'Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings' increased from 2 to 5, while 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' decreased by 3 incidents, from 10 to 7.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving30 (25.4%)-9.1%prior 33
Inattention18 (15.3%)0.0%prior 18
Failed to yield right of way18 (15.3%)50.0%prior 12
Followed too closely8 (6.8%)33.3%prior 6
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner7 (5.9%)-30.0%prior 10
Other improper action6 (5.1%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings5 (4.2%)
Distracted4 (3.4%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road4 (3.4%)
Made an improper turn3 (2.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Weather conditions at the time of crashes showed some changes, with 'Clear' conditions decreasing from 103 crashes in May 2023 to 77 in May 2024, while 'Cloudy' conditions increased from 7 to 18 crashes. Regarding lighting, crashes occurring in 'Dark - roadway not lighted' conditions increased from 1 to 6. On road surfaces, crashes on 'Dry' surfaces decreased by 16 incidents, while crashes on 'Wet' surfaces increased by 8.

Weather

Clear77 (65.3%)
-25.2%prior 103
Cloudy18 (15.3%)
157.1%prior 7
Rain7 (5.9%)
40.0%prior 5
Clear/Unknown6 (5.1%)
Cloudy/Rain5 (4.2%)
Clear/Other2 (1.7%)
Fog, smog, smoke/Rain1 (0.8%)
Clear/Cloudy1 (0.8%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (0.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight102 (86.4%)
-5.6%prior 108
Dark - lighted roadway7 (5.9%)
-41.7%prior 12
Dark - roadway not lighted6 (5.1%)
Dawn2 (1.7%)
Dusk1 (0.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry99 (83.9%)
-13.9%prior 115
Wet19 (16.1%)
72.7%prior 11

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes decreased slightly from 236 in May 2023 to 231 in May 2024. The age distribution of persons involved saw an increase in the '65+' age group, from 42 to 52, and a decrease in the '16-20' age group, from 31 to 20. Toyota, which was the top vehicle make in May 2023 with 35 vehicles, dropped to third place in May 2024 with 26 vehicles, while Ford rose to the top with 31 vehicles involved.

Top Vehicle Makes (231 vehicles)

1
FORD31 (13.4%)
14.8%prior 27
2
HONDA30 (13%)
7.1%prior 28
3
TOYOTA26 (11.3%)
-25.7%prior 35
4
CHEVROLET21 (9.1%)
40.0%prior 15
5
NISSAN12 (5.2%)
20.0%prior 10
6
JEEP12 (5.2%)
-20.0%prior 15
7
SUBARU11 (4.8%)
8
HYUNDAI9 (3.9%)
12.5%prior 8
9
VOLVO5 (2.2%)
0.0%prior 5
10
GMC5 (2.2%)
-58.3%prior 12

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (247 persons with recorded sex)

Male143 (57.9%)
8.3%prior 132
Female104 (42.1%)
-16.8%prior 125

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes occurring in 30 mph zones decreased from 46 in May 2023 to 40 in May 2024. Conversely, crashes in 35 mph zones increased from 24 to 27, and in 55 mph zones from 3 to 7. There were no fatal crashes reported in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · 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: 2024-05-01 through 2024-05-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-05-01 through 2024-05-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: BARNSTABLE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 118
  • Total persons involved: 277
  • Total vehicles involved: 231

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). "BARNSTABLE, MA Crash Intelligence Report: May 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/barnstable/may-2024-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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Barnstable, MA Crash Report — May 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com