Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

12 CRASHES IN
BEDFORD, MA
APRIL 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstApril 2022

Total crashes in Bedford, MA remained stable year-over-year, with 12 crashes recorded in April 2023, identical to the 12 crashes in April 2022. Despite the stable crash count, a significant shift was observed in injury outcomes, with total injuries decreasing from 11 in April 2022 to 0 in April 2023. Additionally, crashes attributed to speeding increased from 0 to 2.

12

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

0

-100.0%was 11

Persons Injured

0

-100.0%was 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. 12 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend for total crashes in Bedford, MA remained stable year-over-year, with 12 crashes reported in both April 2023 and April 2022. While crash numbers held steady, there was a notable positive trend in safety outcomes, as total injuries dropped from 11 in April 2022 to 0 in April 2023. Fatalities remained at 0 in both periods.

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes shifted between the two periods. In April 2023, the peak crash days were Wednesday and Thursday, each with 4 crashes, whereas in April 2022, Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday each had 3 crashes. The peak crash hour also changed, moving from 12 p.m. with 3 crashes in April 2022 to 4 p.m. with 3 crashes in April 2023.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Top Contributing Factors

Contributing factors saw shifts in both prevalence and ranking year-over-year. Crashes involving 'Failed to yield right of way' increased from 3 in April 2022 to 4 in April 2023, and 'Inattention' also increased from 2 to 4 crashes. Conversely, 'Followed too closely' decreased from 2 crashes to 1 crash. Factors like 'Driving too fast for conditions' and 'Exceeded authorized speed limit' appeared in April 2023 with 1 crash each, having been absent in April 2022, while 'Illness' and 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' were present in April 2022 but not in April 2023.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Failed to yield right of way4 (33.3%)
Inattention4 (33.3%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (8.3%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit1 (8.3%)
Followed too closely1 (8.3%)
No improper driving1 (8.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Regarding crash conditions, the number of crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather decreased from 11 in April 2022 to 8 in April 2023, with 'Cloudy' conditions accounting for 3 crashes in April 2023, a category not explicitly present in April 2022. Crashes under 'Cloudy/Rain' conditions remained consistent at 1 for both periods. Road surface conditions showed no change, with 11 crashes on 'Dry' surfaces and 1 crash on 'Wet' surfaces in both April 2023 and April 2022.

Weather

Clear8 (66.7%)
-27.3%prior 11
Cloudy3 (25.0%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (8.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight11 (91.7%)
Dark - lighted roadway1 (8.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry11 (91.7%)
0.0%prior 11
Wet1 (8.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (24 vehicles)

1
HONDA5 (20.8%)
2
TOYOTA3 (12.5%)
3
AUDI2 (8.3%)
4
MERCEDES-BENZ2 (8.3%)
5
FORD2 (8.3%)
6
SUBARU2 (8.3%)
7
MACK1 (4.2%)
8
NISSAN1 (4.2%)
9
JEP1 (4.2%)
10
BMW1 (4.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · Vehicle unit records

Sex Distribution (30 persons with recorded sex)

Female17 (56.7%)
70.0%prior 10
Male13 (43.3%)
-43.5%prior 23

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crash distribution across speed zones shifted year-over-year. Crashes in 25 mph zones increased from 3 in April 2022 to 4 in April 2023, and crashes in 30 mph zones saw a notable increase from 2 to 5. Conversely, crashes in 35 mph zones decreased from 2 to 1, in 40 mph zones from 3 to 1, and in 55 mph zones from 2 to 1, indicating a shift of crashes towards lower speed limit areas. No fatal crashes were recorded in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · 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: 2023-04-01 through 2023-04-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-04-01 through 2023-04-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: BEDFORD, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 12
  • Total persons involved: 30
  • Total vehicles involved: 24

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). "BEDFORD, MA Crash Intelligence Report: April 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/bedford/april-2023-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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Bedford, MA Crash Report — April 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com