Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

17 CRASHES IN
BEDFORD, MA
AUGUST 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstAugust 2022

Total crashes in BEDFORD, MA decreased by 15% from 20 in August 2022 to 17 in August 2023. The most notable year-over-year shift was a 70% reduction in total injuries, falling from 10 to 3. There were no fatalities reported in either period.

17

-15.0%was 20

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

3

-70.0%was 10

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.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash data for BEDFORD, MA shows a declining trend year-over-year for August. Total crashes decreased by 15%, from 20 in August 2022 to 17 in August 2023. This reduction is also reflected in a significant 70% decrease in total injuries, from 10 to 3.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

3

Motorists Injured

Prior: 10-70.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · 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 from Wednesday with 7 crashes in August 2022 to Thursday with 6 crashes in August 2023. While 9 AM remained the peak hour with 4 crashes in both periods, there were notable shifts in crash distribution, such as a decrease of 5 crashes on both Mondays and Wednesdays year-over-year, and an increase of 5 crashes on Thursdays.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatal crashes in either August 2022 or August 2023. The total number of injured persons decreased substantially, from 10 in the prior period to 3 in the current period. Crashes resulting in minor injuries (Severity B) saw a significant reduction from 4 crashes (20% of total) in August 2022 to 1 crash (5.9% of total) in August 2023, and 'Possible Injury' crashes (Severity C) were reported in the prior period (2 crashes, 10%) but not in the current period.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes5.9%
0.0%prior 1
Minor Injury1minor injury crashes5.9%
-75.0%prior 4
No Injury15no injury crashes88.2%
15.4%prior 13

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The top contributing factor in August 2023 was 'Failed to yield right of way' with 5 crashes, an increase of 1 crash compared to the prior period (4 crashes). 'No improper driving' decreased from 6 crashes (30% share) in August 2022 to 2 crashes (11.8% share) in August 2023, a reduction of 4 crashes. 'Followed too closely' also decreased by 2 crashes, from 4 in the prior period to 2 in the current period.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Failed to yield right of way5 (29.4%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road3 (17.6%)
Inattention3 (17.6%)
Followed too closely2 (11.8%)
No improper driving2 (11.8%)-66.7%prior 6
Over-correcting/over-steering1 (5.9%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (5.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions decreased by 4, from 16 in August 2022 to 12 in August 2023. There was a slight increase in crashes under 'Cloudy/Rain' conditions, from 0 in the prior period to 2 in the current period. Crashes on 'Dry' road surfaces decreased by 5, from 18 to 13, while crashes on 'Wet' surfaces increased by 1, from 2 to 3.

Weather

Clear12 (70.6%)
-25.0%prior 16
Clear/Clear2 (11.8%)
Cloudy/Rain2 (11.8%)
Rain1 (5.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight16 (94.1%)
-5.9%prior 17
Dark - lighted roadway1 (5.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry13 (76.5%)
-27.8%prior 18
Wet3 (17.6%)
Sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel1 (5.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (31 vehicles)

1
FORD7 (22.6%)
2
TOYOTA7 (22.6%)
40.0%prior 5
3
HONDA5 (16.1%)
-37.5%prior 8
4
SUBARU2 (6.5%)
5
CHEVROLET2 (6.5%)
6
MAZDA1 (3.2%)
7
NISSAN1 (3.2%)
8
PORS1 (3.2%)
9
VOLKSWAGEN1 (3.2%)
10
FRHT1 (3.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Vehicle unit records

Sex Distribution (35 persons with recorded sex)

Male22 (62.9%)
-8.3%prior 24
Female13 (37.1%)
-7.1%prior 14

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 55 mph speed zone decreased from 4 in August 2022 to 1 in August 2023, a reduction of 3 crashes. Conversely, crashes in the 25 mph speed zone increased by 2, from 2 in the prior period to 4 in the current period. There were no fatal crashes reported in any speed zone for either August 2022 or August 2023.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · 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: 2023-08-01 through 2023-08-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-08-01 through 2023-08-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: BEDFORD, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 17
  • Total persons involved: 35
  • Total vehicles involved: 31

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: August 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/bedford/august-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 — August 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com