Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

23 CRASHES IN
BEDFORD, MA
JULY 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstJuly 2023

Total crashes in Bedford, MA increased by 43.75% year-over-year, rising from 16 in July 2023 to 23 in July 2024. This period also saw a significant increase in fatalities, with 1 fatality recorded in July 2024 compared to 0 in July 2023. Overall injuries also rose by 75%, from 4 to 7.

23

43.8%was 16

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

7

75.0%was 4

Persons Injured

1

Fatal Crash Events

Note: "Persons Killed" (1) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (1) 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 · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates a notable increase in crash activity year-over-year. Total crashes rose from 16 to 23, representing a 43.75% increase. Concurrently, total injuries climbed from 4 to 7, marking a 75% rise.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 00.0%

7

Motorists Injured

Prior: 475.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes remained Wednesday in both periods, with 7 crashes reported. However, the peak hour shifted from 12 p.m. with 3 crashes in July 2023 to 5 p.m. with 4 crashes in July 2024.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

The most significant change in severity was the presence of 1 fatal crash in July 2024, resulting in a 4.35% fatal crash rate, compared to 0 fatal crashes in July 2023. Serious injury crashes, not present in July 2023, accounted for 1 crash (4.3% share) in July 2024. The proportion of minor injury crashes slightly decreased from 18.8% in July 2023 to 17.4% in July 2024.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes4.3%
Serious Injury1serious injury crashes4.3%
Minor Injury4minor injury crashes17.4%
33.3%prior 3
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes4.3%
0.0%prior 1
No Injury16no injury crashes69.6%
33.3%prior 12

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The contributing factor 'Followed too closely' increased by 2 crashes, from 4 in July 2023 to 6 in July 2024. Conversely, 'Failed to yield right of way' crashes decreased by 2, from 5 in July 2023 to 3 in July 2024. 'Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings' emerged as a factor in 4 crashes (17.4% share) in July 2024, whereas it was not a top factor in July 2023.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Followed too closely6 (26.1%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings4 (17.4%)
No improper driving3 (13%)
Failed to yield right of way3 (13%)-40.0%prior 5
Distracted2 (8.7%)
Other improper action1 (4.3%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (4.3%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (4.3%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (4.3%)
Inattention1 (4.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in clear weather conditions increased from 14 in July 2023 to 18 in July 2024, while those in cloudy conditions rose from 2 to 3. Crashes on dry road surfaces increased from 15 to 21 year-over-year. Crashes in daylight conditions saw an increase from 14 to 22, while crashes in dark conditions decreased from 2 to 1.

Weather

Clear18 (78.3%)
28.6%prior 14
Cloudy3 (13.0%)
Clear/Clear1 (4.3%)
Rain1 (4.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight22 (95.7%)
57.1%prior 14
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (4.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry21 (91.3%)
40.0%prior 15
Wet2 (8.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (43 vehicles)

1
HONDA8 (18.6%)
2
MAZDA5 (11.6%)
3
FORD4 (9.3%)
-33.3%prior 6
4
TOYOTA4 (9.3%)
5
VOLKSWAGEN3 (7%)
6
ACURA2 (4.7%)
7
CHEVROLET2 (4.7%)
8
KIA1 (2.3%)
9
LINC1 (2.3%)
10
LNDR1 (2.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (57 persons with recorded sex)

Female30 (52.6%)
114.3%prior 14
Male27 (47.4%)
12.5%prior 24

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 25 mph zones saw a substantial increase, rising from 3 in July 2023 to 11 in July 2024. Conversely, crashes in 30 mph zones decreased from 5 to 1. A fatal crash was recorded in a 35 mph zone in July 2024, where 5 crashes occurred, compared to 0 fatal crashes in any speed zone in July 2023.

Fatal crashes by zone: 35 mph: 1 of 5 (20%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · 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: 2024-07-01 through 2024-07-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-07-01 through 2024-07-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: BEDFORD, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 23
  • Total persons involved: 60
  • Total vehicles involved: 43

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: July 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/bedford/july-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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Bedford, MA Crash Report — July 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com