Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

24 CRASHES IN
BEDFORD, MA
SEPTEMBER 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstSeptember 2021

In September 2022, Bedford, MA experienced 24 total crashes, marking a 71.4% increase from the 14 crashes recorded in September 2021. The most significant year-over-year shift was the increase in total fatalities from 0 in the prior period to 1 in the current period.

24

71.4%was 14

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

3

Persons Injured

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes

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 · 2022-09-01 to 2022-09-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash data for Bedford shows an upward trend year-over-year, with total crashes increasing by 71.4% from 14 in September 2021 to 24 in September 2022. Total fatalities also rose from 0 to 1, while total injuries remained stable at 3 in both periods.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — September 2022

4.2% hit-and-run rate this period vs 0.0% prior. Prior period: 0.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 0%

2

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-09-01 to 2022-09-30 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes shifted between the two periods. In September 2022, the peak day for crashes was Wednesday with 9 incidents, whereas in September 2021, Tuesday was the peak day with 5 incidents; similarly, the peak hour shifted from 12p with 3 crashes in the prior year to 3p with 5 crashes in the current year.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-09-01 to 2022-09-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-09-01 to 2022-09-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

The severity distribution saw a notable change with the introduction of 1 fatal crash (4.2% of total crashes) in September 2022, compared to 0 fatal crashes in September 2021. While the count of minor injury crashes remained at 2 and possible injury crashes at 1 in both periods, their respective shares of total crashes decreased due to the overall increase in incidents.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes4.2%
Minor Injury2minor injury crashes8.3%
0.0%prior 2
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes4.2%
0.0%prior 1
No Injury20no injury crashes83.3%
81.8%prior 11

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-09-01 to 2022-09-30 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-09-01 to 2022-09-30 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Contributing factors saw shifts in counts and rankings; 'No improper driving' increased from 2 crashes to 9 crashes, while 'Inattention' decreased from 6 crashes to 4 crashes. 'Failed to yield right of way' also saw an increase in count from 3 to 5 crashes, and 'Distracted' decreased from 2 crashes to 1 crash.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving9 (37.5%)
Failed to yield right of way5 (20.8%)
Inattention4 (16.7%)-33.3%prior 6
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (4.2%)
Wrong side or wrong way1 (4.2%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings1 (4.2%)
Distracted1 (4.2%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (4.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-09-01 to 2022-09-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Regarding crash conditions, the proportion of crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather remained high, at 83.3% in September 2022 compared to 85.7% in September 2021. There was a slight increase in crashes on 'Wet' road surfaces, rising from 1 crash (7.1% share) in the prior period to 3 crashes (12.5% share) in the current period, while lighting conditions remained largely consistent with most crashes occurring in 'Daylight'.

Weather

Clear20 (83.3%)
122.2%prior 9
Rain2 (8.3%)
Cloudy1 (4.2%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (4.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-09-01 to 2022-09-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight21 (87.5%)
75.0%prior 12
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (8.3%)
Dark - lighted roadway1 (4.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-09-01 to 2022-09-30 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry21 (87.5%)
61.5%prior 13
Wet3 (12.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-09-01 to 2022-09-30 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (38 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA8 (21.1%)
60.0%prior 5
2
HONDA6 (15.8%)
3
FORD4 (10.5%)
4
MAZDA3 (7.9%)
5
HYUNDAI3 (7.9%)
6
NISSAN3 (7.9%)
7
KIA2 (5.3%)
8
TESL1 (2.6%)
9
CADI1 (2.6%)
10
CHEVROLET1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-09-01 to 2022-09-30 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (43 persons with recorded sex)

Male25 (58.1%)
78.6%prior 14
Female18 (41.9%)
63.6%prior 11

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-09-01 to 2022-09-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes increased across most speed limit zones year-over-year, with the 25 mph zone seeing the largest increase from 3 crashes to 8 crashes. The 30 mph zone experienced an increase from 3 crashes to 5 crashes and was the only zone to record a fatal crash in the current period, with 1 fatality, compared to 0 in the prior period.

Fatal crashes by zone: 30 mph: 1 of 5 (20%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-09-01 to 2022-09-30 · 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: 2022-09-01 through 2022-09-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-09-01 through 2022-09-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: BEDFORD, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 24
  • Total persons involved: 44
  • Total vehicles involved: 38

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: September 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-09-01 to 2022-09-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/bedford/september-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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Bedford, MA Crash Report — September 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com