Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

22 CRASHES IN
BELCHERTOWN, MA
JANUARY 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstJanuary 2021

In January 2022, Belchertown experienced 22 crashes, a 4.76% increase from the 21 crashes reported in January 2021. A notable shift was observed in injury severity, with the prior period reporting serious and minor injuries, while the current period only reported possible injuries.

22

4.8%was 21

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

3

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 · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall crash activity in Belchertown saw a slight increase year-over-year, rising from 21 crashes in January 2021 to 22 crashes in January 2022. This represents a 4.76% increase in total crashes during the selected month.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

3

Motorists Injured

Prior: 250.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · 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 Thursday in January 2021 (5 crashes) to Monday in January 2022 (7 crashes). While the peak hour count remained 3 crashes for both periods, the peak hour in January 2021 was 7 p.m., whereas in January 2022, it was 4 p.m.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatalities reported in either January 2021 or January 2022. The total number of injuries remained stable at 3 across both periods. However, the nature of injuries shifted, with January 2021 reporting 1 serious injury and 2 minor injuries, while January 2022 reported 3 possible injuries.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Possible Injury3possible injury crashes13.6%
No Injury19no injury crashes86.4%
5.6%prior 18

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The leading contributing factor, 'No improper driving,' decreased from 13 crashes in January 2021 to 10 crashes in January 2022, representing a 23.1% decrease in count. Crashes attributed to 'Driving too fast for conditions' also saw a notable reduction, from 3 crashes in the prior period to 1 crash in the current period, a 66.7% decrease. Conversely, 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' emerged as a significant factor in January 2022 with 3 crashes, having not been listed in the top factors for January 2021.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving10 (45.5%)-23.1%prior 13
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road3 (13.6%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway2 (9.1%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (4.5%)
Inattention1 (4.5%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (4.5%)
Failed to yield right of way1 (4.5%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings1 (4.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions increased from 11 in January 2021 to 13 in January 2022, while crashes during 'Snow' conditions decreased from 6 to 2. Regarding lighting, 'Daylight' crashes rose from 11 to 17, and crashes in 'Dark - roadway not lighted' decreased from 5 to 2. On road surfaces, 'Ice' conditions saw an increase in associated crashes, rising from 1 in the prior period to 4 in the current period.

Weather

Clear13 (61.9%)
18.2%prior 11
Snow2 (9.5%)
-66.7%prior 6
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)2 (9.5%)
Rain1 (4.8%)
Rain/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (4.8%)
Cloudy1 (4.8%)
Cloudy/Snow1 (4.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight17 (77.3%)
54.5%prior 11
Dark - lighted roadway3 (13.6%)
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (9.1%)
-60.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry8 (38.1%)
-11.1%prior 9
Snow6 (28.6%)
-25.0%prior 8
Ice4 (19.0%)
Wet3 (14.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (34 vehicles)

1
HONDA6 (17.6%)
2
FORD3 (8.8%)
3
SUBARU3 (8.8%)
4
VOLKSWAGEN2 (5.9%)
5
BMW2 (5.9%)
6
DODGE2 (5.9%)
-60.0%prior 5
7
GMC2 (5.9%)
8
JEEP2 (5.9%)
9
TOYOTA2 (5.9%)
10
AUDI2 (5.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (40 persons with recorded sex)

Male21 (52.5%)
-4.5%prior 22
Female19 (47.5%)
5.6%prior 18

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

No fatal crashes were reported in any speed zone during either January 2021 or January 2022. Crashes in the 30 mph speed zone increased from 7 in the prior period to 10 in the current period. Conversely, crashes in the 35 mph zone decreased from 6 to 3. The current period saw crashes in the 20 mph zone (2 crashes) which were not present in the prior period, and the 55 mph zone (2 crashes) present in the prior period was not present in the current period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · 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: 2022-01-01 through 2022-01-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-01-01 through 2022-01-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: BELCHERTOWN, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 22
  • Total persons involved: 42
  • Total vehicles involved: 34

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). "BELCHERTOWN, MA Crash Intelligence Report: January 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/belchertown/january-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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Belchertown, MA Crash Report — January 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com