Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

38 CRASHES IN
BELCHERTOWN, MA
NOVEMBER 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstNovember 2022

Total crashes in BELCHERTOWN increased by 52% year-over-year, rising from 25 in November 2022 to 38 in November 2023. This period also saw a significant 133.3% increase in total injuries, climbing from 3 to 7. The most notable shift was the overall increase in crash incidents and associated injuries.

38

52.0%was 25

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

7

133.3%was 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. 1 crash with unreported severity is not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-11-01 to 2023-11-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates a substantial increase in crash incidents in BELCHERTOWN, with total crashes rising from 25 in November 2022 to 38 in November 2023, representing a 52% increase. Concurrently, total injuries surged by 133.3%, from 3 to 7, suggesting a worsening safety trend for the period.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

7

Motorists Injured

Prior: 3133.3%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-11-01 to 2023-11-30 · 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 Friday in November 2022 (5 crashes) to Wednesday in November 2023 (11 crashes), marking a 120% increase for Wednesdays. The peak crash hour also moved from 2 PM (4 crashes) to 5 PM (6 crashes) year-over-year. Crashes on Sundays doubled from 3 to 6, while crashes on Mondays decreased from 5 to 2.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-11-01 to 2023-11-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-11-01 to 2023-11-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatal crashes or fatalities reported in either November 2022 or November 2023. Total injuries, however, increased from 3 to 7, a 133.3% rise. While November 2022 reported 2 serious injuries, November 2023 saw 5 minor injuries and 2 possible injuries, indicating a shift in the distribution of injury severity.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury5minor injury crashes13.2%
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes5.3%
No Injury30no injury crashes78.9%
36.4%prior 22

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-11-01 to 2023-11-30 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-11-01 to 2023-11-30 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The most frequent contributing factor, 'No improper driving,' saw its count double from 9 crashes in November 2022 to 18 crashes in November 2023. 'Inattention' also increased by 3 crashes, from 2 to 5. Factors like 'Visibility obstructed' (2 crashes) and 'Failed to yield right of way' (2 crashes) were present in the prior period but not in the current period's top factors.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving18 (47.4%)100.0%prior 9
Inattention5 (13.2%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road3 (7.9%)
Fatigued/asleep2 (5.3%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (2.6%)
Physical impairment1 (2.6%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (2.6%)
Followed too closely1 (2.6%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings1 (2.6%)
Operating defective equipment1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-11-01 to 2023-11-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions increased by 100% in count, from 15 in November 2022 to 30 in November 2023. Crashes in 'Dark - roadway not lighted' conditions saw a substantial increase, rising from 3 to 13. While 'Rain' crashes decreased from 3 to 2, 'Snow' conditions appeared in November 2023 with 3 crashes, having not been reported in November 2022.

Weather

Clear30 (78.9%)
100.0%prior 15
Snow3 (7.9%)
Rain2 (5.3%)
Cloudy1 (2.6%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (2.6%)
Rain/Snow1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-11-01 to 2023-11-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight17 (44.7%)
13.3%prior 15
Dark - roadway not lighted13 (34.2%)
Dark - lighted roadway4 (10.5%)
-20.0%prior 5
Dusk3 (7.9%)
Dawn1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-11-01 to 2023-11-30 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry31 (81.6%)
55.0%prior 20
Wet5 (13.2%)
Snow2 (5.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-11-01 to 2023-11-30 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (52 vehicles)

1
CHEVROLET10 (19.2%)
42.9%prior 7
2
TOYOTA9 (17.3%)
50.0%prior 6
3
FORD6 (11.5%)
4
HYUNDAI5 (9.6%)
5
HONDA4 (7.7%)
6
NISSAN3 (5.8%)
7
JEEP3 (5.8%)
8
SUBARU2 (3.8%)
9
DODGE2 (3.8%)
10
VOLKSWAGEN1 (1.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-11-01 to 2023-11-30 · Vehicle unit records

Sex Distribution (64 persons with recorded sex)

Male36 (56.3%)
33.3%prior 27
Female28 (43.8%)
86.7%prior 15

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-11-01 to 2023-11-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 40 mph zones doubled in count from 7 in November 2022 to 14 in November 2023, making it the most frequent speed zone for crashes in the current period. Similarly, crashes in 30 mph and 35 mph zones increased by 50% and 100% respectively. Conversely, crashes in 45 mph zones decreased from 4 to 3, and 50 mph zones decreased from 2 to 1.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-11-01 to 2023-11-30 · 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: 2023-11-01 through 2023-11-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-11-01 through 2023-11-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: BELCHERTOWN, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 38
  • Total persons involved: 66
  • Total vehicles involved: 52

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: November 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-11-01 to 2023-11-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/belchertown/november-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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Belchertown, MA Crash Report — November 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com