Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

17 CRASHES IN
BELCHERTOWN, MA
SEPTEMBER 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstSeptember 2022

Total crashes in BELCHERTOWN remained stable year-over-year, with 17 crashes reported in September 2023, identical to the 17 crashes in September 2022. Despite this stability, total injuries increased by 50%, rising from 6 to 9. A notable shift was observed in DUI crashes, which decreased by 75%, from 4 in September 2022 to 1 in September 2023.

17

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

9

50.0%was 6

Persons Injured

0

-100.0%was 1

Hit-and-Run Crashes

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 · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall crash trend in BELCHERTOWN for September remained stable year-over-year, with 17 crashes in both 2023 and 2022. However, total injuries increased by 50%, rising from 6 injuries in September 2022 to 9 injuries in September 2023, indicating a higher injury rate per crash in the current period.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

9

Motorists Injured

Prior: 580.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns for crashes shifted between the two periods. The peak day for crashes moved from Sunday in September 2022 (5 crashes) to Tuesday in September 2023 (5 crashes). Similarly, the peak crash hour shifted from 5 PM in September 2022 (3 crashes) to 1 PM in September 2023 (3 crashes).

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes remained at 0 in both September 2023 and September 2022, with a 0% fatal crash rate for both periods. Total injuries increased by 50%, from 6 in September 2022 to 9 in September 2023. Serious injuries (Severity A) decreased from 2 (11.8% share) to 1 (5.9% share), while minor injuries (Severity B) increased from 3 (17.6% share) to 5 (29.4% share).

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes5.9%
-50.0%prior 2
Minor Injury5minor injury crashes29.4%
66.7%prior 3
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes11.8%
100.0%prior 1
No Injury9no injury crashes52.9%
-18.2%prior 11

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The distribution of contributing factors showed notable changes year-over-year. Crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' increased significantly by 400%, from 1 in September 2022 to 5 in September 2023, making it the top factor. Conversely, crashes involving 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' decreased by 50%, from 2 to 1. 'Inattention' also saw an increase, from 2 crashes to 3 crashes, representing a 50% rise.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving5 (29.4%)
Inattention3 (17.6%)
Followed too closely1 (5.9%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit1 (5.9%)
Made an improper turn1 (5.9%)
Failed to yield right of way1 (5.9%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (5.9%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (5.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions increased from 10 in September 2022 to 12 in September 2023. Crashes in 'Dark - roadway not lighted' conditions rose by 66.7%, from 3 to 5. The number of crashes on 'Dry' road surfaces decreased slightly from 12 to 11, while crashes on 'Wet' surfaces remained stable at 5 for both periods.

Weather

Clear12 (70.6%)
20.0%prior 10
Rain3 (17.6%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (5.9%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (5.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight11 (64.7%)
0.0%prior 11
Dark - roadway not lighted5 (29.4%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (5.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry11 (64.7%)
-8.3%prior 12
Wet5 (29.4%)
0.0%prior 5
Sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel1 (5.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (26 vehicles)

1
HONDA3 (11.5%)
2
CHEVROLET3 (11.5%)
3
TOYOTA3 (11.5%)
4
FORD3 (11.5%)
5
HYUNDAI2 (7.7%)
6
VOLVO2 (7.7%)
7
NISSAN1 (3.8%)
8
STRN1 (3.8%)
9
THOM1 (3.8%)
10
TRUM1 (3.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (118 persons with recorded sex)

Male61 (51.7%)
306.7%prior 15
Female57 (48.3%)
338.5%prior 13

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

There was a significant shift in crash distribution across speed zones. Crashes in 30 mph zones doubled, increasing by 100% from 5 in September 2022 to 10 in September 2023. Conversely, crashes in 20 mph zones decreased by 100%, from 3 to 0, and crashes in 45 mph zones also dropped by 100%, from 2 to 0. No fatal crashes were reported in any speed zone for either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · 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: 2023-09-01 through 2023-09-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-09-01 through 2023-09-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: BELCHERTOWN, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 17
  • Total persons involved: 119
  • Total vehicles involved: 26

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: September 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/belchertown/september-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 — September 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com