ThatCarHitMe.com
An Injuria.ai Company
YEAR-OVER-YEAR CRASH REPORT · BELLINGHAM, MA · MAY 2023
Purpose: Machine-readable JSON endpoint for AI agents, LLMs, researchers, and programmatic consumers. Returns all underlying crash data and AI-generated commentary without HTML.
Authentication: None required. Public endpoint.
GET: https://thatcarhitme.com/api/crash-data/reports/data/massachusetts/bellingham/may-2023-report
Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis
53 CRASHES IN
BELLINGHAM, MA
MAY 2023
In May 2023, Bellingham experienced 53 crashes, a notable increase of 60.6% compared to 33 crashes in May 2022. Despite the rise in total crashes, total injuries decreased from 13 to 11. A significant shift was observed in DUI-related crashes, which rose from 0 in the prior period to 3 in the current period.
53
▲ 60.6%was 33
Total Crash Events
0
Persons Killed
11
▼ -15.4%was 13
Persons Injured
2
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. 1 crash with unreported severity is not shown in the severity breakdown.
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records
Trend Summary
Overall crash incidents in Bellingham are on an upward trend, with total crashes increasing by 60.6% from 33 in May 2022 to 53 in May 2023. Conversely, total injuries saw a slight decrease of 15.4%, falling from 13 to 11 during the same period. This indicates a rise in crash frequency but a reduction in the number of injured persons.
2
Hit-and-Run Crashes — May 2023
▼ 0.0% vs prior (2)
The number of hit-and-run crashes remained constant at 2 incidents in both May 2022 and May 2023. However, due to the overall increase in total crashes, the hit-and-run rate decreased from 6.1% in the prior period to 3.8% in the current period. This indicates that while the absolute number of hit-and-run incidents did not change, their proportion relative to all crashes declined.
Vulnerable Road User Casualties
0
Motorists Killed
11
Motorists Injured
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)
When Crashes Happen
The temporal distribution of crashes shifted significantly year-over-year. The peak crash day moved from Friday with 6 crashes in May 2022 to Wednesday with 10 crashes in May 2023. Similarly, the peak crash hour changed from 6p with 4 crashes in May 2022 to 3p with 7 crashes in May 2023. All days of the week experienced an increase in crash counts, with Wednesday showing the largest rise from 4 to 10 crashes.
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)
Crash Severity Breakdown
While total crashes increased, the severity profile improved year-over-year. Both periods reported zero fatal crashes. Total injuries decreased from 13 in May 2022 to 11 in May 2023, and notably, serious injuries (code A) were present in the prior period with 3 crashes but absent in the current period. Crashes resulting in no injury increased significantly from 23 (69.7%) to 45 (84.9%) of all crashes.
Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · KABCO injury classification scale
Severity Distribution (Crash Events)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Most severe injury per crash record
Top Contributing Factors
The distribution of contributing factors saw several shifts year-over-year. "No improper driving" remained the most frequent factor, increasing from 11 crashes in May 2022 to 14 crashes in May 2023. "Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road" surged from 1 crash to 6 crashes, and "Failed to yield right of way" increased from 1 crash to 5 crashes. "Inattention" remained constant at 5 crashes in both periods, while "Followed too closely" decreased from 3 crashes to 2 crashes.
Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash
Road & Environmental Conditions
Crash conditions largely mirrored the increase in total crashes, with most incidents occurring under favorable conditions. Crashes in clear weather increased from 23 in May 2022 to 44 in May 2023, and crashes on dry road surfaces rose from 30 to 47. Crashes during daylight hours also increased from 26 to 42. There was a notable increase in crashes during "Dark - lighted roadway" conditions, rising from 4 to 8.
Weather
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Weather condition at time of crash
Lighting
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Lighting condition field
Road Surface
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Road surface condition field
Vehicles & Demographics
The representation of vehicle makes shifted, with Ford becoming the most frequent make involved in crashes, increasing from 4 vehicles in May 2022 to 16 in May 2023. Toyota and Honda also saw increases in their involvement. The age distribution of persons involved in crashes showed a significant increase across most younger and middle-aged groups, with the 26-34 age group seeing the largest rise from 11 to 25 persons. Conversely, the 65+ age group experienced a decrease in involvement from 14 to 8 persons.
Top Vehicle Makes (104 vehicles)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Vehicle unit records
10 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.
Sex Distribution (128 persons with recorded sex)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events
Speed Limit Zones
Crash incidents increased across most speed limit zones year-over-year, with no fatal crashes reported in any zone for either period. The 25 mph zone experienced the largest increase, rising from 14 crashes in May 2022 to 22 crashes in May 2023. Crashes in the 40 mph zone also saw a significant increase, from 2 to 9 incidents. Overall, there was a general increase in crashes across various speed zones, including higher limits like 65 mph, which rose from 1 to 3 crashes.
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · 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: 2023-05-01 through 2023-05-31
- Report generated: June 21, 2026
Data Coverage
- Reporting period: 2023-05-01 through 2023-05-31 (31 days)
- Geographic scope: BELLINGHAM, MA
- Total crash records analyzed: 53
- Total persons involved: 138
- Total vehicles involved: 104
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). "BELLINGHAM, MA Crash Intelligence Report: May 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/bellingham/may-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
ThatCarHitMe.com · An Injuria.ai Company
ThatCarHitMe.com
An Injuria.ai Company
Crash Data Intelligence
Data: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly
Period: 2023-05-01 – 2023-05-31
Generated: June 21, 2026 · All rights reserved