Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

22 CRASHES IN
BELMONT, MA
AUGUST 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstAugust 2021

In August 2022, Belmont experienced 22 total crashes, a 31.25% decrease compared to the 32 crashes recorded in August 2021. Despite this overall reduction, total injuries increased by 175%, rising from 4 in the prior year to 11 in the current period. This indicates a shift towards more injurious outcomes per crash.

22

-31.3%was 32

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

11

175.0%was 4

Persons Injured

1

-80.0%was 5

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. 2 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crashes in Belmont decreased year-over-year, with total crashes falling by 10 incidents, from 32 in August 2021 to 22 in August 2022. This represents a significant 31.25% reduction in the total number of crash events.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — August 2022

-80.0% vs prior (5)

Hit-and-run crashes significantly decreased year-over-year, falling from 5 incidents in August 2021 to 1 incident in August 2022, an 80% reduction. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate dropped from 15.6% of all crashes in the prior period to 4.5% in the current period.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 2-50.0%

10

Motorists Injured

Prior: 2400.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · 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 Wednesday with 9 crashes in August 2021 to Tuesday with 6 crashes in August 2022. Similarly, the peak hour for crashes shifted from 5 PM in August 2021 to 2 PM in August 2022, with both hours recording 8 crashes.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatalities remained at 0 in both August 2021 and August 2022. However, total injuries increased substantially from 4 to 11, a 175% rise. The proportion of crashes resulting in minor injuries (severity code 'B') increased from 9.4% (3 crashes) in the prior period to 31.8% (7 crashes) in the current period, while possible injuries (severity code 'C') also rose from 3.1% (1 crash) to 9.1% (2 crashes).

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury7minor injury crashes31.8%
133.3%prior 3
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes9.1%
100.0%prior 1
No Injury11no injury crashes50%
-47.6%prior 21

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Among contributing factors, 'Failed to yield right of way' saw a notable increase, rising from 1 crash in August 2021 to 5 crashes in August 2022. Conversely, 'No improper driving' decreased from 5 crashes to 3 crashes, and 'Inattention' dropped from 5 crashes to 1 crash year-over-year. 'Followed too closely' remained consistent with 2 crashes in both periods.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Failed to yield right of way5 (22.7%)
No improper driving3 (13.6%)-40.0%prior 5
Followed too closely2 (9.1%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (4.5%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings1 (4.5%)
Inattention1 (4.5%)-80.0%prior 5
Emotional1 (4.5%)
Visibility obstructed1 (4.5%)
Distracted1 (4.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

The proportion of crashes occurring in clear weather conditions decreased, with 12 crashes (54.5% of total) in August 2022 compared to 24 crashes (75% of total) in August 2021. Crashes on wet road surfaces increased from 1 in August 2021 to 3 in August 2022. Daylight conditions continued to be the most common lighting condition for crashes in both periods, though the count decreased from 29 to 18.

Weather

Clear12 (54.5%)
-50.0%prior 24
Clear/Clear4 (18.2%)
Cloudy3 (13.6%)
Rain/Cloudy3 (13.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight18 (81.8%)
-37.9%prior 29
Dark - lighted roadway3 (13.6%)
Dusk1 (4.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry19 (86.4%)
-38.7%prior 31
Wet3 (13.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (37 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA9 (24.3%)
-18.2%prior 11
2
HONDA5 (13.5%)
-16.7%prior 6
3
FORD4 (10.8%)
4
SUBARU3 (8.1%)
5
CHEVROLET3 (8.1%)
6
AUDI3 (8.1%)
7
JEEP2 (5.4%)
-60.0%prior 5
8
TOYOTA SUV GRAY1 (2.7%)
9
VOLKSWAGON HATC1 (2.7%)
10
HYUNDAI1 (2.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (43 persons with recorded sex)

Male24 (55.8%)
-4.0%prior 25
Female19 (44.2%)
-5.0%prior 20

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 25 mph speed limit zone decreased from 30 in August 2021 to 20 in August 2022. In the current period, one crash occurred in a 55 mph zone, a speed limit not associated with crashes in the prior period. No fatal crashes were recorded in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · 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: 2022-08-01 through 2022-08-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-08-01 through 2022-08-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: BELMONT, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 22
  • Total persons involved: 45
  • Total vehicles involved: 37

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). "BELMONT, MA Crash Intelligence Report: August 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/belmont/august-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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Belmont, MA Crash Report — August 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com