Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

142 CRASHES IN
BERLIN, MA
2024

All metrics benchmarked against2023

In 2024, Berlin recorded 142 total crashes, a 2.7% decrease from the 146 crashes reported in 2023. While total collisions saw a slight decline, the most significant change was a 29.2% reduction in total injuries, which fell from 72 to 51 year-over-year. There were no fatalities reported in either period.

142

-2.7%was 146

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

51

-29.2%was 72

Persons Injured

4

-20.0%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. 17 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, traffic crash trends in Berlin showed a slight improvement from 2023 to 2024. Total crashes decreased by 2.7%, from 146 to 142. This downward trend was more pronounced in crash outcomes, with total injuries declining by 29.2% from 72 to 51, while fatalities remained at zero for both years.

4

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2024

-20.0% vs prior (5)

Hit-and-run incidents showed a slight decrease in both count and rate. In 2024, there were 4 hit-and-run crashes, accounting for 2.8% of all collisions. This is a reduction from 2023, which recorded 5 hit-and-run crashes at a rate of 3.4%.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 0%

50

Motorists Injured

Prior: 72-30.6%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The timing of crashes shifted between the two periods. In 2024, the peak day for crashes was Friday with 30 incidents, and the peak hour was 5 p.m. with 16 incidents. This contrasts with 2023, when Tuesday was the most frequent day for crashes (24) and 3 p.m. was the peak hour (15). The concentration of crashes moved later in the day and later in the week in the current period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Crash severity saw a positive shift from 2023 to 2024, with no fatal crashes reported in either year. The proportion of crashes resulting in 'No Injury' increased from a 57.5% share to a 62.7% share. Correspondingly, the share of crashes involving 'Minor Injury' and 'Possible Injury' decreased from 12.3% to 9.2% and from 15.1% to 12.7%, respectively. The rate of 'Serious Injury' crashes remained nearly unchanged at approximately 3.5%.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury5serious injury crashes3.5%
0.0%prior 5
Minor Injury13minor injury crashes9.2%
-27.8%prior 18
Possible Injury18possible injury crashes12.7%
-18.2%prior 22
No Injury89no injury crashes62.7%
6.0%prior 84

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The leading contributing factors shifted between periods, though 'No improper driving' was cited in 25 crashes in both years. Notably, crashes attributed to 'Followed too closely' decreased by 45.8% in count, from 24 incidents in 2023 to 13 in 2024. Conversely, crashes involving 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' increased by 45.5% in count from 11 to 16. Incidents citing 'Inattention' also saw a significant drop, falling from 17 to 8.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving25 (17.6%)0.0%prior 25
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road16 (11.3%)45.5%prior 11
Failed to yield right of way15 (10.6%)7.1%prior 14
Followed too closely13 (9.2%)-45.8%prior 24
Inattention8 (5.6%)-52.9%prior 17
Driving too fast for conditions7 (4.9%)
Other improper action6 (4.2%)-25.0%prior 8
Exceeded authorized speed limit5 (3.5%)
Distracted5 (3.5%)
Fatigued/asleep4 (2.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

While most crashes in both years occurred in clear weather on dry roads, there was a notable shift in adverse condition crashes. Incidents on snowy roads increased from 5 in 2023 to 17 in 2024, while crashes on wet roads decreased from 33 to 21. Regarding lighting, crashes during daylight hours fell from 108 to 101, but incidents on dark, unlit roadways rose from 20 to 26.

Weather

Clear82 (57.7%)
-16.3%prior 98
Cloudy14 (9.9%)
75.0%prior 8
Clear/Clear6 (4.2%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)5 (3.5%)
Cloudy/Rain5 (3.5%)
-16.7%prior 6
Rain5 (3.5%)
-70.6%prior 17
Snow/Cloudy5 (3.5%)
Snow3 (2.1%)
Cloudy/Snow2 (1.4%)
Rain/Cloudy2 (1.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight101 (71.1%)
-6.5%prior 108
Dark - roadway not lighted26 (18.3%)
30.0%prior 20
Dark - lighted roadway8 (5.6%)
-33.3%prior 12
Dusk5 (3.5%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (0.7%)
Dawn1 (0.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry102 (71.8%)
-2.9%prior 105
Wet21 (14.8%)
-36.4%prior 33
Snow17 (12.0%)
240.0%prior 5
Slush2 (1.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The vehicle makes most frequently involved in crashes shifted, with Honda (39 vehicles) surpassing Toyota (29 vehicles) in 2024, reversing the previous year's ranking where Toyota led with 44 vehicles. Notably, the number of Jeeps involved in crashes more than doubled, increasing from 10 to 24. The age demographics of persons involved in crashes also changed, with a significant decrease in the 26-34 age group, which fell from 81 individuals in 2023 to 62 in 2024.

Top Vehicle Makes (244 vehicles)

1
HONDA39 (16%)
14.7%prior 34
2
TOYOTA29 (11.9%)
-34.1%prior 44
3
JEEP24 (9.8%)
140.0%prior 10
4
FORD24 (9.8%)
-17.2%prior 29
5
CHEVROLET19 (7.8%)
-17.4%prior 23
6
NISSAN15 (6.1%)
25.0%prior 12
7
SUBARU12 (4.9%)
-42.9%prior 21
8
HYUNDAI9 (3.7%)
50.0%prior 6
9
VOLKSWAGEN9 (3.7%)
28.6%prior 7
10
MAZDA8 (3.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (280 persons with recorded sex)

Male159 (56.8%)
-12.6%prior 182
Female120 (42.9%)
-4.8%prior 126
X / Unspecified1 (0.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

The distribution of crashes across speed zones changed year-over-year. There was a significant reduction in crashes occurring in 65 mph zones, which dropped from 46 in 2023 to 26 in 2024. In contrast, crashes in lower speed zones saw an increase, with incidents in 40 mph zones rising from 34 to 40 and those in 35 mph zones increasing from 33 to 37. No fatal crashes were recorded in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · 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: 2024-01-01 through 2024-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-01-01 through 2024-12-31 (366 days)
  • Geographic scope: BERLIN, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 142
  • Total persons involved: 302
  • Total vehicles involved: 244

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). "BERLIN, MA Crash Intelligence Report: 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/berlin/2024-annual-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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Berlin, MA Crash Report — 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com