Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

14 CRASHES IN
BERLIN, MA
DECEMBER 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstDecember 2021

Total crashes in Berlin, MA increased from 9 in December 2021 to 14 in December 2022, marking a 55.6% rise year-over-year. Despite this increase in crash frequency, total fatalities remained at 0 in both periods. The most notable shift was a doubling of crashes occurring under clear weather conditions, increasing from 4 to 8 incidents.

14

55.6%was 9

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

3

-25.0%was 4

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 · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crashes in Berlin, MA showed a significant upward trend, with total crashes increasing by 55.6% from 9 in December 2021 to 14 in December 2022. Conversely, total injuries decreased by 25%, from 4 in the prior period to 3 in the current period. Fatalities remained at 0 in both December 2021 and December 2022.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

3

Motorists Injured

Prior: 4-25.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · 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 Thursday, with 3 crashes in December 2021, to Friday, with 5 crashes in December 2022. The peak hour also changed, moving from 5 PM with 2 crashes in the prior period to 12 PM with 4 crashes in the current period. This indicates a shift in crash occurrence patterns towards midday on Fridays.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

While total crashes increased by 55.6%, total injuries decreased by 25%, from 4 in December 2021 to 3 in December 2022. The prior period recorded 2 serious injuries, representing 22.2% of crashes, which were not present in the current period. In December 2022, there was 1 minor injury (7.1% of crashes) and 1 possible injury (7.1% of crashes), compared to 1 minor and 1 possible injury in December 2021.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury1minor injury crashes7.1%
0.0%prior 1
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes7.1%
0.0%prior 1
No Injury12no injury crashes85.7%
140.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The factor 'No improper driving' saw a significant increase, rising from 1 crash in December 2021 to 4 crashes in December 2022. 'Failed to yield right of way' decreased from 2 crashes to 1 crash, and 'Other improper action' also decreased from 2 crashes to 1 crash. A new prominent factor, 'Followed too closely,' emerged with 2 crashes in the current period, not being a top factor in the prior period.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving4 (28.6%)
Followed too closely2 (14.3%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (7.1%)
Inattention1 (7.1%)
Made an improper turn1 (7.1%)
Other improper action1 (7.1%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (7.1%)
Distracted1 (7.1%)
Visibility obstructed1 (7.1%)
Failed to yield right of way1 (7.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring under clear weather conditions increased from 4 in December 2021 to 8 in December 2022. There was a notable increase in crashes on snow-covered roads, from 0 in the prior period to 2 in the current period, and ice-covered roads, from 0 to 1. Daylight conditions remained the most common for crashes, increasing from 4 to 9 incidents, while crashes in dark, unlighted conditions doubled from 2 to 4.

Weather

Clear8 (61.5%)
Snow/Blowing sand, snow2 (15.4%)
Cloudy1 (7.7%)
Rain1 (7.7%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (7.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight9 (64.3%)
Dark - roadway not lighted4 (28.6%)
Dark - lighted roadway1 (7.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry9 (64.3%)
12.5%prior 8
Snow2 (14.3%)
Wet2 (14.3%)
Ice1 (7.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (27 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA6 (22.2%)
2
HONDA4 (14.8%)
3
FORD4 (14.8%)
4
GMC3 (11.1%)
5
CHEVROLET2 (7.4%)
6
MITS1 (3.7%)
7
SUBARU1 (3.7%)
8
ACURA1 (3.7%)
9
VOLVO1 (3.7%)
10
DODGE1 (3.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (37 persons with recorded sex)

Male21 (56.8%)
61.5%prior 13
Female16 (43.2%)
166.7%prior 6

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 40 mph speed limit zone increased from 4 in December 2021 to 5 in December 2022. The 65 mph zone also saw an increase, from 2 crashes to 3 crashes year-over-year. The number of crashes in the 30 mph zone remained consistent at 2 for both periods. No fatalities were recorded in any speed limit zone for either December 2021 or December 2022.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · 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: 2022-12-01 through 2022-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-12-01 through 2022-12-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: BERLIN, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 14
  • Total persons involved: 40
  • Total vehicles involved: 27

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: December 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/berlin/december-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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Berlin, MA Crash Report — December 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com