Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

12 CRASHES IN
BERLIN, MA
JANUARY 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstJanuary 2021

In January 2022, BERLIN experienced 12 crashes, a decrease of 33.33% compared to the 18 crashes recorded in January 2021. The most significant year-over-year shift was the substantial reduction in total injuries, which fell by 87.5% from 8 injuries in the prior period to 1 injury in the current period.

12

-33.3%was 18

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

1

-87.5%was 8

Persons Injured

0

Fatal Crash Events

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

Trend Summary

Overall, crash data for BERLIN in January 2022 indicates a significant downward trend in traffic incidents compared to January 2021. Total crashes decreased by 33.33%, from 18 to 12, while total injuries saw an even more pronounced reduction of 87.5%, falling from 8 to 1.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Motorists Injured

Prior: 8-87.5%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · 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 year-over-year; the peak day for crashes moved from Tuesday with 5 incidents in January 2021 to both Friday and Saturday with 3 incidents each in January 2022. Similarly, the peak crash hour shifted from 7 PM in January 2021 (3 crashes) to 6 PM in January 2022 (3 crashes), though the number of incidents at the peak hour remained the same.

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

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

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatalities remained at 0 in both periods, with no fatal crashes reported. The total number of injuries significantly decreased from 8 in January 2021 to 1 in January 2022. This represents an 87.5% reduction in total injuries, and the proportion of crashes resulting in any injury decreased from 33.3% (6 out of 18) in the prior period to 8.3% (1 out of 12) in the current period.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury1minor injury crashes8.3%
-66.7%prior 3
No Injury10no injury crashes83.3%
-16.7%prior 12

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

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

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

Top Contributing Factors

The leading contributing factor in January 2021, 'Driving too fast for conditions,' decreased significantly from 5 crashes to 1 crash in January 2022, an 80% reduction in count. 'No improper driving' also saw a decrease in count from 3 to 1 crash, representing a 66.7% reduction. While 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' remained constant at 2 crashes in both periods, 'Inattention' emerged as a new leading factor in January 2022, contributing to 2 crashes.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention2 (16.7%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (16.7%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (8.3%)-80.0%prior 5
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings1 (8.3%)
No improper driving1 (8.3%)
Other improper action1 (8.3%)
Failed to yield right of way1 (8.3%)

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

Road & Environmental Conditions

The proportion of crashes occurring in adverse weather conditions decreased slightly, from 66.7% (12 out of 18 crashes) in January 2021 to 58.3% (7 out of 12 crashes) in January 2022. Crashes on snowy road surfaces decreased from 9 incidents in the prior period to 6 in the current period, though the overall proportion of crashes on adverse road surfaces remained stable at 66.7% for both periods. There was a decrease in crashes occurring in 'Dark - roadway not lighted' conditions, from 5 to 3 incidents.

Weather

Clear3 (27.3%)
Snow3 (27.3%)
-57.1%prior 7
Snow/Blowing sand, snow2 (18.2%)
Rain1 (9.1%)
Clear/Other1 (9.1%)
Cloudy/Snow1 (9.1%)

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

Lighting

Daylight6 (50.0%)
-14.3%prior 7
Dark - lighted roadway3 (25.0%)
Dark - roadway not lighted3 (25.0%)
-40.0%prior 5

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

Road Surface

Snow6 (50.0%)
-33.3%prior 9
Dry4 (33.3%)
-33.3%prior 6
Ice1 (8.3%)
Wet1 (8.3%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (17 vehicles)

1
HONDA5 (29.4%)
2
TOYOTA3 (17.6%)
-50.0%prior 6
3
CHEVROLET2 (11.8%)
4
NISSAN2 (11.8%)
5
MAZDA1 (5.9%)
6
FORD1 (5.9%)
7
PONT1 (5.9%)
8
SUBARU1 (5.9%)
9
HYUNDAI1 (5.9%)

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

Sex Distribution (19 persons with recorded sex)

Male10 (52.6%)
-41.2%prior 17
Female9 (47.4%)
12.5%prior 8

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

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 65 mph speed limit zone saw a notable decrease, falling from 4 incidents in January 2021 to 1 incident in January 2022. Conversely, crashes in the 40 mph zone slightly increased from 6 to 7 incidents year-over-year. Crashes in the 20 mph and 35 mph zones, which accounted for 2 and 3 incidents respectively in the prior period, were not reported in the current period's data, while 2 crashes occurred in the 30 mph zone in January 2022 where none were reported in January 2021.

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

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-01-01 through 2022-01-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: BERLIN, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 12
  • Total persons involved: 19
  • Total vehicles involved: 17

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