ThatCarHitMe.com
An Injuria.ai Company
YEAR-OVER-YEAR CRASH REPORT · BOSTON, MA · SEPTEMBER 2024
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/boston/september-2024-report
Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis
484 CRASHES IN
BOSTON, MA
SEPTEMBER 2024
Total crashes in Boston increased by 2.98% year-over-year, rising from 470 in September 2023 to 484 in September 2024. The most significant shift was a 200% increase in total fatalities, which climbed from 1 to 3 during the same period. Total injuries also saw a notable increase of 26.19%, from 168 to 212.
484
▲ 3.0%was 470
Total Crash Events
3
▲ 200.0%was 1
Persons Killed
212
▲ 26.2%was 168
Persons Injured
68
▲ 7.9%was 63
Hit-and-Run Crashes
Note: "Persons Killed" (3) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (3) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities. 22 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records
Trend Summary
Overall, crash data for Boston shows an upward trend year-over-year, with total crashes increasing by 2.98% from 470 to 484. This rise is accompanied by a substantial 200% increase in fatalities, from 1 to 3, and a 26.19% increase in total injuries, from 168 to 212.
68
Hit-and-Run Crashes — September 2024
▲ 7.9% vs prior (63)
Hit-and-run crashes increased by 5, rising from 63 in September 2023 to 68 in September 2024. Correspondingly, the hit-and-run crash rate increased from 13.4% to 14% of all crashes. Both the count and rate of hit-and-run incidents show an upward trend year-over-year.
Vulnerable Road User Casualties
1
Pedestrians Killed
0
Cyclists Killed
1
Motorists Killed
1
Other Killed
13
Pedestrians Injured
10
Cyclists Injured
188
Motorists Injured
1
Other Injured
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)
When Crashes Happen
The peak day for crashes remained Sunday in both periods, with Sunday crashes increasing from 81 in September 2023 to 87 in September 2024. The peak crash hour shifted from 3 p.m. (35 crashes) in the prior period to 4 p.m. (37 crashes) in the current period. Crashes occurring at 4 p.m. increased by 68.2%, from 22 to 37, while crashes at 3 p.m. decreased by 8.6%, from 35 to 32.
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)
Crash Severity Breakdown
The fatal crash rate increased from 0.2% of total crashes in September 2023 to 0.6% in September 2024, reflecting a rise from 1 to 3 fatal crashes. Serious injury crashes (severity 'A') more than doubled, increasing from 7 to 15, and their proportion of total crashes rose from 1.5% to 3.1%. Minor injury crashes (severity 'B') remained relatively stable, decreasing slightly from 82 to 81, while possible injury crashes (severity 'C') increased from 38 to 44.
Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · KABCO injury classification scale
Severity Distribution (Crash Events)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Most severe injury per crash record
Top Contributing Factors
The top contributing factor, 'Followed too closely,' saw a 2.5% decrease in count, from 80 to 78, but rose to the top rank. 'No improper driving' decreased by 15.1% in count, from 86 to 73, dropping from first to second rank. 'Failed to yield right of way' remained constant at 40 crashes in both periods, maintaining its third rank. Additionally, 'Driving too fast for conditions' increased significantly by 61.5% in count, from 13 to 21 crashes.
Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash
Road & Environmental Conditions
Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions increased by 72, from 284 to 356, while crashes in 'Rain' decreased by 24, from 66 to 42. Similarly, crashes on 'Dry' road surfaces increased by 37, from 324 to 361, whereas those on 'Wet' surfaces decreased by 54, from 103 to 49. Crashes during 'Daylight' decreased slightly from 257 to 246, while those in 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions increased from 167 to 171.
Weather
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Weather condition at time of crash
Lighting
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Lighting condition field
Road Surface
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Road surface condition field
Vehicles & Demographics
Among the top vehicle makes involved in crashes, Toyota increased from 153 to 181 (an 18.3% increase in count), and Honda increased from 126 to 163 (a 29.4% increase in count). Ford, however, experienced a 14.2% decrease in count, from 106 to 91. In terms of person age distribution, the 26-34 age group saw a notable increase of 46 persons involved in crashes, rising from 220 to 266, while the 35-44 age group decreased by 12 persons, from 195 to 183.
Top Vehicle Makes (956 vehicles)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Vehicle unit records
130 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.
Sex Distribution (980 persons with recorded sex)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events
Speed Limit Zones
Crashes in the 25 mph speed zone decreased slightly from 166 to 162. However, fatal crashes within this zone tripled, increasing from 1 to 3, resulting in a rise in the fatal rate from 0.602% to 1.852%. Crashes at 35 mph increased from 47 to 50, while crashes at 45 mph and 55 mph saw slight decreases.
Fatal crashes by zone: 25 mph: 3 of 162 (1.852%)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · 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: 2024-09-01 through 2024-09-30
- Report generated: June 21, 2026
Data Coverage
- Reporting period: 2024-09-01 through 2024-09-30 (30 days)
- Geographic scope: BOSTON, MA
- Total crash records analyzed: 484
- Total persons involved: 1,146
- Total vehicles involved: 956
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). "BOSTON, MA Crash Intelligence Report: September 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/boston/september-2024-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: 2024-09-01 – 2024-09-30
Generated: June 21, 2026 · All rights reserved