Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

419 CRASHES IN
BROOKLINE, MA
2024

All metrics benchmarked against2023

In 2024, Brookline recorded 419 traffic crashes, a 2.7% increase from the 408 crashes reported in 2023. While total crashes remained relatively stable and fatalities were unchanged at one death in each period, the number of people injured in these incidents more than doubled. Total injuries rose by 114.5% from 83 in 2023 to 178 in 2024, representing the most significant year-over-year change in the data.

419

2.7%was 408

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

178

114.5%was 83

Persons Injured

26

-23.5%was 34

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (1) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (1) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities. 36 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 crash trends in Brookline show a slight increase year-over-year, with total collisions rising by 2.7% from 408 in 2023 to 419 in 2024. While the number of fatalities remained constant at one per year, the number of reported injuries increased significantly by 114.5%. This suggests that while the frequency of crashes was stable, their outcomes in terms of non-fatal injuries became more severe.

26

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2024

-23.5% vs prior (34)

The number of hit-and-run incidents in Brookline decreased from 2023 to 2024. There were 26 hit-and-run crashes recorded in the current year, a 23.5% reduction from the 34 incidents in the prior year. This trend is also reflected in the hit-and-run rate, which fell from 8.3% of all crashes in 2023 to 6.2% in 2024.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Motorists Killed

Prior: 10.0%

0

Other Killed

Prior: 00.0%

21

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 1631.3%

21

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 1275.0%

134

Motorists Injured

Prior: 54148.1%

2

Other Injured

Prior: 1100.0%

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 temporal patterns of crashes in Brookline shifted between 2023 and 2024. The peak day for crashes moved from Tuesday (70 crashes) in the prior year to Thursday (74 crashes) in the current year. Similarly, the peak hour for collisions shifted from the afternoon commute at 4 p.m. (38 crashes) in 2023 to the morning commute at 8 a.m. (41 crashes) in 2024.

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 outcomes shifted notably between the two periods. The proportion of crashes resulting in an injury (serious, minor, or possible) increased substantially from 16.9% of crashes in 2023 to 33.0% in 2024. This was driven by a doubling in the share of both minor injury crashes (from 8.1% to 16.7%) and possible injury crashes (from 7.8% to 15.3%). The number of fatal crashes remained unchanged at one for both years, with the fatal crash rate holding steady at approximately 0.2% of all incidents.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes0.2%
0.0%prior 1
Serious Injury4serious injury crashes1%
0.0%prior 4
Minor Injury70minor injury crashes16.7%
112.1%prior 33
Possible Injury64possible injury crashes15.3%
100.0%prior 32
No Injury244no injury crashes58.2%
80.7%prior 135

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 cited in crashes remained consistent year-over-year, but their frequency increased. 'Failed to yield right of way' remained a top cause, with incidents increasing by 32.7% from a count of 49 in 2023 to 65 in 2024. Crashes attributed to 'Followed too closely' saw a significant 78.9% rise in count, from 19 to 34 incidents. Notably, crashes involving distraction tripled from 4 to 12, and those involving inattention increased from 4 to 14.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving113 (27%)85.2%prior 61
Failed to yield right of way65 (15.5%)32.7%prior 49
Followed too closely34 (8.1%)78.9%prior 19
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road20 (4.8%)42.9%prior 14
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings16 (3.8%)33.3%prior 12
Inattention14 (3.3%)
Distracted12 (2.9%)
Other improper action10 (2.4%)100.0%prior 5
Made an improper turn9 (2.1%)50.0%prior 6
Exceeded authorized speed limit6 (1.4%)

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

Crash conditions remained broadly similar between 2023 and 2024, with the vast majority of incidents in both years occurring in clear weather on dry roads during daylight hours. In 2024, 72.3% of crashes happened in daylight, compared to 71.3% in the prior year. Crashes on wet roads accounted for 16.7% of the total in 2024, a slight decrease from 19.6% in 2023. Similarly, crashes during rainy weather made up 11.2% of incidents in 2024 versus 13.2% in 2023.

Weather

Clear286 (68.4%)
4.4%prior 274
Rain47 (11.2%)
-13.0%prior 54
Cloudy40 (9.6%)
-2.4%prior 41
Clear/Clear18 (4.3%)
125.0%prior 8
Snow11 (2.6%)
83.3%prior 6
Cloudy/Rain5 (1.2%)
-37.5%prior 8
Rain/Clear2 (0.5%)
Clear/Cloudy2 (0.5%)
Rain/Cloudy2 (0.5%)
-60.0%prior 5
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)2 (0.5%)

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

Lighting

Daylight303 (72.5%)
4.1%prior 291
Dark - lighted roadway94 (22.5%)
-5.1%prior 99
Dusk16 (3.8%)
33.3%prior 12
Dawn4 (1.0%)
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (0.2%)

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

Road Surface

Dry329 (78.7%)
5.4%prior 312
Wet70 (16.7%)
-12.5%prior 80
Snow15 (3.6%)
150.0%prior 6
Ice3 (0.7%)
Slush1 (0.2%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

The most common vehicle makes involved in crashes remained consistent, though their numbers shifted. Toyota was the top make in both years, but its involvement decreased from 157 vehicles in 2023 to 144 in 2024. Honda, the second-most common make, also saw a decrease from 108 to 82 vehicles. Conversely, Ford vehicles were involved in more crashes, increasing from 62 in 2023 to 80 in 2024.

Top Vehicle Makes (764 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA144 (18.8%)
-8.3%prior 157
2
HONDA82 (10.7%)
-24.1%prior 108
3
FORD80 (10.5%)
29.0%prior 62
4
CHEVROLET53 (6.9%)
39.5%prior 38
5
SUBARU38 (5%)
18.8%prior 32
6
NISSAN28 (3.7%)
-20.0%prior 35
7
HYUNDAI28 (3.7%)
16.7%prior 24
8
JEEP26 (3.4%)
52.9%prior 17
9
VOLKSWAGEN23 (3%)
9.5%prior 21
10
BMW21 (2.7%)
-4.5%prior 22

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

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

Sex Distribution (830 persons with recorded sex)

Male488 (58.8%)
107.7%prior 235
Female342 (41.2%)
67.6%prior 204

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 shifted towards lower-speed areas in 2024. Crashes in 25 mph zones, the most common location for incidents, increased by 24.1% from 253 in 2023 to 314 in 2024. Conversely, the number of crashes in zones with speed limits of 30 mph or higher decreased from 124 to 83. The single fatal crash in 2024 occurred in a 25 mph zone, whereas the fatality in 2023 happened in a 35 mph zone.

Fatal crashes by zone: 25 mph: 1 of 314 (0.318%)

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: BROOKLINE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 419
  • Total persons involved: 956
  • Total vehicles involved: 764

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). "BROOKLINE, 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/brookline/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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Brookline, MA Crash Report — 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com