Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

25 CRASHES IN
BROOKLINE, MA
MARCH 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstMarch 2022

Total crashes in Brookline for March 2023 were 25, a decrease from 36 crashes in March 2022. This represents a 30.56% reduction year-over-year. The most notable shift was a 72.73% decrease in total injuries, falling from 11 in March 2022 to 3 in March 2023.

25

-30.6%was 36

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

3

-72.7%was 11

Persons Injured

1

-80.0%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. 14 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash activity in Brookline saw a significant downward trend year-over-year, with total crashes decreasing by 30.56% from 36 to 25. This reduction was accompanied by a substantial 72.73% decrease in total injuries, falling from 11 to 3.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — March 2023

-80.0% vs prior (5)

Hit-and-run crashes decreased substantially year-over-year, falling from 5 incidents in March 2022 to 1 in March 2023. This resulted in the hit-and-run crash rate dropping from 13.9% to 4% of total crashes.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 3-66.7%

2

Motorists Injured

Prior: 7-71.4%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · 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 Friday in March 2022, which had 7 crashes, to Thursday in March 2023, also with 7 crashes. The peak hour also changed, with March 2022 seeing most crashes at 6 p.m. with 7 incidents, while March 2023's peak was at 3 p.m. with 5 incidents.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatalities remained at zero in both March 2022 and March 2023. Total injuries decreased significantly by 72.73%, falling from 11 in March 2022 to 3 in March 2023. Specifically, serious injuries increased from 0 to 1, while minor injuries decreased from 5 to 1, and possible injuries decreased from 4 to 1.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes4%
Minor Injury1minor injury crashes4%
-80.0%prior 5
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes4%
-75.0%prior 4
No Injury8no injury crashes32%
-42.9%prior 14

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The factor 'No improper driving' decreased from 6 incidents in March 2022 to 3 in March 2023. 'Failed to yield right of way' incidents decreased from 3 to 2. Factors such as 'Followed too closely' (4 incidents in March 2022) and 'Inattention' (3 incidents in March 2022) were not among the top contributing factors in March 2023.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving3 (12%)-50.0%prior 6
Failed to yield right of way2 (8%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (8%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings2 (8%)
Followed too closely1 (4%)
Other improper action1 (4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in clear weather conditions decreased from 24 in March 2022 to 20 in March 2023. Similarly, crashes on dry road surfaces decreased from 28 to 22, and those in daylight conditions saw a slight decrease from 23 to 22. Crashes occurring in dark-lighted roadway conditions significantly decreased from 9 in March 2022 to 2 in March 2023.

Weather

Clear20 (80.0%)
-16.7%prior 24
Cloudy2 (8.0%)
Clear/Clear1 (4.0%)
Rain1 (4.0%)
-80.0%prior 5
Rain/Cloudy1 (4.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight22 (88.0%)
-4.3%prior 23
Dark - lighted roadway2 (8.0%)
-77.8%prior 9
Dusk1 (4.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry22 (88.0%)
-21.4%prior 28
Wet3 (12.0%)
-57.1%prior 7

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes decreased from 66 in March 2022 to 53 in March 2023. Toyota remained the most frequently involved vehicle make, with its count increasing from 11 to 14. Honda vehicles involved decreased from 8 to 5, while Nissan vehicles saw a notable increase from 2 to 7.

Top Vehicle Makes (53 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA14 (26.4%)
27.3%prior 11
2
NISSAN7 (13.2%)
3
HONDA5 (9.4%)
-37.5%prior 8
4
FORD4 (7.5%)
-20.0%prior 5
5
ACURA2 (3.8%)
6
CHEVROLET2 (3.8%)
7
HYUNDAI2 (3.8%)
8
JEEP2 (3.8%)
9
LNDR2 (3.8%)
10
VOLKSWAGEN2 (3.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (23 persons with recorded sex)

Female12 (52.2%)
-36.8%prior 19
Male11 (47.8%)
-66.7%prior 33

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes occurring in 25 mph speed zones decreased from 25 in March 2022 to 11 in March 2023. Crashes in 30 mph zones remained stable at 4 in both periods, while those in 35 mph zones increased slightly from 4 to 5. No fatalities were recorded in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · 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: 2023-03-01 through 2023-03-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-03-01 through 2023-03-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: BROOKLINE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 25
  • Total persons involved: 56
  • Total vehicles involved: 53

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: March 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/brookline/march-2023-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 — March 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com