Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

34 CRASHES IN
BROOKLINE, MA
MARCH 2026

All metrics benchmarked againstMarch 2025

In March 2026, BROOKLINE experienced 34 total crashes, an increase of 9.68% compared to the 31 crashes recorded in March 2025. The most notable shift was a significant increase in total injuries, which rose by 200% year-over-year. Fatalities remained at zero in both periods.

34

9.7%was 31

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

21

200.0%was 7

Persons Injured

2

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 · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash activity in BROOKLINE showed an upward trend year-over-year, with total crashes increasing from 31 in March 2025 to 34 in March 2026, representing a 9.68% rise. Total injuries saw a substantial increase, climbing from 7 to 21, a 200% change.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — March 2026

0.0% vs prior (2)

The number of hit-and-run crashes remained stable at 2 in both March 2025 and March 2026. The hit-and-run crash rate decreased slightly from 6.5% in March 2025 to 5.9% in March 2026.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

2

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 0%

3

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 1200.0%

16

Motorists Injured

Prior: 5220.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes shifted notably year-over-year. The peak day for crashes changed from Friday in March 2025 (8 crashes) to Tuesday in March 2026 (13 crashes). The peak hour also shifted, with 8 AM being the peak in March 2025 (7 crashes) and 6 PM becoming the peak in March 2026 (4 crashes).

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatal crashes in either period. The proportion of crashes resulting in serious injuries increased, with 1 serious injury crash (2.9% of total crashes) in March 2026 compared to 0 in March 2025. Minor injury crashes also saw a significant increase, rising from 2 (6.5% share) in March 2025 to 11 (32.4% share) in March 2026.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes2.9%
Minor Injury11minor injury crashes32.4%
450.0%prior 2
Possible Injury5possible injury crashes14.7%
25.0%prior 4
No Injury17no injury crashes50%
-29.2%prior 24

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The count of crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' increased from 6 in March 2025 to 11 in March 2026, a 83.3% change in count. Crashes involving drivers who 'Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings' rose from 1 to 4, a 300% change in count. Conversely, crashes where drivers 'Failed to yield right of way' decreased from 5 to 3, a 40% change in count.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving11 (32.4%)83.3%prior 6
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings4 (11.8%)
Followed too closely4 (11.8%)
Failed to yield right of way3 (8.8%)-40.0%prior 5
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road3 (8.8%)
Other improper action2 (5.9%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (2.9%)
Over-correcting/over-steering1 (2.9%)
Illness1 (2.9%)
Wrong side or wrong way1 (2.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions increased from 23 in March 2025 to 25 in March 2026. Crashes during 'Daylight' decreased from 28 to 25, while those in 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions increased from 3 to 6. Crashes on 'Wet' road surfaces increased from 2 to 5, and new conditions like 'Ice' (2 crashes) and 'Snow' (1 crash) appeared in March 2026.

Weather

Clear25 (73.5%)
8.7%prior 23
Rain4 (11.8%)
Cloudy/Clear2 (5.9%)
Cloudy1 (2.9%)
-80.0%prior 5
Snow1 (2.9%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (2.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight25 (73.5%)
-10.7%prior 28
Dark - lighted roadway6 (17.6%)
Dusk3 (8.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry26 (76.5%)
-10.3%prior 29
Wet5 (14.7%)
Ice2 (5.9%)
Snow1 (2.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased from 56 in March 2025 to 64 in March 2026. The top vehicle make involved shifted slightly, with HONDA becoming the most frequent in March 2026 (15 vehicles) compared to TOYOTA in March 2025 (11 vehicles). The 16-20 age group saw a notable increase in persons involved, rising from 1 to 6 year-over-year.

Top Vehicle Makes (64 vehicles)

1
HONDA15 (23.4%)
66.7%prior 9
2
TOYOTA13 (20.3%)
18.2%prior 11
3
FORD6 (9.4%)
4
CHEVROLET5 (7.8%)
5
SUBARU3 (4.7%)
6
NISSAN3 (4.7%)
7
ACURA2 (3.1%)
8
AUDI2 (3.1%)
9
HYUNDAI2 (3.1%)
10
JEEP2 (3.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (77 persons with recorded sex)

Female44 (57.1%)
63.0%prior 27
Male33 (42.9%)
-5.7%prior 35

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 25 mph speed zone decreased from 29 in March 2025 to 25 in March 2026. Conversely, crashes in the 40 mph speed zone increased from 1 to 4 year-over-year. Additionally, crashes were reported in 20 mph, 30 mph, and 45 mph zones in March 2026, which were not present in the prior period's data.

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

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2026-03-01 through 2026-03-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: BROOKLINE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 34
  • Total persons involved: 83
  • Total vehicles involved: 64

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