Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

60 CRASHES IN
BURLINGTON, MA
DECEMBER 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstDecember 2022

In December 2023, Burlington experienced 60 crashes, a decrease of 6.25% compared to the 64 crashes reported in December 2022. The most notable year-over-year shift was the reduction in fatalities, from 1 in the prior period to 0 in the current period.

60

-6.3%was 64

Total Crash Events

0

-100.0%was 1

Persons Killed

21

23.5%was 17

Persons Injured

1

-50.0%was 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. 1 crash with unreported severity is not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-12-01 to 2023-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, the total number of crashes in Burlington decreased by 6.25% year-over-year, falling from 64 crashes in December 2022 to 60 crashes in December 2023. Conversely, total injuries increased by 23.53%, rising from 17 to 21, while fatalities saw a positive trend, decreasing from 1 to 0.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — December 2023

-50.0% vs prior (2)

Hit-and-run crashes decreased by 50% year-over-year, falling from 2 incidents in December 2022 to 1 in December 2023. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate decreased from 3.1% in the prior period to 1.7% in the current period, indicating a downward trend.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 1-100.0%

21

Motorists Injured

Prior: 1450.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-12-01 to 2023-12-31 · 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 Sunday in December 2022 (13 crashes) to Friday and Wednesday in December 2023 (both with 13 crashes). The peak hour remained 5 PM in both periods, but the number of crashes at this hour decreased from 14 in the prior year to 7 in the current year.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-12-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-12-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes decreased from 1 in December 2022 to 0 in December 2023, eliminating the 1.6% fatal crash rate. Minor injury crashes increased significantly from 7 to 16, a 128.57% increase, while possible injury crashes decreased from 6 to 2, a 66.67% reduction. No injury crashes also decreased from 49 to 41.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury16minor injury crashes26.7%
128.6%prior 7
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes3.3%
-66.7%prior 6
No Injury41no injury crashes68.3%
-16.3%prior 49

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-12-01 to 2023-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-12-01 to 2023-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Among contributing factors, 'Followed too closely' maintained 12 crashes in both periods, though its share increased from 18.8% to 20%. 'Inattention' crashes increased by 33.33%, rising from 9 to 12, with its share growing from 14.1% to 20%. Conversely, 'No improper driving' crashes decreased by 33.33%, falling from 12 to 8, and its share dropped from 18.8% to 13.3%.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Followed too closely12 (20%)0.0%prior 12
Inattention12 (20%)33.3%prior 9
No improper driving8 (13.3%)-33.3%prior 12
Visibility obstructed4 (6.7%)
Distracted3 (5%)
Failed to yield right of way3 (5%)
Other improper action3 (5%)
Glare2 (3.3%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit2 (3.3%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway2 (3.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-12-01 to 2023-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Clear weather remained the dominant condition for crashes in both periods, accounting for 47 crashes in December 2023 compared to 34 in December 2022. Daylight was the most common lighting condition for crashes, with 31 incidents in the current period versus 27 in the prior period. Crashes occurring in adverse road conditions (wet, snow, ice) significantly decreased from 35 in the prior period to 14 in the current period.

Weather

Clear47 (78.3%)
38.2%prior 34
Cloudy4 (6.7%)
-42.9%prior 7
Rain/Severe crosswinds2 (3.3%)
Clear/Unknown2 (3.3%)
Rain2 (3.3%)
-60.0%prior 5
Clear/Other1 (1.7%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (1.7%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (1.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-12-01 to 2023-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight31 (51.7%)
14.8%prior 27
Dark - lighted roadway16 (26.7%)
-33.3%prior 24
Dusk6 (10.0%)
-14.3%prior 7
Dark - roadway not lighted4 (6.7%)
Dawn2 (3.3%)
Other1 (1.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-12-01 to 2023-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry53 (88.3%)
26.2%prior 42
Wet5 (8.3%)
-64.3%prior 14
Water (standing, moving)2 (3.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-12-01 to 2023-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes decreased from 129 in December 2022 to 120 in December 2023. Toyota and Honda remained the top two vehicle makes involved in crashes, with Toyota decreasing from 23 to 21 and Honda from 22 to 20. The 26-34 age group continued to represent the highest number of persons involved in crashes, with a slight decrease from 31 to 30.

Top Vehicle Makes (120 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA21 (17.5%)
-8.7%prior 23
2
HONDA20 (16.7%)
-9.1%prior 22
3
CHEVROLET13 (10.8%)
62.5%prior 8
4
FORD12 (10%)
9.1%prior 11
5
NISSAN8 (6.7%)
0.0%prior 8
6
VOLKSWAGEN5 (4.2%)
0.0%prior 5
7
JEEP5 (4.2%)
8
ACURA5 (4.2%)
0.0%prior 5
9
GMC4 (3.3%)
10
MAZDA4 (3.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-12-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (131 persons with recorded sex)

Male79 (60.3%)
-3.7%prior 82
Female52 (39.7%)
-24.6%prior 69

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-12-01 to 2023-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 55 mph speed zone decreased from 27 in December 2022 to 20 in December 2023. Conversely, crashes in the 35 mph speed zone increased from 13 to 18 year-over-year. The prior period recorded 1 fatal crash in a 40 mph speed zone, while the current period had no fatal crashes in any speed zone.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-12-01 to 2023-12-31 · 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: 2023-12-01 through 2023-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-12-01 through 2023-12-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: BURLINGTON, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 60
  • Total persons involved: 134
  • Total vehicles involved: 120

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). "BURLINGTON, MA Crash Intelligence Report: December 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-12-01 to 2023-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/burlington/december-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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Burlington, MA Crash Report — December 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com