Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

50 CRASHES IN
BURLINGTON, MA
MAY 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstMay 2022

In May 2023, Burlington experienced 50 crashes, a significant increase compared to 32 crashes in May 2022. This represents a 56.25% rise in total crashes year-over-year. The most notable shift was the substantial increase in overall crash incidents.

50

56.3%was 32

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

16

60.0%was 10

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 · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend for crashes in Burlington is upward, with a 56.25% increase in total crashes from 32 in May 2022 to 50 in May 2023. This indicates a notable rise in crash incidents year-over-year.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — May 2023

0.0% vs prior (2)

The number of hit-and-run crashes remained constant at 2 incidents in both May 2022 and May 2023. However, due to the overall increase in total crashes, the hit-and-run rate decreased from 6.3% in May 2022 to 4% in May 2023.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

3

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 0%

13

Motorists Injured

Prior: 1030.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · 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 between the two periods. In May 2023, the peak day for crashes was Wednesday with 10 incidents, while in May 2022, Monday had the most crashes with 8. The peak hour also changed, moving from 4 PM with 5 crashes in May 2022 to 3 PM with 9 crashes in May 2023.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatalities remained at 0 in both May 2022 and May 2023. However, total injuries increased by 60%, from 10 injured persons in May 2022 to 16 in May 2023. Minor injuries (Severity B) increased from 4 (12.5% share) to 8 (16% share), and possible injuries (Severity C) rose from 2 (6.3% share) to 6 (12% share) year-over-year.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury8minor injury crashes16%
100.0%prior 4
Possible Injury6possible injury crashes12%
200.0%prior 2
No Injury36no injury crashes72%
38.5%prior 26

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Among contributing factors, 'No improper driving' crashes increased from 3 in May 2022 to 9 in May 2023, a 200% rise in count. Crashes attributed to 'Followed too closely' decreased from 11 to 9, an 18.2% reduction in count. Additionally, 'Failed to yield right of way' crashes increased from 1 to 5, and 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' crashes increased from 1 to 5.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Followed too closely9 (18%)-18.2%prior 11
No improper driving9 (18%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road5 (10%)
Inattention5 (10%)0.0%prior 5
Failed to yield right of way5 (10%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings2 (4%)
Other improper action2 (4%)
Physical impairment2 (4%)
Made an improper turn2 (4%)
Wrong side or wrong way1 (2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

The vast majority of crashes in both periods occurred under clear weather and dry road conditions. Crashes in clear weather increased from 25 in May 2022 to 45 in May 2023, while crashes on dry roads increased from 29 to 49. Crashes occurring in daylight also increased, from 29 in May 2022 to 41 in May 2023.

Weather

Clear45 (90.0%)
80.0%prior 25
Clear/Unknown3 (6.0%)
Cloudy1 (2.0%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (2.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight41 (82.0%)
41.4%prior 29
Dark - lighted roadway6 (12.0%)
Dark - roadway not lighted3 (6.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry49 (98.0%)
69.0%prior 29
Wet1 (2.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased from 70 in May 2022 to 100 in May 2023. The age group 65+ saw a notable increase in persons involved, rising from 5 in May 2022 to 17 in May 2023. Honda became the top vehicle make involved in May 2023 with 22 incidents, surpassing Toyota which had 10 incidents in May 2022 and 14 in May 2023.

Top Vehicle Makes (100 vehicles)

1
HONDA22 (22%)
120.0%prior 10
2
TOYOTA14 (14%)
40.0%prior 10
3
FORD8 (8%)
4
SUBARU7 (7%)
40.0%prior 5
5
NISSAN6 (6%)
-25.0%prior 8
6
JEEP4 (4%)
7
LEXUS4 (4%)
8
CHEVROLET4 (4%)
9
AUDI4 (4%)
10
HYUNDAI3 (3%)
-50.0%prior 6

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (108 persons with recorded sex)

Female58 (53.7%)
70.6%prior 34
Male50 (46.3%)
19.0%prior 42

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

The distribution of crashes across speed zones shifted, with the 35 MPH zone experiencing a substantial increase from 5 crashes in May 2022 to 18 crashes in May 2023. The 55 MPH zone also saw an increase from 15 crashes to 17 crashes year-over-year. There were no fatal crashes reported in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · 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: 2023-05-01 through 2023-05-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-05-01 through 2023-05-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: BURLINGTON, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 50
  • Total persons involved: 119
  • Total vehicles involved: 100

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: May 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/burlington/may-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 — May 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com