Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

438 CRASHES IN
CANTON, MA
2022

All metrics benchmarked against2021

In 2022, Canton recorded 438 total traffic crashes, representing a 16.8% increase from the 375 crashes documented in 2021. Despite this rise in overall incidents, the most notable year-over-year shift was a significant decrease in traffic fatalities, which dropped from four in 2021 to zero in 2022.

438

16.8%was 375

Total Crash Events

0

-100.0%was 4

Persons Killed

134

12.6%was 119

Persons Injured

21

16.7%was 18

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. 8 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend shows an increase in traffic incidents year-over-year. Total crashes rose by 16.8%, from 375 to 438, and the number of injuries increased by 12.6% from 119 to 134. In contrast, the number of fatalities recorded in 2022 was zero, down from four in the prior year.

21

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2022

16.7% vs prior (18)

The number of hit-and-run crashes increased from 18 in 2021 to 21 in 2022. However, the hit-and-run rate as a percentage of total crashes remained unchanged at 4.8% for both periods. This indicates that the growth in hit-and-run incidents was proportional to the overall increase in total crashes.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 4-100.0%

0

Other Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 0%

132

Motorists Injured

Prior: 11811.9%

1

Other Injured

Prior: 0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal pattern of crashes shifted between the two periods. In 2022, the peak day for crashes was Monday with 79 incidents, changing from Friday (69 incidents) in 2021. The peak hour of the day also moved from the 2p hour (28 crashes) in 2021 to the 8a hour (44 crashes) in 2022.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Crash severity improved significantly from 2021 to 2022, with fatal crashes declining from four to zero. The count of serious injury crashes increased slightly from three to five. The proportion of crashes resulting in minor injuries decreased from 14.9% in 2021 to 13.7% in 2022, while the share of no-injury crashes remained stable at approximately 76% in both years.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury5serious injury crashes1.1%
66.7%prior 3
Minor Injury60minor injury crashes13.7%
7.1%prior 56
Possible Injury30possible injury crashes6.8%
30.4%prior 23
No Injury335no injury crashes76.5%
17.1%prior 286

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

While 'No improper driving' was the most cited factor in both years, its count increased from 136 to 175. The count of crashes attributed to 'Followed too closely' decreased from 64 to 51. A notable shift occurred with 'Failed to yield right of way,' where the crash count nearly doubled from 17 in 2021 to 33 in 2022, becoming the third-most common factor.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving175 (40%)28.7%prior 136
Followed too closely51 (11.6%)-20.3%prior 64
Failed to yield right of way33 (7.5%)94.1%prior 17
Inattention32 (7.3%)-11.1%prior 36
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road24 (5.5%)84.6%prior 13
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner17 (3.9%)6.3%prior 16
Driving too fast for conditions14 (3.2%)-44.0%prior 25
Exceeded authorized speed limit11 (2.5%)83.3%prior 6
Other improper action11 (2.5%)120.0%prior 5
Distracted5 (1.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

In both 2021 and 2022, the vast majority of crashes occurred in clear weather, during daylight, and on dry road surfaces. The proportion of crashes under these favorable conditions remained largely consistent year-over-year. In 2022, 71.5% of crashes occurred in clear weather and 81.7% on dry roads, compared to 67.2% and 79.5% respectively in 2021.

Weather

Clear313 (72.1%)
24.2%prior 252
Rain34 (7.8%)
-10.5%prior 38
Cloudy31 (7.1%)
-29.5%prior 44
Clear/Unknown22 (5.1%)
144.4%prior 9
Cloudy/Rain11 (2.5%)
10.0%prior 10
Clear/Cloudy10 (2.3%)
Snow6 (1.4%)
0.0%prior 6
Cloudy/Unknown2 (0.5%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)2 (0.5%)
Fog, smog, smoke1 (0.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight305 (69.8%)
22.5%prior 249
Dark - lighted roadway65 (14.9%)
12.1%prior 58
Dark - roadway not lighted48 (11.0%)
-7.7%prior 52
Dawn8 (1.8%)
14.3%prior 7
Dusk6 (1.4%)
0.0%prior 6
Dark - unknown roadway lighting5 (1.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry358 (81.9%)
20.1%prior 298
Wet67 (15.3%)
4.7%prior 64
Snow7 (1.6%)
0.0%prior 7
Ice3 (0.7%)
Slush2 (0.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The top three vehicle makes involved in crashes were identical in both periods: Toyota, Honda, and Ford, with the count for each make increasing in 2022. The age distribution of individuals involved in crashes also remained stable. The 26-34 age group was the largest cohort in both 2021 and 2022, with 189 and 192 individuals respectively.

Top Vehicle Makes (838 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA161 (19.2%)
19.3%prior 135
2
HONDA112 (13.4%)
15.5%prior 97
3
FORD84 (10%)
15.1%prior 73
4
CHEVROLET47 (5.6%)
-21.7%prior 60
5
NISSAN40 (4.8%)
5.3%prior 38
6
JEEP40 (4.8%)
33.3%prior 30
7
HYUNDAI29 (3.5%)
26.1%prior 23
8
SUBARU29 (3.5%)
20.8%prior 24
9
MAZDA21 (2.5%)
31.3%prior 16
10
ACURA20 (2.4%)
300.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (871 persons with recorded sex)

Male518 (59.5%)
9.1%prior 475
Female352 (40.4%)
15.4%prior 305
X / Unspecified1 (0.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in higher speed zones were prominent in both periods, with the 65 mph zone seeing the most crashes in 2022 (88) and 2021 (90). The total number of crashes in 55 mph and 65 mph zones combined saw a slight decrease from 172 in 2021 to 165 in 2022. While 2021 saw four fatal crashes in zones of 30 mph or higher, 2022 recorded no fatal crashes in any speed zone.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · 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: 2022-01-01 through 2022-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-01-01 through 2022-12-31 (365 days)
  • Geographic scope: CANTON, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 438
  • Total persons involved: 958
  • Total vehicles involved: 838

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). "CANTON, MA Crash Intelligence Report: 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/canton/2022-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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Canton, MA Crash Report — 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com