Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

23 CRASHES IN
CANTON, MA
AUGUST 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstAugust 2023

In August 2024, Canton experienced 23 total crashes, a decrease from 27 crashes reported in August 2023, representing a 14.81% reduction. The most significant year-over-year change was a 50% decrease in total injuries, falling from 12 to 6.

23

-14.8%was 27

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

6

-50.0%was 12

Persons Injured

4

33.3%was 3

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 · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall crash data for August shows a downward trend year-over-year, with total crashes decreasing by 14.81% from 27 in August 2023 to 23 in August 2024. This reduction is accompanied by a substantial 50% decrease in total injuries, from 12 to 6.

4

Hit-and-Run Crashes — August 2024

33.3% vs prior (3)

The number of hit-and-run crashes increased from 3 in August 2023 to 4 in August 2024. Correspondingly, the hit-and-run rate rose from 11.1% of all crashes in the prior period to 17.4% in the current period, indicating an upward trend.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

6

Motorists Injured

Prior: 11-45.5%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · 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, with 7 crashes in August 2023, to Thursday, also with 7 crashes, in August 2024. While the peak hour remained 3 PM in both periods, the number of crashes at this hour decreased from 5 in August 2023 to 3 in August 2024. Notably, Friday crashes decreased from 6 to 0, while Saturday crashes increased from 0 to 4.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Both August 2023 and August 2024 recorded no fatalities or fatal crashes. Total injuries significantly decreased by 50%, from 12 in the prior period to 6 in the current period. The proportion of crashes resulting in minor injury decreased from 18.5% (5 crashes) in August 2023 to 13% (3 crashes) in August 2024, while crashes with no injury increased from 66.7% (18 crashes) to 87% (20 crashes).

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury3minor injury crashes13%
-40.0%prior 5
No Injury20no injury crashes87%
11.1%prior 18

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The number of crashes attributed to 'Followed too closely' decreased by 3, from 6 crashes (22.2% share) in August 2023 to 3 crashes (13% share) in August 2024. Conversely, crashes due to 'Failed to yield right of way' increased by 3, from 1 crash (3.7% share) to 4 crashes (17.4% share). 'Inattention' also increased by 2 crashes, from 1 crash (3.7% share) to 3 crashes (13% share).

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving5 (21.7%)-16.7%prior 6
Failed to yield right of way4 (17.4%)
Inattention3 (13%)
Followed too closely3 (13%)-50.0%prior 6
Exceeded authorized speed limit2 (8.7%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (4.3%)
Over-correcting/over-steering1 (4.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions increased from 19 in August 2023 to 22 in August 2024, while crashes in 'Rain' decreased from 2 to 1. The number of crashes during 'Daylight' conditions decreased from 24 to 17. Crashes on 'Dry' road surfaces decreased from 24 to 20, while crashes on 'Wet' road surfaces remained consistent at 3.

Weather

Clear22 (95.7%)
15.8%prior 19
Rain1 (4.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight17 (73.9%)
-29.2%prior 24
Dark - lighted roadway4 (17.4%)
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (4.3%)
Dusk1 (4.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry20 (87.0%)
-16.7%prior 24
Wet3 (13.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (48 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA10 (20.8%)
66.7%prior 6
2
FORD4 (8.3%)
-33.3%prior 6
3
NISSAN3 (6.3%)
4
HONDA3 (6.3%)
-50.0%prior 6
5
CHEVROLET3 (6.3%)
-40.0%prior 5
6
LEXUS3 (6.3%)
7
JEEP3 (6.3%)
8
SUBARU3 (6.3%)
9
ACURA2 (4.2%)
10
AUDI2 (4.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (53 persons with recorded sex)

Male35 (66.0%)
12.9%prior 31
Female18 (34.0%)
-28.0%prior 25

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 30 mph speed zone increased from 1 in August 2023 to 4 in August 2024. Conversely, crashes in the 35 mph zone decreased from 4 to 2, and in the 55 mph zone, they decreased from 7 to 5. There were no fatal crashes reported in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · 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: 2024-08-01 through 2024-08-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-08-01 through 2024-08-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: CANTON, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 23
  • Total persons involved: 58
  • Total vehicles involved: 48

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: August 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/canton/august-2024-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 — August 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com