Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

27 CRASHES IN
CANTON, MA
SEPTEMBER 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstSeptember 2023

Total crashes in Canton, MA decreased by 15.6%, from 32 in September 2023 to 27 in September 2024. Total injuries also declined by 13.3%, from 15 to 13, while fatalities remained at 0 in both periods. The most notable shift was a significant decrease in crashes occurring in 55 mph speed zones, which dropped from 12 to 4.

27

-15.6%was 32

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

13

-13.3%was 15

Persons Injured

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 · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates a decrease in crash incidents year-over-year in Canton, MA. Total crashes fell by 15.6%, from 32 in September 2023 to 27 in September 2024. Concurrently, total injuries decreased by 13.3%, from 15 to 13 persons.

3

Hit-and-Run Crashes — September 2024

0.0% vs prior (3)

The number of hit-and-run crashes remained constant at 3 in both September 2023 and September 2024. However, the hit-and-run rate increased from 9.4% in September 2023 to 11.1% in September 2024, due to the overall decrease in total crashes.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

13

Motorists Injured

Prior: 15-13.3%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

Sunday remained the peak day for crashes in both periods, though the count decreased from 8 crashes in September 2023 to 6 crashes in September 2024. The peak hour for crashes shifted from 8p with 4 crashes in September 2023 to 4p with 4 crashes in September 2024. Crashes occurring at 1p increased from 1 to 4, while crashes at 8p decreased from 4 to 1.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes remained at 0 in both September 2023 and September 2024. Crashes resulting in a serious injury (A) decreased from 1 in September 2023 to 0 in September 2024. Minor injury (B) crashes decreased from 7 (21.9% share) to 6 (22.2% share), while possible injury (C) crashes increased from 1 (3.1% share) to 2 (7.4% share).

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury6minor injury crashes22.2%
-14.3%prior 7
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes7.4%
100.0%prior 1
No Injury19no injury crashes70.4%
-13.6%prior 22

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The top contributing factor, 'Followed too closely,' decreased by 2 crashes, from 11 in September 2023 to 9 in September 2024, with its share decreasing from 34.4% to 33.3%. 'No improper driving' crashes increased by 4, from 4 to 8, and its share rose from 12.5% to 29.6%. 'Failed to yield right of way' crashes increased by 3, from 2 to 5, with its share rising from 6.3% to 18.5%.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Followed too closely9 (33.3%)-18.2%prior 11
No improper driving8 (29.6%)
Failed to yield right of way5 (18.5%)
Inattention2 (7.4%)
Distracted1 (3.7%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (3.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions decreased from 22 in September 2023 to 20 in September 2024. Crashes on 'Wet' road surfaces saw a significant decrease from 10 in September 2023 to 2 in September 2024, while 'Dry' surface crashes increased from 22 to 25. Crashes in 'Dark - roadway not lighted' conditions decreased from 7 to 3.

Weather

Clear20 (74.1%)
-9.1%prior 22
Cloudy4 (14.8%)
Cloudy/Rain2 (7.4%)
Clear/Unknown1 (3.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight20 (74.1%)
0.0%prior 20
Dark - roadway not lighted3 (11.1%)
-57.1%prior 7
Dark - lighted roadway2 (7.4%)
Dawn1 (3.7%)
Dusk1 (3.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry25 (92.6%)
13.6%prior 22
Wet2 (7.4%)
-80.0%prior 10

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Toyota remained the most common vehicle make involved in crashes, with 11 in September 2024, down from 12 in September 2023. Honda and Ford each increased their involvement from 6 to 7 crashes, while Chevrolet's involvement decreased from 8 to 7. The 55-64 age group saw a substantial increase in persons involved in crashes, rising from 5 to 13, whereas the 26-34 age group experienced a decrease from 18 to 11 persons.

Top Vehicle Makes (57 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA11 (19.3%)
-8.3%prior 12
2
HONDA7 (12.3%)
16.7%prior 6
3
FORD7 (12.3%)
16.7%prior 6
4
CHEVROLET7 (12.3%)
-12.5%prior 8
5
NISSAN4 (7%)
6
BMW3 (5.3%)
7
GMC3 (5.3%)
8
INFI2 (3.5%)
9
MAZDA2 (3.5%)
10
RAM1 (1.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (67 persons with recorded sex)

Male41 (61.2%)
-10.9%prior 46
Female26 (38.8%)
4.0%prior 25

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 65 mph speed zone decreased from 11 in September 2023 to 9 in September 2024, and those in the 55 mph zone saw a significant drop from 12 to 4. Conversely, crashes in the 45 mph speed zone increased from 2 to 6, and the 25 mph zone increased from 1 to 3. No fatal crashes were recorded in any speed zone in either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30 · 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: 2024-09-01 through 2024-09-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-09-01 through 2024-09-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: CANTON, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 27
  • Total persons involved: 70
  • Total vehicles involved: 57

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: September 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-09-01 to 2024-09-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/canton/september-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 — September 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com