Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

65 CRASHES IN
CHELSEA, MA
FEBRUARY 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstFebruary 2021

In February 2022, Chelsea experienced 65 crashes, an 18.2% increase compared to the 55 crashes recorded in February 2021. A significant change was observed in total injuries, which more than doubled from 13 to 27 year-over-year. This indicates a notable rise in crash incidents and their severity outcomes in the current period.

65

18.2%was 55

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

27

107.7%was 13

Persons Injured

2

100.0%was 1

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-02-01 to 2022-02-28 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash incidents in Chelsea showed an upward trend, increasing by 18.2% from 55 crashes in February 2021 to 65 crashes in February 2022. This represents an increase of 10 crashes year-over-year. The data indicates a rising number of reported crashes in the current period.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — February 2022

100.0% vs prior (1)

Hit-and-run crashes increased from 1 incident in February 2021 to 2 incidents in February 2022. This change also resulted in the hit-and-run crash rate rising from 1.8% to 3.1% year-over-year. The trend indicates an upward movement in the proportion of crashes classified as hit-and-run.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

2

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 1100.0%

25

Motorists Injured

Prior: 12108.3%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-02-01 to 2022-02-28 · 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 Monday in February 2021, with 9 incidents, to Wednesday in February 2022, which saw 13 crashes. Similarly, the peak crash hour changed from 3 PM with 8 crashes in the prior period to 6 PM with 5 crashes in the current period. Crashes on Wednesday notably increased by 6 incidents year-over-year, while crashes at 3 PM decreased by 5 incidents.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-02-01 to 2022-02-28 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-02-01 to 2022-02-28 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Both February 2021 and February 2022 recorded no fatal crashes or fatalities. However, total injuries increased significantly by 107.7%, from 13 in the prior period to 27 in the current period. Minor injuries saw a notable increase from 6 incidents (10.9% of crashes) to 14 incidents (21.5% of crashes) year-over-year, while serious injuries decreased from 1 to 0.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury14minor injury crashes21.5%
133.3%prior 6
Possible Injury3possible injury crashes4.6%
0.0%prior 3
No Injury42no injury crashes64.6%
5.0%prior 40

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-02-01 to 2022-02-28 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-02-01 to 2022-02-28 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The leading contributing factor, 'No improper driving,' increased by 9 incidents, rising from 14 in February 2021 to 23 in February 2022. Factors such as 'Physical impairment' and 'Inattention' remained stable with 2 incidents each across both periods. Conversely, 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' decreased from 3 incidents in the prior year to 1 incident in the current year.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving23 (35.4%)64.3%prior 14
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway3 (4.6%)
Other improper action2 (3.1%)
Wrong side or wrong way2 (3.1%)
Physical impairment2 (3.1%)
Inattention2 (3.1%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (1.5%)
Distracted1 (1.5%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (1.5%)
Followed too closely1 (1.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-02-01 to 2022-02-28 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in wet road conditions significantly increased from 7 incidents in February 2021 to 24 incidents in February 2022, while crashes on dry roads decreased by 9 incidents. Despite this, clear weather conditions remained the most common factor, seeing a slight increase from 35 to 36 incidents. The number of crashes occurring in 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions also rose from 19 to 25 year-over-year.

Weather

Clear36 (56.3%)
2.9%prior 35
Rain7 (10.9%)
Snow6 (9.4%)
0.0%prior 6
Cloudy4 (6.3%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)2 (3.1%)
Clear/Other1 (1.6%)
Clear/Snow1 (1.6%)
Rain/Other1 (1.6%)
Rain/Snow1 (1.6%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (1.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-02-01 to 2022-02-28 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight34 (53.1%)
9.7%prior 31
Dark - lighted roadway25 (39.1%)
31.6%prior 19
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (3.1%)
Dawn1 (1.6%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (1.6%)
Other1 (1.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-02-01 to 2022-02-28 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Wet24 (36.9%)
242.9%prior 7
Dry20 (30.8%)
-31.0%prior 29
Snow9 (13.8%)
-35.7%prior 14
Ice5 (7.7%)
0.0%prior 5
Slush5 (7.7%)
Sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel2 (3.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-02-01 to 2022-02-28 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased from 115 in February 2021 to 134 in February 2022. While Toyota and Ford maintained consistent involvement with 23 and 17 vehicles respectively, Nissan vehicles saw a notable increase from 5 to 13. Regarding persons involved, the 26-34 age group experienced a significant rise from 19 to 45 individuals, while the 45-54 age group saw a decrease from 25 to 15.

Top Vehicle Makes (134 vehicles)

1
HONDA24 (17.9%)
9.1%prior 22
2
TOYOTA23 (17.2%)
0.0%prior 23
3
FORD17 (12.7%)
0.0%prior 17
4
NISSAN13 (9.7%)
160.0%prior 5
5
CHEVROLET11 (8.2%)
10.0%prior 10
6
JEEP5 (3.7%)
7
HYUNDAI4 (3%)
8
BMW4 (3%)
9
MERCEDES-BENZ4 (3%)
10
VOLVO4 (3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-02-01 to 2022-02-28 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (162 persons with recorded sex)

Male102 (63.0%)
30.8%prior 78
Female60 (37.0%)
62.2%prior 37

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-02-01 to 2022-02-28 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 25 mph speed limit zone increased from 41 incidents in February 2021 to 45 incidents in February 2022, remaining the most frequent speed zone for crashes. The 40 mph zone also saw an increase from 1 to 5 crashes year-over-year. Conversely, crashes in the 35 mph zone decreased from 4 to 2 incidents in the current period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-02-01 to 2022-02-28 · 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: 2022-02-01 through 2022-02-28
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-02-01 through 2022-02-28 (28 days)
  • Geographic scope: CHELSEA, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 65
  • Total persons involved: 182
  • Total vehicles involved: 134

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). "CHELSEA, MA Crash Intelligence Report: February 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-02-01 to 2022-02-28. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/chelsea/february-2022-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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Chelsea, MA Crash Report — February 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com