Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

7 CRASHES IN
CHESHIRE, MA
AUGUST 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstAugust 2023

Current period (August 2024) saw 7 total crashes, a 75% increase compared to the 4 crashes reported in the prior period (August 2023). A notable shift is the presence of 1 bicycle crash in the current period, compared to none in the prior period.

7

75.0%was 4

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

6

20.0%was 5

Persons Injured

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. 1 crash with unreported severity is not shown in the severity breakdown.

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 incidents in August 2024 increased by 75% to 7 crashes, up from 4 crashes in August 2023. Total injuries also saw an increase, rising by 20% from 5 to 6, while total fatalities remained at 0 in both periods.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — August 2024

14.3% hit-and-run rate this period vs 0.0% prior. Prior period: 0.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 0%

5

Motorists Injured

Prior: 50.0%

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 temporal distribution of crashes shifted year-over-year, with the peak day moving from Saturday (2 crashes) in August 2023 to Friday (4 crashes) in August 2024. The peak hour for crashes also changed, with August 2024 experiencing a peak at 8 AM (2 crashes), differing from August 2023 which saw a peak at 11 PM (1 crash).

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

Fatal crashes remained at 0 in both August 2023 and August 2024. Minor injuries increased from 1 crash (25% of crashes) in August 2023 to 3 crashes (42.9% of crashes) in August 2024. Additionally, "Possible Injury" crashes, which accounted for 1 crash (25% of crashes) in the prior period, were not reported in the current period.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury3minor injury crashes42.9%
200.0%prior 1
No Injury3no injury crashes42.9%
50.0%prior 2

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 leading contributing factors for crashes shifted significantly between the two periods. In August 2024, "Inattention" was a factor in 2 crashes, and "Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings," "No improper driving," and "Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner" each contributed to 1 crash. In contrast, August 2023's factors included "Driving too fast for conditions," "Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road," and "Followed too closely," each contributing to 1 crash.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention2 (28.6%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings1 (14.3%)
No improper driving1 (14.3%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (14.3%)

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 on dry road surfaces increased from 2 in August 2023 to 5 in August 2024, while crashes on wet surfaces remained constant at 2 in both periods. Regarding weather conditions, "Clear" weather crashes remained at 2 in both periods, but "Cloudy" (3 crashes) and "Cloudy/Rain" (2 crashes) appeared in August 2024, replacing "Rain" (1 crash) and "Rain/Fog, smog, smoke" (1 crash) from August 2023.

Weather

Cloudy3 (42.9%)
Clear2 (28.6%)
Cloudy/Rain2 (28.6%)

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

Road Surface

Dry5 (71.4%)
Wet2 (28.6%)

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 (10 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA2 (20%)
2
HONDA2 (20%)
3
VOLKSWAGEN1 (10%)
4
NISSAN1 (10%)
5
KIA1 (10%)
6
CHEVROLET1 (10%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (11 persons with recorded sex)

Male10 (90.9%)
233.3%prior 3
Female1 (9.1%)
-85.7%prior 7

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 25 mph zones increased from 1 in August 2023 to 2 in August 2024. The current period saw 3 crashes in 35 mph zones and 2 crashes in 45 mph zones, categories not present in the prior period's data. Conversely, the 3 crashes that occurred in 50 mph zones in August 2023 were not observed in August 2024.

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: CHESHIRE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 7
  • Total persons involved: 12
  • Total vehicles involved: 10

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). "CHESHIRE, 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/cheshire/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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Cheshire, MA Crash Report — August 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com