Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

161 CRASHES IN
CHICOPEE, MA
MAY 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstMay 2021

In May 2022, Chicopee experienced 161 total crashes, a 15% increase from the 140 crashes recorded in May 2021. The most significant year-over-year shift was the reduction in fatalities, from 1 in May 2021 to 0 in May 2022.

161

15.0%was 140

Total Crash Events

0

-100.0%was 1

Persons Killed

47

-16.1%was 56

Persons Injured

25

4.2%was 24

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall crash activity in Chicopee showed an upward trend, with total crashes increasing by 15% from 140 in May 2021 to 161 in May 2022. Despite this rise in total crashes, total fatalities decreased from 1 to 0 during the same period.

25

Hit-and-Run Crashes — May 2022

4.2% vs prior (24)

The number of hit-and-run crashes saw a slight increase of 1, from 24 in May 2021 to 25 in May 2022. However, the overall hit-and-run crash rate decreased by 1.6 percentage points, from 17.1% to 15.5%, indicating a downward trend in the proportion of crashes involving a hit-and-run.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 1-100.0%

2

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 3-33.3%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 0%

44

Motorists Injured

Prior: 53-17.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · 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 Saturday in May 2021 (22 crashes) to Thursday in May 2022 (32 crashes). The peak crash hour also moved, from 2 PM (14 crashes) in May 2021 to 5 PM (19 crashes) in May 2022, indicating a shift in crash timing.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatalities decreased from 1 in May 2021 to 0 in May 2022. Serious injuries (Severity A) decreased by 66.7%, from 6 to 2, while minor injuries (Severity B) decreased by 20%, from 25 to 20. Conversely, possible injuries (Severity C) increased by 87.5%, from 8 to 15.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury2serious injury crashes1.2%
-66.7%prior 6
Minor Injury20minor injury crashes12.4%
-20.0%prior 25
Possible Injury15possible injury crashes9.3%
87.5%prior 8
No Injury115no injury crashes71.4%
30.7%prior 88

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Crashes where 'No improper driving' was cited more than doubled, increasing from 19 in May 2021 to 39 in May 2022, a 105.3% increase in count. Factors such as 'Inattention' decreased by 2 crashes (8.3%) and 'Distracted' decreased by 3 crashes (27.3%). Conversely, 'Followed too closely' increased by 5 crashes (55.6%), and 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' increased by 5 crashes (125%).

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving39 (24.2%)105.3%prior 19
Inattention22 (13.7%)-8.3%prior 24
Followed too closely14 (8.7%)55.6%prior 9
Failed to yield right of way13 (8.1%)-7.1%prior 14
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road9 (5.6%)
Distracted8 (5%)-27.3%prior 11
Other improper action8 (5%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings6 (3.7%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner5 (3.1%)-37.5%prior 8
Driving too fast for conditions4 (2.5%)-33.3%prior 6

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

The proportion of crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions increased by 27.0%, from 89 to 113, while crashes in 'Rain' decreased by 57.1%, from 14 to 6. Crashes during 'Daylight' hours increased by 39.4%, from 99 to 138, and crashes on 'Dry' road surfaces increased by 26.8%, from 112 to 142. Conversely, crashes occurring in 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions decreased by 53.1%, from 32 to 15, and crashes on 'Wet' road surfaces decreased by 34.8%, from 23 to 15.

Weather

Clear113 (71.5%)
27.0%prior 89
Cloudy24 (15.2%)
33.3%prior 18
Clear/Cloudy6 (3.8%)
Rain6 (3.8%)
-57.1%prior 14
Cloudy/Unknown4 (2.5%)
Cloudy/Rain3 (1.9%)
Clear/Other1 (0.6%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (0.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight138 (87.3%)
39.4%prior 99
Dark - lighted roadway15 (9.5%)
-53.1%prior 32
Dusk4 (2.5%)
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (0.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry142 (89.3%)
26.8%prior 112
Wet15 (9.4%)
-34.8%prior 23
Sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel2 (1.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased by 15.3%, from 261 to 301. The 26-34 age group saw the largest increase in persons involved, rising by 20 to 75, a 36.4% increase. Conversely, the 21-25 age group saw a decrease of 12 persons, from 41 to 29. Toyota vehicles involved in crashes increased by 8, from 30 to 38, while Nissan vehicles decreased by 2, from 28 to 26.

Top Vehicle Makes (301 vehicles)

1
HONDA39 (13%)
5.4%prior 37
2
TOYOTA38 (12.6%)
26.7%prior 30
3
NISSAN26 (8.6%)
-7.1%prior 28
4
FORD26 (8.6%)
23.8%prior 21
5
HYUNDAI18 (6%)
38.5%prior 13
6
CHEVROLET15 (5%)
0.0%prior 15
7
SUBARU13 (4.3%)
8
JEEP13 (4.3%)
18.2%prior 11
9
DODGE11 (3.7%)
-8.3%prior 12
10
MAZDA8 (2.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (332 persons with recorded sex)

Male194 (58.4%)
24.4%prior 156
Female138 (41.6%)
6.2%prior 130

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 25 mph speed zones decreased by 7, from 46 to 39, representing a 15.2% reduction. The 30 mph zones saw a 7.0% increase in crashes, from 43 to 46. Notably, crashes in 55 mph speed zones increased significantly by 137.5%, from 8 to 19, and the single fatality reported in May 2021 occurred in a 25 mph zone, with no fatalities in any speed zone in May 2022.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · 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: 2022-05-01 through 2022-05-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-05-01 through 2022-05-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: CHICOPEE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 161
  • Total persons involved: 389
  • Total vehicles involved: 301

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). "CHICOPEE, MA Crash Intelligence Report: May 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/chicopee/may-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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Chicopee, MA Crash Report — May 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com