Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

31 CRASHES IN
DEDHAM, MA
MAY 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstMay 2021

In May 2022, DEDHAM experienced 31 total crashes, a decrease of 11.43% compared to the 35 crashes recorded in May 2021. Despite the overall decrease in crashes, fatalities increased from 0 in May 2021 to 1 in May 2022. Total injuries also decreased by 20%, from 15 in the prior period to 12 in the current period.

31

-11.4%was 35

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

12

-20.0%was 15

Persons Injured

0

-100.0%was 3

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (1) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (1) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities. 3 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, total crashes in DEDHAM decreased by 11.43% year-over-year, from 35 crashes in May 2021 to 31 crashes in May 2022. This decline in crash frequency was accompanied by a 20% reduction in total injuries, which fell from 15 to 12. However, a significant shift occurred with fatalities, increasing from 0 in May 2021 to 1 in May 2022.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 00.0%

12

Motorists Injured

Prior: 15-20.0%

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 Wednesday with 7 crashes in May 2021 to Tuesday with 8 crashes in May 2022. Similarly, the peak hour for crashes changed from 7 AM with 5 crashes in the prior period to 4 PM with 5 crashes in the current period. Crashes on Sunday notably increased from 3 to 6, while Monday crashes decreased from 6 to 3.

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

The fatal crash rate increased from 0% in May 2021 to 3.23% in May 2022, with one fatal crash occurring in the current period compared to none in the prior. The number of minor injury crashes decreased from 7 to 6, and possible injury crashes saw a more substantial drop from 6 to 1. Overall, the total number of injured persons decreased from 15 to 12.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes3.2%
Minor Injury6minor injury crashes19.4%
-14.3%prior 7
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes3.2%
-83.3%prior 6
No Injury20no injury crashes64.5%
-9.1%prior 22

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

The leading contributing factor shifted from 'No improper driving' (9 crashes) in May 2021 to 'Followed too closely' (7 crashes) in May 2022. Crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' decreased by 55.6% in count, from 9 to 4. Conversely, 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' increased by 300% in count, from 1 crash to 4 crashes year-over-year.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Followed too closely7 (22.6%)16.7%prior 6
No improper driving4 (12.9%)-55.6%prior 9
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road4 (12.9%)
Failed to yield right of way2 (6.5%)
Distracted2 (6.5%)
Inattention2 (6.5%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings1 (3.2%)
Made an improper turn1 (3.2%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (3.2%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (3.2%)

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

Crashes occurring in clear weather conditions (Clear or Clear/Clear) decreased from 29 in May 2021 to 25 in May 2022. Crashes on wet road surfaces saw a significant reduction, decreasing from 5 in the prior period to 1 in the current period. Daylight crashes decreased from 28 to 24, while crashes in dark conditions with unlighted roadways increased from 3 to 4.

Weather

Clear17 (56.7%)
0.0%prior 17
Clear/Clear8 (26.7%)
-33.3%prior 12
Clear/Cloudy2 (6.7%)
Cloudy2 (6.7%)
Rain/Rain1 (3.3%)

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

Lighting

Daylight24 (77.4%)
-14.3%prior 28
Dark - roadway not lighted4 (12.9%)
Dark - lighted roadway2 (6.5%)
Dusk1 (3.2%)

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

Road Surface

Dry30 (96.8%)
0.0%prior 30
Wet1 (3.2%)
-80.0%prior 5

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 increased slightly from 67 in May 2021 to 68 in May 2022. Toyota remained the most involved make, increasing from 11 to 14 vehicles, while Ford involvement doubled from 6 to 12 vehicles. In terms of age distribution among persons, the 45-54 age group saw the largest increase, from 13 to 17 persons involved, whereas the 16-20 age group decreased from 13 to 10.

Top Vehicle Makes (68 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA14 (20.6%)
27.3%prior 11
2
FORD12 (17.6%)
100.0%prior 6
3
HONDA11 (16.2%)
57.1%prior 7
4
NISSAN5 (7.4%)
-37.5%prior 8
5
MERCEDES-BENZ3 (4.4%)
6
GMC2 (2.9%)
7
LEXUS2 (2.9%)
8
RAM2 (2.9%)
9
HYUNDAI2 (2.9%)
10
VOLKSWAGEN1 (1.5%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (77 persons with recorded sex)

Female46 (59.7%)
31.4%prior 35
Male31 (40.3%)
-29.5%prior 44

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 the 25 mph zone increased from 2 in May 2021 to 6 in May 2022, and in the 30 mph zone, they increased from 6 to 9. Conversely, crashes in the 45 mph zone decreased from 6 to 2, but this zone recorded the single fatal crash in May 2022, which had a 50% fatal rate for crashes in that zone, compared to no fatalities in any speed zone in May 2021. Crashes in the 55 mph zone decreased from 12 to 9.

Fatal crashes by zone: 45 mph: 1 of 2 (50%)

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: DEDHAM, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 31
  • Total persons involved: 81
  • Total vehicles involved: 68

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). "DEDHAM, 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/dedham/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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Dedham, MA Crash Report — May 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com