Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

36 CRASHES IN
DENNIS, MA
SEPTEMBER 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstSeptember 2022

Total crashes in Dennis, MA increased by 33.3% year-over-year, rising from 27 in September 2022 to 36 in September 2023. Despite the increase in total crashes, the number of injured persons decreased from 10 to 8. The most notable shift was a significant increase in single vehicle crashes, which rose from 1 to 10.

36

33.3%was 27

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

8

-20.0%was 10

Persons Injured

3

200.0%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. 2 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crashes in Dennis, MA are trending upwards, with a 33.3% increase in total crashes from 27 in September 2022 to 36 in September 2023. Fatalities remained stable at zero in both periods. However, the number of injured persons decreased by 20%, from 10 to 8.

3

Hit-and-Run Crashes — September 2023

200.0% vs prior (1)

Hit-and-run crashes increased significantly year-over-year, rising from 1 crash in September 2022 to 3 crashes in September 2023. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate also trended upwards, increasing from 3.7% to 8.3% of all crashes.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

8

Motorists Injured

Prior: 633.3%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes remained Friday in both periods, with 10 crashes recorded on this day in both September 2022 and September 2023. The peak hour for crashes shifted from 3 PM with 6 crashes in September 2022 to 11 AM with 5 crashes in September 2023. Notably, Monday crashes increased from 0 to 5 year-over-year.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crash rates remained at 0% for both September 2022 and September 2023, with no fatalities reported in either period. While total crashes increased, the number of persons with serious injuries remained constant at 2. The proportion of crashes resulting in minor injury decreased from 11.1% (3 crashes) to 13.9% (5 crashes) year-over-year, and crashes with possible injury, which accounted for 11.1% (3 crashes) in the prior period, were not present in the current period's data.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury2serious injury crashes5.6%
0.0%prior 2
Minor Injury5minor injury crashes13.9%
66.7%prior 3
No Injury27no injury crashes75%
50.0%prior 18

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Inattention remained a leading contributing factor, increasing from 11 crashes in September 2022 to 14 crashes in September 2023, though its share slightly decreased from 40.7% to 38.9%. 'Followed too closely' emerged as a significant factor in the current period, rising from 0 crashes to 5 crashes. Conversely, 'Distracted' as a factor decreased from 3 crashes to 0, and 'Failed to yield right of way' decreased from 3 crashes to 1.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention14 (38.9%)27.3%prior 11
Followed too closely5 (13.9%)
No improper driving4 (11.1%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner2 (5.6%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (2.8%)
Visibility obstructed1 (2.8%)
Made an improper turn1 (2.8%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (2.8%)
Failed to yield right of way1 (2.8%)
History heart/epilepsy/fainting1 (2.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in rainy conditions increased significantly, with 8 crashes (4 Cloudy/Rain, 4 Rain) reported in September 2023 compared to 0 in September 2022. Similarly, crashes on wet road surfaces rose from 0 to 8. Crashes occurring in dark conditions (lighted and unlighted combined) also increased from 2 in September 2022 to 7 in September 2023.

Weather

Clear22 (62.9%)
-4.3%prior 23
Cloudy5 (14.3%)
Cloudy/Rain4 (11.4%)
Rain4 (11.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight27 (77.1%)
8.0%prior 25
Dark - lighted roadway5 (14.3%)
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (5.7%)
Dusk1 (2.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry27 (77.1%)
3.8%prior 26
Wet8 (22.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased from 51 in September 2022 to 65 in September 2023. Toyota vehicles involved in crashes increased from 7 to 8, while Ford vehicles decreased from 9 to 5. There was a notable increase in persons aged 16-20 and 21-25 involved in crashes, with counts rising from 3 to 7 and 1 to 9 respectively.

Top Vehicle Makes (65 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA8 (12.3%)
14.3%prior 7
2
CHEVROLET6 (9.2%)
20.0%prior 5
3
FORD5 (7.7%)
-44.4%prior 9
4
JEEP5 (7.7%)
5
GMC4 (6.2%)
6
HYUNDAI4 (6.2%)
7
NISSAN4 (6.2%)
8
MAZDA3 (4.6%)
9
HONDA3 (4.6%)
10
RAM3 (4.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (77 persons with recorded sex)

Male43 (55.8%)
43.3%prior 30
Female34 (44.2%)
25.9%prior 27

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 25 mph speed zone increased from 4 in September 2022 to 7 in September 2023. The 40 mph speed zone also saw an increase in crashes, rising from 3 to 6. There were no fatal crashes reported in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · 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: 2023-09-01 through 2023-09-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-09-01 through 2023-09-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: DENNIS, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 36
  • Total persons involved: 84
  • Total vehicles involved: 65

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). "DENNIS, MA Crash Intelligence Report: September 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/dennis/september-2023-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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Dennis, MA Crash Report — September 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com