Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

14 CRASHES IN
DOUGLAS, MA
SEPTEMBER 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstSeptember 2022

In September 2023, DOUGLAS experienced 14 total crashes, marking a 27.3% increase compared to the 11 crashes reported in September 2022. A notable year-over-year shift includes the emergence of DUI-related crashes, increasing from 0 to 1, and hit-and-run incidents, which rose from 0 to 2.

14

27.3%was 11

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

6

-14.3%was 7

Persons Injured

2

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.

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 DOUGLAS increased by 27.3% year-over-year, with 14 crashes in September 2023 compared to 11 in September 2022. Conversely, total injuries decreased by 14.3%, from 7 in the prior period to 6 in the current period, while total fatalities remained stable at 0 for both months.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — September 2023

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

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

6

Motorists Injured

Prior: 7-14.3%

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 shifted from Saturday in September 2022 to Thursday in September 2023, both recording 3 crashes. The peak hour for crashes also shifted, with 3 crashes occurring at 5 PM in September 2022 and 3 crashes at 3 PM in September 2023.

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 crashes remained at 0 in both September 2022 and September 2023. Serious injury crashes decreased from 2 in the prior period to 1 in the current period. Minor injury crashes saw an increase, rising from 1 in September 2022 to 4 in September 2023, while possible injury crashes, which accounted for 1 incident in the prior period, were not reported in the current period.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes7.1%
-50.0%prior 2
Minor Injury4minor injury crashes28.6%
300.0%prior 1
No Injury9no injury crashes64.3%
28.6%prior 7

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

The count of crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' increased by 100%, from 3 in September 2022 to 6 in September 2023. Factors such as 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner,' 'Fatigued/asleep,' 'Inattention,' and 'Distracted' maintained a consistent count of 2 or 1 in both periods. Conversely, 'Other improper action' decreased from 2 crashes in the prior period to 0 in the current, and 'Illness' decreased from 1 to 0, while 'Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway' and 'Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings' each appeared as a factor in 1 crash in the current period after not being present in the prior period.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving6 (42.9%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner2 (14.3%)
Fatigued/asleep1 (7.1%)
Inattention1 (7.1%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (7.1%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings1 (7.1%)
Distracted1 (7.1%)

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 'Clear' weather conditions increased from 8 in September 2022 to 9 in September 2023, while crashes under 'Cloudy' conditions decreased from 3 to 0. The number of crashes on 'Wet' road surfaces significantly increased from 1 in September 2022 to 5 in September 2023. Crashes occurring in 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions increased from 1 to 3, and 1 crash occurred at 'Dawn' in September 2023, a condition not noted in the prior period.

Weather

Clear9 (64.3%)
12.5%prior 8
Rain2 (14.3%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (7.1%)
Fog, smog, smoke1 (7.1%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (7.1%)

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

Lighting

Daylight8 (57.1%)
0.0%prior 8
Dark - lighted roadway3 (21.4%)
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (14.3%)
Dawn1 (7.1%)

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

Road Surface

Dry9 (64.3%)
-10.0%prior 10
Wet5 (35.7%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (21 vehicles)

1
CHEVROLET4 (19%)
2
NISSAN4 (19%)
3
HONDA2 (9.5%)
4
DODGE2 (9.5%)
5
TOYOTA2 (9.5%)
6
MNNI1 (4.8%)
7
HYUNDAI1 (4.8%)
8
RAM1 (4.8%)
9
FORD1 (4.8%)
10
KIA1 (4.8%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (24 persons with recorded sex)

Female13 (54.2%)
30.0%prior 10
Male11 (45.8%)
-38.9%prior 18

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 5 in September 2022 to 8 in September 2023. The 15 mph speed zone, which recorded 1 crash in the prior period, had no crashes in the current period, while the 45 mph speed zone recorded 1 crash in September 2023 after having none in the prior period. Crashes in the 30, 35, and 40 mph zones remained stable year-over-year, and no fatalities were 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: DOUGLAS, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 14
  • Total persons involved: 27
  • Total vehicles involved: 21

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). "DOUGLAS, 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/douglas/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

ThatCarHitMe.com · An Injuria.ai Company

Douglas, MA Crash Report — September 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com