Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

16 CRASHES IN
DOVER, MA
OCTOBER 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstOctober 2023

In October 2024, Dover experienced 16 crashes, a 45.5% increase compared to the 11 crashes recorded in October 2023. A notable shift is the presence of 2 injuries in the current period, whereas no injuries were reported in the prior year. This marks an increase in overall crash frequency and severity.

16

45.5%was 11

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

2

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.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash data for Dover indicates an upward trend year-over-year, with total crashes increasing from 11 in October 2023 to 16 in October 2024. This represents a 45.5% increase in crash incidents. Additionally, injuries rose from 0 in the prior period to 2 in the current period, indicating a change in crash outcomes.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — October 2024

0.0% vs prior (1)

The number of hit-and-run crashes remained consistent at 1 for both October 2023 and October 2024. However, the hit-and-run rate decreased year-over-year, falling from 9.1% of all crashes in the prior period to 6.3% in the current period. This indicates a downward trend in the proportion of crashes involving a hit-and-run.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

2

Motorists Injured

Prior: 0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · 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 significantly year-over-year. The peak day for crashes moved from Saturday in October 2023, which had 4 crashes, to Tuesday in October 2024, also with 4 crashes. Similarly, the peak hour for crashes shifted from 7 PM in the prior period, with 2 crashes, to 10 AM in the current period, which recorded 3 crashes.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury2minor injury crashes12.5%
No Injury14no injury crashes87.5%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The distribution of contributing factors saw several changes year-over-year. Crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' increased by 1, from 5 in October 2023 to 6 in October 2024, though its share decreased from 45.5% to 37.5%. 'Inattention' emerged as a significant factor in the current period, contributing to 5 crashes (31.3% share), while it was not listed in the prior period. Conversely, 'Exceeded authorized speed limit' and 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' each accounted for 1 crash in the prior period but were not present in the current data.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving6 (37.5%)20.0%prior 5
Inattention5 (31.3%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (12.5%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (6.3%)
Failed to yield right of way1 (6.3%)
Fatigued/asleep1 (6.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes under clear weather conditions increased from 9 in October 2023 to 15 in October 2024, while crashes in rainy conditions decreased from 2 to 1. Similarly, crashes on dry road surfaces rose from 7 to 15, and those on wet surfaces decreased from 4 to 1. Daylight crashes saw a substantial increase from 6 to 13, whereas crashes in 'Dark - not lighted roadway' conditions decreased from 3 to 1.

Weather

Clear15 (93.8%)
66.7%prior 9
Rain1 (6.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight13 (81.3%)
116.7%prior 6
Dark - lighted roadway1 (6.3%)
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (6.3%)
Dusk1 (6.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry15 (93.8%)
114.3%prior 7
Wet1 (6.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (27 vehicles)

1
FORD6 (22.2%)
2
HONDA5 (18.5%)
3
TOYOTA3 (11.1%)
4
KIA2 (7.4%)
5
VOLVO2 (7.4%)
6
MAZDA1 (3.7%)
7
MERCEDES-BENZ1 (3.7%)
8
NISSAN1 (3.7%)
9
LEXUS1 (3.7%)
10
INFI1 (3.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (38 persons with recorded sex)

Female20 (52.6%)
150.0%prior 8
Male18 (47.4%)
125.0%prior 8

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

The distribution of crashes across speed zones saw an increase in lower speed limit areas. Crashes in 25 mph zones increased from 2 in October 2023 to 5 in October 2024, and those in 30 mph zones rose from 7 to 9. The number of crashes in 35 mph and 40 mph zones remained constant at 1 for both periods. There were no fatal crashes recorded in any speed zone for either October 2023 or October 2024.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · 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: 2024-10-01 through 2024-10-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-10-01 through 2024-10-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: DOVER, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 16
  • Total persons involved: 39
  • Total vehicles involved: 27

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). "DOVER, MA Crash Intelligence Report: October 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/dover/october-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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Dover, MA Crash Report — October 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com