Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

129 CRASHES IN
EASTHAM, MA
2022

All metrics benchmarked against2021

In Eastham, total traffic crashes remained nearly stable, with 129 incidents in 2022 compared to 127 in 2021, an increase of 1.6%. Despite the slight rise in total crashes, the number of people injured decreased by 24%, from 50 in 2021 to 38 in 2022. The most significant year-over-year change was a 48.5% increase in the count of crashes attributed to inattention as a contributing factor, rising from 33 to 49 incidents.

129

1.6%was 127

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

38

-24.0%was 50

Persons Injured

2

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall crash trends in Eastham show a slight increase in the total number of incidents, rising from 127 in 2021 to 129 in 2022. However, the outcomes of these crashes became less severe, with total injuries dropping 24% from 50 to 38. The number of fatal crashes and fatalities remained unchanged, with one fatal crash resulting in one death in each period.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2022

0.0% vs prior (2)

The number of hit-and-run crashes in Eastham remained unchanged year-over-year. There were 2 hit-and-run incidents reported in 2022, identical to the 2 incidents reported in 2021. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate as a percentage of total crashes was also stable, holding at 1.6% for both periods.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Motorists Killed

Prior: 10.0%

2

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 20.0%

2

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 4-50.0%

34

Motorists Injured

Prior: 44-22.7%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The timing of crashes shifted between the two years. In 2022, the peak day for crashes was Tuesday with 25 incidents, and the peak hour was 12 p.m. with 16 incidents. This contrasts with 2021, when the peak day was Saturday (23 crashes) and the peak hour was 5 p.m. (15 crashes), indicating a shift in crash patterns from a weekend evening peak to a weekday midday peak.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Crash severity decreased from 2021 to 2022. The number of fatal crashes was unchanged at one incident in each year, with the fatal crash rate remaining stable at 0.78% in 2022 versus 0.79% in 2021. However, the total number of people injured fell from 50 to 38. The proportion of crashes involving any injury (fatal, serious, minor, or possible) decreased from 28.3% of all crashes in 2021 to 22.6% in 2022.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes0.8%
0.0%prior 1
Minor Injury18minor injury crashes14%
-10.0%prior 20
Possible Injury10possible injury crashes7.8%
25.0%prior 8
No Injury98no injury crashes76%
10.1%prior 89

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

In 2022, 'Inattention' was the leading contributing factor, cited in 49 crashes (38% share), a significant increase from 33 crashes (26% share) in 2021, representing a 48.5% increase in count. Conversely, crashes with 'No improper driving' cited decreased from 33 in 2021 to 26 in 2022. Another notable change was the increase in crashes attributed to 'Made an improper turn,' which rose from 1 incident in 2021 to 8 in 2022.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention49 (38%)48.5%prior 33
No improper driving26 (20.2%)-21.2%prior 33
Failed to yield right of way13 (10.1%)-23.5%prior 17
Made an improper turn8 (6.2%)
Other improper action8 (6.2%)-46.7%prior 15
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner2 (1.6%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (1.6%)
Followed too closely2 (1.6%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit2 (1.6%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway2 (1.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crash conditions remained broadly consistent year-over-year. In both 2022 and 2021, the vast majority of crashes occurred in 'Daylight' (81.4% and 81.9%, respectively) and on 'Dry' road surfaces (86.0% and 88.2%, respectively). Crashes in 'Clear' weather conditions accounted for 78.3% of incidents in 2022 and 80.3% in 2021, showing no significant shift in the prevalence of adverse-condition crashes.

Weather

Clear101 (78.9%)
-1.0%prior 102
Cloudy21 (16.4%)
61.5%prior 13
Rain3 (2.3%)
-40.0%prior 5
Cloudy/Snow1 (0.8%)
Snow1 (0.8%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (0.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight105 (82.0%)
1.0%prior 104
Dark - roadway not lighted9 (7.0%)
0.0%prior 9
Dark - lighted roadway9 (7.0%)
-10.0%prior 10
Dusk3 (2.3%)
Dawn1 (0.8%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (0.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry111 (86.7%)
-0.9%prior 112
Wet14 (10.9%)
-6.7%prior 15
Snow2 (1.6%)
Slush1 (0.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The top vehicle makes involved in crashes were similar across both periods, with Toyota, Ford, and Chevrolet consistently ranked among the top three. A significant demographic shift occurred in the age of persons involved in crashes; the number of individuals in the 0-15 age group increased from 13 in 2021 to 49 in 2022. The 65+ age group remained the largest single cohort involved in crashes in both years, though its count decreased from 78 in 2021 to 65 in 2022.

Top Vehicle Makes (249 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA47 (18.9%)
-14.5%prior 55
2
FORD27 (10.8%)
-12.9%prior 31
3
CHEVROLET26 (10.4%)
44.4%prior 18
4
HONDA25 (10%)
31.6%prior 19
5
SUBARU13 (5.2%)
-7.1%prior 14
6
NISSAN11 (4.4%)
10.0%prior 10
7
JEEP10 (4%)
100.0%prior 5
8
DODGE10 (4%)
42.9%prior 7
9
GMC10 (4%)
11.1%prior 9
10
BMW8 (3.2%)
14.3%prior 7

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (372 persons with recorded sex)

Male199 (53.5%)
34.5%prior 148
Female173 (46.5%)
1.8%prior 170

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

The distribution of crashes across speed zones was largely stable between 2021 and 2022. The 40 mph zone saw the highest number of crashes in both years, with 73 incidents in 2022 and 74 in 2021. There was a notable increase in crashes within 25 mph zones, rising from 16 to 23 incidents. The single fatal crash in 2022 occurred in a 30 mph zone, whereas the fatal crash in 2021 took place in a 40 mph zone.

Fatal crashes by zone: 30 mph: 1 of 21 (4.762%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · 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: 2022-01-01 through 2022-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-01-01 through 2022-12-31 (365 days)
  • Geographic scope: EASTHAM, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 129
  • Total persons involved: 384
  • Total vehicles involved: 249

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). "EASTHAM, MA Crash Intelligence Report: 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/eastham/2022-annual-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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Eastham, MA Crash Report — 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com