Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

14 CRASHES IN
EASTHAM, MA
SEPTEMBER 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstSeptember 2022

In September 2023, EASTHAM experienced 14 total crashes, marking a 16.7% increase from the 12 crashes recorded in September 2022. While total injuries decreased by 20% from 5 to 4, a notable shift was the occurrence of 1 hit-and-run crash in the current period, compared to none in the prior year. The number of DUI crashes decreased from 1 in the prior period to 0 in the current period.

14

16.7%was 12

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

4

-20.0%was 5

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. 1 crash with unreported severity is 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, crash incidents in EASTHAM showed an upward trend, with total crashes increasing by 16.7% from 12 in September 2022 to 14 in September 2023. Despite this increase in total crashes, the number of total injuries decreased from 5 to 4, representing a 20% reduction.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — September 2023

7.1% hit-and-run rate this period vs 0.0% prior. Prior period: 0.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

4

Motorists Injured

Prior: 5-20.0%

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 Friday with 3 crashes in September 2022 to Thursday with 4 crashes in September 2023. The peak hour also changed significantly, moving from 10 AM with 2 crashes in the prior period to 6 PM with 3 crashes in the current period. Crashes on Saturdays decreased from 2 to 0, while Wednesdays saw an increase from 0 to 2 crashes.

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

Fatalities remained at 0 in both September 2022 and September 2023. Total injuries decreased from 5 in the prior period to 4 in the current period. The current period saw 1 crash with minor injuries (7.1% of total crashes), which was not present in the prior period, and possible injury crashes remained at 1 in both periods, though their share decreased from 8.3% to 7.1%.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury1minor injury crashes7.1%
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes7.1%
0.0%prior 1
No Injury11no injury crashes78.6%
0.0%prior 11

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 the leading contributing factor, increasing from 4 crashes in September 2022 to 7 crashes in September 2023, a 75% increase in count. 'Followed too closely' crashes doubled from 1 to 2, and 'No improper driving' crashes also doubled from 1 to 2. Factors such as 'Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway' and 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner', each present with 1 crash in the prior period, were absent in the current period.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention7 (50%)
Followed too closely2 (14.3%)
No improper driving2 (14.3%)
Failed to yield right of way1 (7.1%)
Other improper action1 (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 10 to 12. While wet road crashes remained consistent at 1 in both periods, crashes under daylight conditions increased from 9 to 11. A shift in lighting conditions was observed, with 3 crashes occurring at dusk in the current period, whereas the prior period reported 2 crashes in 'Dark - lighted roadway' and 1 in 'Dark - unknown roadway lighting'.

Weather

Clear12 (85.7%)
20.0%prior 10
Cloudy1 (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

Daylight11 (78.6%)
22.2%prior 9
Dusk3 (21.4%)

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

Road Surface

Dry13 (92.9%)
18.2%prior 11
Wet1 (7.1%)

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 (27 vehicles)

1
HONDA6 (22.2%)
2
FORD4 (14.8%)
3
AUDI2 (7.4%)
4
CHEVROLET2 (7.4%)
5
SUBARU2 (7.4%)
6
TOYOTA2 (7.4%)
-60.0%prior 5
7
VOLVO2 (7.4%)
8
MITS1 (3.7%)
9
RAM1 (3.7%)
10
TESL1 (3.7%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (37 persons with recorded sex)

Male21 (56.8%)
23.5%prior 17
Female16 (43.2%)
-33.3%prior 24

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 40 mph speed zones increased from 6 in September 2022 to 10 in September 2023. Crashes in 30 mph zones decreased from 2 to 1. The prior period recorded 3 crashes in 25 mph zones and 1 crash in a 15 mph zone, while the current period reported 2 crashes in 35 mph zones and 1 crash in a 10 mph zone. No fatal crashes were recorded 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: EASTHAM, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 14
  • Total persons involved: 40
  • 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). "EASTHAM, 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/eastham/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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Eastham, MA Crash Report — September 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com