Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

97 CRASHES IN
FITCHBURG, MA
FEBRUARY 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstFebruary 2023

In February 2024, Fitchburg experienced 97 crashes, a substantial increase compared to 7 crashes in February 2023. This represents a 1285.7% year-over-year rise in total crashes. The most notable shift is the dramatic increase in overall crash incidents, alongside a significant rise in total injuries from 2 to 14.

97

1285.7%was 7

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

14

600.0%was 2

Persons Injured

12

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-02-01 to 2024-02-29 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash trends in Fitchburg show a significant upward trajectory, with total crashes increasing from 7 in February 2023 to 97 in February 2024. This constitutes a 1285.7% increase in reported crash incidents year-over-year. The number of injured persons also rose considerably, from 2 to 14.

12

Hit-and-Run Crashes — February 2024

12.4% hit-and-run rate this period vs 0.0% prior. Prior period: 0.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

14

Motorists Injured

Prior: 2600.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-02-01 to 2024-02-29 · 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 year-over-year, with the peak day moving from Wednesday in February 2023 to Thursday in February 2024. Similarly, the peak hour for crashes changed from 4 PM in the prior period to 5 PM in the current period. Both periods show higher crash counts during weekdays and afternoon/evening hours.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-02-01 to 2024-02-29 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-02-01 to 2024-02-29 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatalities remained at zero in both February 2023 and February 2024. However, the total number of injuries increased from 2 in the prior period to 14 in the current period. The proportion of crashes resulting in minor injuries decreased from 28.6% to 11.3%, while possible injuries, absent in the prior period, accounted for 3.1% of crashes in the current period.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury11minor injury crashes11.3%
450.0%prior 2
Possible Injury3possible injury crashes3.1%
No Injury75no injury crashes77.3%
1400.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-02-01 to 2024-02-29 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-02-01 to 2024-02-29 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Among common contributing factors, crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' increased from 3 in February 2023 to 26 in February 2024. Incidents of 'Followed too closely' also rose from 2 to 9 crashes year-over-year. New prominent factors in February 2024 include 'Inattention' with 19 crashes and 'Failed to yield right of way' with 10 crashes, which were not significant in the prior period.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving26 (26.8%)
Inattention19 (19.6%)
Failed to yield right of way10 (10.3%)
Followed too closely9 (9.3%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road5 (5.2%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings3 (3.1%)
Over-correcting/over-steering2 (2.1%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit1 (1%)
Made an improper turn1 (1%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-02-01 to 2024-02-29 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

In February 2024, the majority of crashes (82 out of 97) occurred in clear weather conditions, a significant increase from 1 crash in clear weather during the prior period. Similarly, 88 crashes occurred on dry road surfaces in the current period, up from 4 in the prior period. Daylight conditions accounted for 57 crashes in February 2024, compared to 6 in February 2023, reflecting a proportional increase in crashes across all lighting conditions.

Weather

Clear82 (85.4%)
Cloudy9 (9.4%)
Rain2 (2.1%)
Snow2 (2.1%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (1.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-02-01 to 2024-02-29 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight57 (58.8%)
850.0%prior 6
Dark - lighted roadway24 (24.7%)
Dark - roadway not lighted8 (8.2%)
Dusk6 (6.2%)
Dawn2 (2.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-02-01 to 2024-02-29 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry88 (90.7%)
Wet6 (6.2%)
Snow2 (2.1%)
Ice1 (1.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-02-01 to 2024-02-29 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (173 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA29 (16.8%)
2
HONDA20 (11.6%)
3
FORD19 (11%)
4
SUBARU12 (6.9%)
5
CHEVROLET11 (6.4%)
6
NISSAN8 (4.6%)
7
DODGE7 (4%)
8
RAM7 (4%)
9
HYUNDAI6 (3.5%)
10
JEEP6 (3.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-02-01 to 2024-02-29 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (180 persons with recorded sex)

Male101 (56.1%)
3266.7%prior 3
Female79 (43.9%)
1875.0%prior 4

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-02-01 to 2024-02-29 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

While no fatalities were reported in any speed zone during either period, the distribution of crashes across speed limits changed considerably. Crashes at 25 mph zones increased from 1 in February 2023 to 33 in February 2024, and 30 mph zones saw an increase from 1 to 23 crashes. There was also an increase in crashes in 55 mph zones, rising from 4 to 7 year-over-year, indicating a broader distribution of crashes across various speed environments.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-02-01 to 2024-02-29 · 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: 2024-02-01 through 2024-02-29
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-02-01 through 2024-02-29 (29 days)
  • Geographic scope: FITCHBURG, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 97
  • Total persons involved: 207
  • Total vehicles involved: 173

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). "FITCHBURG, MA Crash Intelligence Report: February 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-02-01 to 2024-02-29. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/fitchburg/february-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

ThatCarHitMe.com · An Injuria.ai Company

Fitchburg, MA Crash Report — February 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com