Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

88 CRASHES IN
FITCHBURG, MA
JULY 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstJuly 2023

In Fitchburg, total crashes decreased by 18.5% year-over-year, from 108 in July 2023 to 88 in July 2024. This reduction in overall incidents was accompanied by a significant 48.6% drop in total injuries, falling from 35 to 18.

88

▼ -18.5%was 108

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

18

▼ -48.6%was 35

Persons Injured

11

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend for July shows a decrease in crash activity, with total crashes falling by 18.5% from 108 in July 2023 to 88 in July 2024. This decline is also reflected in a substantial 48.6% reduction in total injuries, from 35 to 18 over the same period.

11

Hit-and-Run Crashes — July 2024

▼ 0.0% vs prior (11)

The number of hit-and-run crashes remained constant at 11 in both July 2023 and July 2024. However, due to the overall decrease in total crashes, the hit-and-run rate increased from 10.2% in July 2023 to 12.5% in July 2024.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0→0.0%

18

Motorists Injured

Prior: 34↓-47.1%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · 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 Monday with 23 incidents in July 2023 to Tuesday with 21 incidents in July 2024. The peak hour for crashes remained at 4 PM in both periods, with the count increasing slightly from 10 crashes in July 2023 to 11 crashes in July 2024.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatal crashes or fatalities reported in either July 2023 or July 2024. Total injuries decreased by 48.6%, from 35 in July 2023 to 18 in July 2024. Serious injuries increased from 1 to 2, while minor injuries decreased from 17 to 12, and possible injuries decreased from 7 to 2.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury2serious injury crashes2.3%
↑100.0%prior 1
Minor Injury12minor injury crashes13.6%
↓-29.4%prior 17
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes2.3%
↓-71.4%prior 7
No Injury65no injury crashes73.9%
↓-14.5%prior 76

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The number of crashes where 'Inattention' was a contributing factor decreased by 7, from 21 in July 2023 to 14 in July 2024. Conversely, crashes involving 'Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings' increased by 4, from 2 to 6, and 'Exceeded authorized speed limit' increased by 3, from 1 to 4.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving17 (19.3%)↓-19.0%prior 21
Inattention14 (15.9%)↓-33.3%prior 21
Failed to yield right of way10 (11.4%)↓-23.1%prior 13
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings6 (6.8%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road6 (6.8%)
Other improper action6 (6.8%)↑20.0%prior 5
Exceeded authorized speed limit4 (4.5%)
Over-correcting/over-steering3 (3.4%)
Followed too closely2 (2.3%)↓-71.4%prior 7
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner2 (2.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions decreased from 85 in July 2023 to 73 in July 2024, and crashes in 'Rain' conditions significantly dropped from 12 to 2. Similarly, crashes on 'Dry' road surfaces decreased from 88 to 79, while those on 'Wet' surfaces decreased from 17 to 7.

Weather

Clear73 (83.9%)
↓-14.1%prior 85
Cloudy8 (9.2%)
Rain2 (2.3%)
↓-83.3%prior 12
Cloudy/Rain1 (1.1%)
Clear/Unknown1 (1.1%)
Rain/Severe crosswinds1 (1.1%)
Rain/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (1.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight74 (84.1%)
↓-14.9%prior 87
Dark - lighted roadway11 (12.5%)
↓-15.4%prior 13
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (1.1%)
Dawn1 (1.1%)
Dusk1 (1.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry79 (90.8%)
↓-10.2%prior 88
Wet7 (8.0%)
↓-58.8%prior 17
Water (standing, moving)1 (1.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes decreased from 209 in July 2023 to 159 in July 2024. TOYOTA remained the top make involved, though its count decreased from 28 to 26, while HONDA vehicles decreased from 25 to 19. The 21-25 age group saw the largest decrease in persons involved, falling from 39 to 21, and the 55-64 age group also decreased significantly from 30 to 12.

Top Vehicle Makes (159 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA26 (16.4%)
↓-7.1%prior 28
2
FORD22 (13.8%)
↑10.0%prior 20
3
HONDA19 (11.9%)
↓-24.0%prior 25
4
NISSAN11 (6.9%)
↓-45.0%prior 20
5
SUBARU10 (6.3%)
↓-41.2%prior 17
6
CHEVROLET10 (6.3%)
↓-41.2%prior 17
7
JEEP8 (5%)
↑14.3%prior 7
8
ACURA5 (3.1%)
9
GMC5 (3.1%)
→0.0%prior 5
10
HYUNDAI4 (2.5%)
↓-60.0%prior 10

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (171 persons with recorded sex)

Female88 (51.5%)
↓-8.3%prior 96
Male83 (48.5%)
↓-36.2%prior 130

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes occurring in 25 mph zones saw a decrease of 27 incidents, falling from 58 in July 2023 to 31 in July 2024. In contrast, crashes in 30 mph zones increased by 6 incidents, from 15 to 21. No fatal crashes were reported in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · 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: 2024-07-01 through 2024-07-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-07-01 through 2024-07-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: FITCHBURG, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 88
  • Total persons involved: 204
  • Total vehicles involved: 159

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: July 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/fitchburg/july-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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Fitchburg, MA Crash Report — July 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com