Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

37 CRASHES IN
FREETOWN, MA
AUGUST 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstAugust 2023

Total crashes in FREETOWN increased by 54.2% from 24 in August 2023 to 37 in August 2024. Despite this increase in total crashes, fatalities remained at zero in both periods. The most notable shift was the substantial rise in total crash incidents.

37

54.2%was 24

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

6

-14.3%was 7

Persons Injured

1

-50.0%was 2

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 · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates a significant increase in crash incidents, with total crashes rising from 24 in August 2023 to 37 in August 2024. This represents a 54.2% increase year-over-year. The data suggests an upward trend in crash frequency for this period.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — August 2024

-50.0% vs prior (2)

Hit-and-run crashes decreased from 2 incidents in August 2023 to 1 incident in August 2024. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate declined from 8.3% to 2.7% year-over-year. 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%

6

Motorists Injured

Prior: 60.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

Both periods observed Thursday as the peak day for crashes, with 7 crashes in August 2023 and 9 crashes in August 2024. The peak crash hour shifted from 3 PM with 3 crashes in August 2023 to 4 PM with 4 crashes in August 2024. This indicates a consistent weekday peak but a slight shift in the most frequent crash hour.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatalities remained at zero in both August 2023 and August 2024, with no fatal crashes reported. Total injuries slightly decreased from 7 in August 2023 to 6 in August 2024. While serious injuries (Severity A) decreased from 2 to 0, minor injuries (Severity B) increased from 4 to 6.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury6minor injury crashes16.2%
50.0%prior 4
No Injury31no injury crashes83.8%
93.8%prior 16

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The leading contributing factor shifted from 'No improper driving' (7 crashes) in August 2023 to 'Inattention' (11 crashes) in August 2024, marking an increase of 8 crashes for 'Inattention'. 'No improper driving' also increased by 2 crashes, from 7 to 9. 'Followed too closely' saw an increase from 0 crashes in the prior period to 3 crashes in the current period.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention11 (29.7%)
No improper driving9 (24.3%)28.6%prior 7
Followed too closely3 (8.1%)
Distracted2 (5.4%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit2 (5.4%)
Failed to yield right of way2 (5.4%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (2.7%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (2.7%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (2.7%)
Other improper action1 (2.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in clear weather conditions increased from 21 in August 2023 to 29 in August 2024. Similarly, crashes on dry road surfaces increased from 22 to 34 year-over-year. Crashes in daylight conditions also rose from 19 to 29, indicating that the majority of incidents in both periods occurred under favorable environmental conditions.

Weather

Clear29 (78.4%)
38.1%prior 21
Cloudy4 (10.8%)
Clear/Other1 (2.7%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (2.7%)
Rain1 (2.7%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (2.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight29 (78.4%)
52.6%prior 19
Dark - roadway not lighted5 (13.5%)
Dark - lighted roadway2 (5.4%)
Dawn1 (2.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry34 (91.9%)
54.5%prior 22
Wet3 (8.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (58 vehicles)

1
HONDA11 (19%)
2
FORD9 (15.5%)
3
CHEVROLET7 (12.1%)
4
TOYOTA5 (8.6%)
5
VOLVO3 (5.2%)
6
DODGE2 (3.4%)
7
SUBARU2 (3.4%)
8
MITS2 (3.4%)
9
NISSAN2 (3.4%)
10
FRHT2 (3.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (65 persons with recorded sex)

Male39 (60.0%)
105.3%prior 19
Female26 (40.0%)
73.3%prior 15

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes occurring in 65 mph speed zones increased from 5 in August 2023 to 8 in August 2024. Crashes in 35 mph and 40 mph zones both increased from 2 to 6 incidents each. All speed zones reported zero fatal crashes in both periods.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · 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: 2024-08-01 through 2024-08-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-08-01 through 2024-08-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: FREETOWN, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 37
  • Total persons involved: 68
  • Total vehicles involved: 58

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). "FREETOWN, MA Crash Intelligence Report: August 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/freetown/august-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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Freetown, MA Crash Report — August 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com