Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

281 CRASHES IN
HARWICH, MA
2024

All metrics benchmarked against2023

In Harwich, total traffic crashes increased from 270 in 2023 to 281 in 2024, a rise of approximately 4.1%. Despite the increase in total collisions, the number of fatalities dropped from one in the prior year to zero in the current period. Total reported injuries also saw a decrease, falling from 103 to 93.

281

4.1%was 270

Total Crash Events

0

-100.0%was 1

Persons Killed

93

-9.7%was 103

Persons Injured

5

25.0%was 4

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, traffic collisions in Harwich showed a slight upward trend, increasing by 4.1% from 270 crashes in 2023 to 281 in 2024. While the total number of crashes rose, the severity of these incidents decreased. Total reported injuries fell by 9.7% from 103 to 93, and the single fatality recorded in the prior year was not repeated, with zero fatalities in the current period.

5

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2024

25.0% vs prior (4)

The number of hit-and-run incidents saw a slight increase, rising from 4 crashes in 2023 to 5 in 2024. The hit-and-run rate, calculated as a percentage of total crashes, also trended upward, moving from 1.5% in the prior period to 1.8% in the current period. This represents a small but measurable increase in both the absolute count and the proportional rate of hit-and-run collisions.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 1-100.0%

0

Other Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 0%

2

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 3-33.3%

89

Motorists Injured

Prior: 100-11.0%

1

Other Injured

Prior: 0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes shifted slightly year-over-year. The most frequent day for crashes moved from Monday (52 crashes) in 2023 to Wednesday (51 crashes) in 2024. Similarly, the peak hour for collisions shifted from 3 p.m. in the prior year (37 crashes) to 4 p.m. in the current year (32 crashes). Both periods shared a summer peak, with July recording the highest number of incidents in both 2023 (46 crashes) and 2024 (41 crashes).

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Crash severity decreased notably from the prior year to the current one. The number of fatal crashes dropped from one in 2023 to zero in 2024. The proportion of crashes involving any level of injury also decreased, from 26.3% of all crashes in the prior period to 23.8% in the current period. Correspondingly, the share of non-injury crashes increased from 71.9% (194 crashes) to 75.4% (212 crashes).

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury8serious injury crashes2.8%
14.3%prior 7
Minor Injury38minor injury crashes13.5%
-20.8%prior 48
Possible Injury21possible injury crashes7.5%
31.3%prior 16
No Injury212no injury crashes75.4%
9.3%prior 194

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The primary contributing factors to crashes remained consistent year-over-year, though their counts shifted. 'Failed to yield right of way' was the leading factor in both periods, with its count increasing by 32.1% from 53 incidents in 2023 to 70 in 2024. 'Inattention' remained the second-most cited factor, though its count decreased slightly from 50 to 48. 'Followed too closely' also saw a small increase in count, from 31 to 33 incidents.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Failed to yield right of way70 (24.9%)32.1%prior 53
Inattention48 (17.1%)-4.0%prior 50
No improper driving45 (16%)15.4%prior 39
Followed too closely33 (11.7%)6.5%prior 31
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner14 (5%)-17.6%prior 17
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road11 (3.9%)57.1%prior 7
Made an improper turn8 (2.8%)
Driving too fast for conditions8 (2.8%)14.3%prior 7
Distracted5 (1.8%)-16.7%prior 6
Over-correcting/over-steering4 (1.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

In both periods, the vast majority of crashes occurred in clear weather on dry roads during daylight hours. Crashes during adverse weather conditions, such as rain or snow, decreased from 39 incidents in 2023 to 32 in 2024. Similarly, collisions on adverse road surfaces like wet, snow, or ice fell from 52 to 45. The number of crashes occurring in dark conditions also saw a reduction, dropping from 62 in the prior year to 52 in the current year.

Weather

Clear199 (71.3%)
2.1%prior 195
Cloudy41 (14.7%)
28.1%prior 32
Rain13 (4.7%)
-38.1%prior 21
Cloudy/Rain7 (2.5%)
-41.7%prior 12
Snow6 (2.2%)
Clear/Clear5 (1.8%)
Fog, smog, smoke2 (0.7%)
Cloudy/Clear1 (0.4%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (0.4%)
Rain/Severe crosswinds1 (0.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight224 (80.0%)
12.6%prior 199
Dark - lighted roadway29 (10.4%)
-34.1%prior 44
Dark - roadway not lighted20 (7.1%)
17.6%prior 17
Dark - unknown roadway lighting3 (1.1%)
Dusk3 (1.1%)
-57.1%prior 7
Other1 (0.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry234 (83.9%)
7.3%prior 218
Wet35 (12.5%)
-27.1%prior 48
Snow8 (2.9%)
Ice2 (0.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The top vehicle makes involved in crashes showed some shifts between the two periods. While Toyota remained the most common make in both years, its involvement decreased from 92 vehicles in 2023 to 78 in 2024. Ford saw an increase from 48 to 63 vehicles, and Jeep replaced Nissan in the top five most common makes. Regarding persons involved, the 65+ age group was the most represented in both years, though their number decreased from 163 individuals in 2023 to 145 in 2024.

Top Vehicle Makes (521 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA78 (15%)
-15.2%prior 92
2
FORD63 (12.1%)
31.3%prior 48
3
CHEVROLET54 (10.4%)
20.0%prior 45
4
HONDA40 (7.7%)
-9.1%prior 44
5
JEEP33 (6.3%)
10.0%prior 30
6
NISSAN26 (5%)
-29.7%prior 37
7
SUBARU22 (4.2%)
4.8%prior 21
8
KIA18 (3.5%)
100.0%prior 9
9
HYUNDAI17 (3.3%)
30.8%prior 13
10
BMW17 (3.3%)
41.7%prior 12

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (631 persons with recorded sex)

Male336 (53.2%)
-2.3%prior 344
Female295 (46.8%)
0.0%prior 295

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes were most prevalent in the 30 mph speed zone during both periods, though the count in this zone decreased from 82 in 2023 to 71 in 2024. There was a notable shift in the 35 mph zone, where crashes increased from 43 to 52. The single fatal crash in 2023 occurred in a 35 mph zone, while 2024 saw no fatal crashes in any speed zone.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · 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: 2024-01-01 through 2024-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-01-01 through 2024-12-31 (366 days)
  • Geographic scope: HARWICH, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 281
  • Total persons involved: 666
  • Total vehicles involved: 521

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). "HARWICH, MA Crash Intelligence Report: 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/harwich/2024-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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Harwich, MA Crash Report — 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com