Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

8 CRASHES IN
HAWLEY, MA
2023

All metrics benchmarked against2022

In Hawley, total traffic crashes increased by 60% year-over-year, from 5 incidents in 2022 to 8 in 2023. Despite the rise in collisions, the number of reported injuries fell from one to zero, and no fatalities were recorded in either period. The most notable shift was in crash conditions, with a higher proportion of incidents in 2023 occurring on dry roads and in clear weather compared to the prior year.

8

60.0%was 5

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

0

-100.0%was 1

Persons Injured

0

Fatal Crash Events

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 · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend shows a rise in traffic incidents in 2023. Total crashes increased from 5 in 2022 to 8 in 2023, a 60% year-over-year increase. However, the severity of these crashes decreased, with total injuries dropping from one to zero and fatalities remaining at zero for both years.

When Crashes Happen

The timing of crashes shifted significantly between the two periods. In 2023, the peak day for crashes was Thursday with 4 incidents, whereas 2022 saw crashes peak on Monday and Tuesday with 2 incidents each. The peak hour also moved later in the day, from 7 a.m. in 2022 (2 crashes) to 10 a.m. in 2023 (2 crashes).

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Top Contributing Factors

The primary contributing factors for crashes changed year-over-year. In 2022, the leading factor was "Driving too fast for conditions," accounting for 3 of the 5 crashes. In 2023, this factor's count dropped to 1 incident, and the most common finding was "No improper driving," cited in 3 of the 8 crashes. Factors not present in 2022, such as "Exceeded authorized speed limit" and "Fatigued/asleep," each contributed to one crash in 2023.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving3 (37.5%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (12.5%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit1 (12.5%)
Fatigued/asleep1 (12.5%)
Inattention1 (12.5%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (12.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crash conditions in 2023 were markedly different from the prior year, with a greater share occurring in favorable conditions. Crashes on dry roads increased from 1 in 2022 to 5 in 2023, raising their share from 20% to 62.5% of all incidents. Similarly, crashes in clear weather rose from 1 to 4, representing 50% of incidents in 2023 compared to 20% in 2022. A year-over-year comparison of lighting conditions is not possible as data for 2022 was not available.

Weather

Clear4 (57.1%)
Cloudy1 (14.3%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (14.3%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (14.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Dark - roadway not lighted5 (62.5%)
Daylight3 (37.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry5 (62.5%)
Snow2 (25.0%)
Slush1 (12.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (9 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA2 (22.2%)
2
DODGE2 (22.2%)
3
BUIC1 (11.1%)
4
HYUNDAI1 (11.1%)
5
GMC1 (11.1%)
6
FREIGHTLINER1 (11.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (10 persons with recorded sex)

Male7 (70.0%)
Female3 (30.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes occurred across a similar range of speed zones in both years, with an overall increase in incidents. While crashes in the 30 mph zone held steady at 3 incidents, the number of crashes in both the 35 mph and 40 mph zones doubled from one to two. Additionally, one crash was recorded in a 15 mph zone in 2023, a speed limit that had no associated crashes in 2022. No fatal crashes were reported in any speed zone for either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · 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: 2023-01-01 through 2023-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-01-01 through 2023-12-31 (365 days)
  • Geographic scope: HAWLEY, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 8
  • Total persons involved: 11
  • Total vehicles involved: 9

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). "HAWLEY, MA Crash Intelligence Report: 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/hawley/2023-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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Hawley, MA Crash Report — 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com