Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

63 CRASHES IN
HOPEDALE, MA
2023

All metrics benchmarked against2022

In 2023, Hopedale recorded 63 total crashes, a 24.1% decrease from the 83 crashes reported in 2022. This overall reduction in collisions was accompanied by a 24% decrease in total injuries, from 25 to 19. The most significant year-over-year shift was the elimination of serious injury crashes, which numbered three in the prior year but were zero in the current period.

63

-24.1%was 83

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

19

-24.0%was 25

Persons Injured

2

100.0%was 1

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. 1 crash with unreported severity is 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

Traffic crashes in Hopedale showed a significant downward trend year-over-year. Total collisions fell by 24.1%, from 83 in 2022 to 63 in 2023. This positive trend extended to injuries, which decreased by 24% from 25 to 19, while fatalities remained at zero for both periods.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2023

100.0% vs prior (1)

Hit-and-run incidents increased in both absolute count and as a proportion of total crashes. The number of hit-and-run crashes doubled from 1 in 2022 to 2 in 2023. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate more than doubled, rising from 1.2% to 3.2% of all crashes year-over-year.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 10.0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 0%

17

Motorists Injured

Prior: 24-29.2%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · 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 between the two periods. The peak day for crashes moved from Tuesday (18 crashes) in 2022 to Friday (13 crashes) in 2023. Similarly, the peak hour shifted slightly earlier, from the 5 p.m. hour in the prior year to the 4 p.m. hour in the current year.

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)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Crash severity improved notably year-over-year, with fatal crashes remaining at zero in both periods. In 2022, there were 3 crashes resulting in serious injuries, but in 2023, no serious injury crashes were recorded. While the count of minor injury crashes decreased from 17 to 10, the number of crashes with possible injuries doubled from 3 to 6.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury10minor injury crashes15.9%
-41.2%prior 17
Possible Injury6possible injury crashes9.5%
100.0%prior 3
No Injury46no injury crashes73%
-22.0%prior 59

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Inattention was the leading contributing factor in both years, though its count decreased from 20 crashes in 2022 to 15 in 2023. A significant change was observed in 'Failed to yield right of way,' which increased from 1 crash in the prior year to 7 crashes in the current year, making it the third most common factor. Conversely, crashes attributed to 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' dropped from 7 to 1.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention15 (23.8%)-25.0%prior 20
No improper driving14 (22.2%)-26.3%prior 19
Failed to yield right of way7 (11.1%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner5 (7.9%)0.0%prior 5
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings4 (6.3%)
Followed too closely3 (4.8%)
Distracted3 (4.8%)
History heart/epilepsy/fainting2 (3.2%)
Visibility obstructed2 (3.2%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (1.6%)-85.7%prior 7

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

Crashes in 2023 were proportionally more likely to occur in less-than-ideal conditions compared to 2022. The share of crashes happening in daylight decreased from 77.1% to 69.8% year-over-year. Similarly, the proportion of collisions on dry road surfaces fell from 80.7% to 77.8%, while crashes on wet surfaces increased their share from 15.7% to 19.0%.

Weather

Clear38 (60.3%)
-34.5%prior 58
Clear/Unknown6 (9.5%)
-40.0%prior 10
Rain4 (6.3%)
Cloudy3 (4.8%)
Cloudy/Rain3 (4.8%)
Cloudy/Clear2 (3.2%)
Snow1 (1.6%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (1.6%)
Clear/Other1 (1.6%)
Cloudy/Snow1 (1.6%)

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

Lighting

Daylight44 (69.8%)
-31.3%prior 64
Dark - lighted roadway11 (17.5%)
-8.3%prior 12
Dark - roadway not lighted3 (4.8%)
Dawn3 (4.8%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting2 (3.2%)

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

Road Surface

Dry49 (77.8%)
-26.9%prior 67
Wet12 (19.0%)
-7.7%prior 13
Ice1 (1.6%)
Snow1 (1.6%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

The top three vehicle makes involved in crashes—Ford, Toyota, and Chevrolet—remained the same in both periods, though involvement for Ford and Toyota decreased significantly, with Ford-involved crashes dropping by 50% from 24 to 12. Analysis of persons involved shows a demographic shift, with a notable decrease in the 26-34 age group (from 34 to 19 people) and an increase in the 16-20 age group (from 14 to 19 people).

Top Vehicle Makes (110 vehicles)

1
FORD12 (10.9%)
-50.0%prior 24
2
TOYOTA12 (10.9%)
-42.9%prior 21
3
CHEVROLET11 (10%)
0.0%prior 11
4
GMC10 (9.1%)
66.7%prior 6
5
HONDA10 (9.1%)
11.1%prior 9
6
NISSAN10 (9.1%)
11.1%prior 9
7
JEEP5 (4.5%)
-28.6%prior 7
8
DODGE5 (4.5%)
9
SUBARU4 (3.6%)
-33.3%prior 6
10
HYUNDAI4 (3.6%)
-60.0%prior 10

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

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

Sex Distribution (122 persons with recorded sex)

Male66 (54.1%)
-28.3%prior 92
Female55 (45.1%)
-27.6%prior 76
X / Unspecified1 (0.8%)
0.0%prior 1

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

The distribution of crashes across speed zones shifted between the two years. While 30 mph zones saw the most crashes in both periods, the count decreased from 28 to 23. In contrast, crashes in 40 mph zones increased from 10 to 17, becoming the second-most frequent speed zone for collisions in 2023. There were no fatal crashes in any speed zone during 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: HOPEDALE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 63
  • Total persons involved: 133
  • Total vehicles involved: 110

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). "HOPEDALE, 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/hopedale/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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Hopedale, MA Crash Report — 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com