Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

17 CRASHES IN
LANCASTER, MA
DECEMBER 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstDecember 2021

In December 2022, Lancaster experienced 17 crashes, a decrease from the 19 crashes reported in December 2021. This represents a 10.5% reduction in total crashes year-over-year. The most notable shift was a 200% increase in total injuries, rising from 2 in the prior period to 6 in the current period.

17

-10.5%was 19

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

6

200.0%was 2

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.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, the total number of crashes in Lancaster decreased by 10.5%, from 19 crashes in December 2021 to 17 crashes in December 2022. Despite this reduction in crash volume, total injuries significantly increased by 200%, rising from 2 to 6 individuals injured.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

6

Motorists Injured

Prior: 2200.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes remained Friday in both periods, with 4 crashes reported on this day. However, the peak hour for crashes shifted from 6 AM in December 2021, which had 3 crashes, to 3 PM in December 2022, also with 3 crashes.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes remained at 0 in both December 2021 and December 2022. The number of injury-involved crashes increased, with 6 injuries reported in the current period compared to 2 in the prior period. Consequently, the proportion of crashes resulting in no injury decreased from 89.5% in the prior period to 64.7% in the current period.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury4minor injury crashes23.5%
300.0%prior 1
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes11.8%
100.0%prior 1
No Injury11no injury crashes64.7%
-35.3%prior 17

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The contributing factor 'No improper driving' saw an increase of 1 crash, from 6 in December 2021 to 7 in December 2022, with its share of crashes rising from 31.6% to 41.2%. Conversely, 'Inattention' decreased by 3 crashes, from 4 in the prior period to 1 in the current period, and its share fell from 21.1% to 5.9%. A new factor, 'Failed to yield right of way,' emerged with 4 crashes in the current period, while 'Followed too closely,' which had 2 crashes in the prior period, was not present in the current period's data.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving7 (41.2%)16.7%prior 6
Failed to yield right of way4 (23.5%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (5.9%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (5.9%)
Inattention1 (5.9%)
Other improper action1 (5.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions decreased from 15 in December 2021 to 5 in December 2022, while crashes in 'Cloudy' conditions increased from 2 to 4. Crashes in adverse weather conditions like rain or snow collectively increased from 2 in the prior period to 6 in the current period. Regarding road surface, crashes on 'Dry' roads decreased from 16 to 9, while those on 'Wet' roads increased from 2 to 6.

Weather

Clear5 (33.3%)
-66.7%prior 15
Cloudy4 (26.7%)
Rain2 (13.3%)
Snow2 (13.3%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (6.7%)
Rain/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (6.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight11 (64.7%)
37.5%prior 8
Dark - roadway not lighted3 (17.6%)
Dark - lighted roadway1 (5.9%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (5.9%)
Dawn1 (5.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry9 (52.9%)
-43.8%prior 16
Wet6 (35.3%)
Ice1 (5.9%)
Snow1 (5.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (25 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA5 (20%)
-28.6%prior 7
2
SUBARU3 (12%)
3
NISSAN2 (8%)
4
HYUNDAI2 (8%)
5
FORD2 (8%)
6
JEEP2 (8%)
7
RAM1 (4%)
8
CHEVROLET1 (4%)
9
VOLVO1 (4%)
10
HONDA1 (4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

Sex Distribution (30 persons with recorded sex)

Female19 (63.3%)
58.3%prior 12
Male11 (36.7%)
-45.0%prior 20

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes occurring in 30 mph speed zones increased from 7 in December 2021 to 11 in December 2022. Conversely, crashes in 55 mph speed zones decreased from 4 to 3, and those in 65 mph zones decreased from 3 to 1. Lower speed zones such as 15 mph, 20 mph, 35 mph, and 45 mph, which collectively accounted for 4 crashes in the prior period, were not associated with any crashes in the current period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31 · 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: 2022-12-01 through 2022-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-12-01 through 2022-12-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: LANCASTER, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 17
  • Total persons involved: 31
  • Total vehicles involved: 25

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). "LANCASTER, MA Crash Intelligence Report: December 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-12-01 to 2022-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/lancaster/december-2022-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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Lancaster, MA Crash Report — December 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com