Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

241 CRASHES IN
LEICESTER, MA
2024

All metrics benchmarked against2023

In 2024, Leicester recorded 241 total traffic crashes, an 11.1% increase from the 217 crashes reported in 2023. The most significant change year-over-year was the occurrence of one fatal crash in 2024, whereas no fatal crashes were recorded in the prior year. Total injuries also rose from 69 in 2023 to 82 in 2024.

241

11.1%was 217

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

82

18.8%was 69

Persons Injured

11

83.3%was 6

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (1) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (1) 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 · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Traffic crashes in Leicester trended upward year-over-year, with total incidents increasing by 11.1% from 217 in 2023 to 241 in 2024. This rise was accompanied by an 18.8% increase in total injuries, which grew from 69 to 82. The city also recorded one fatality in 2024, compared to zero in the previous year.

11

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2024

83.3% vs prior (6)

Hit-and-run incidents increased notably in 2024 compared to the previous year. The total number of hit-and-run crashes rose from 6 in 2023 to 11 in 2024, an 83.3% increase in count. The hit-and-run rate, as a percentage of total crashes, also climbed from 2.8% in 2023 to 4.6% in 2024.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 3-66.7%

81

Motorists Injured

Prior: 6622.7%

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 showed some shifts between the two periods. While Tuesday remained the peak day for crashes in both 2023 (37 crashes) and 2024 (43 crashes), the peak hour changed significantly. In 2023, the highest number of crashes occurred at 8 a.m. with 22 incidents, while in 2024, the peak shifted to 4 p.m., which saw 26 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 increased in 2024 compared to the prior year. The city recorded one fatal crash, representing 0.4% of all incidents, up from zero in 2023. The proportion of serious injury crashes also more than doubled, rising from 1.8% (4 crashes) in 2023 to 4.1% (10 crashes) in 2024. Consequently, the share of crashes with no reported injuries decreased from 74.2% to 71.8% year-over-year.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes0.4%
Serious Injury10serious injury crashes4.1%
150.0%prior 4
Minor Injury30minor injury crashes12.4%
-3.2%prior 31
Possible Injury19possible injury crashes7.9%
26.7%prior 15
No Injury173no injury crashes71.8%
7.5%prior 161

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 leading contributing factors for crashes shifted between 2023 and 2024. While 'Inattention' was the top factor in 2023 with 58 crashes, its count decreased to 51 in 2024. 'No improper driving' became the most cited factor in 2024, with its count increasing from 37 to 53. Notably, crashes attributed to 'Failed to yield right of way' more than doubled, increasing from 13 incidents in 2023 to 27 in 2024.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving53 (22%)43.2%prior 37
Inattention51 (21.2%)-12.1%prior 58
Failed to yield right of way27 (11.2%)107.7%prior 13
Followed too closely18 (7.5%)80.0%prior 10
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner15 (6.2%)7.1%prior 14
Driving too fast for conditions9 (3.7%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway6 (2.5%)20.0%prior 5
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road6 (2.5%)-60.0%prior 15
Other improper action4 (1.7%)
Visibility obstructed4 (1.7%)

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 2023 and 2024, the majority of crashes occurred in clear weather on dry roads during daylight hours, and the proportion of crashes under these conditions remained relatively stable. However, there was a notable increase in crashes involving adverse winter conditions. Incidents on snow-covered road surfaces rose from 8 to 26, and crashes where snow was a weather factor increased from 8 to 17.

Weather

Clear175 (72.6%)
8.7%prior 161
Snow17 (7.1%)
112.5%prior 8
Cloudy16 (6.6%)
-5.9%prior 17
Rain12 (5.0%)
-14.3%prior 14
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)6 (2.5%)
Snow/Blowing sand, snow3 (1.2%)
Clear/Cloudy3 (1.2%)
Rain/Cloudy2 (0.8%)
Rain/Fog, smog, smoke2 (0.8%)
Snow/Other1 (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

Daylight158 (65.6%)
14.5%prior 138
Dark - lighted roadway44 (18.3%)
12.8%prior 39
Dark - roadway not lighted22 (9.1%)
-12.0%prior 25
Dusk10 (4.1%)
25.0%prior 8
Dawn5 (2.1%)
-16.7%prior 6
Other2 (0.8%)

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

Road Surface

Dry179 (74.3%)
7.8%prior 166
Wet30 (12.4%)
-9.1%prior 33
Snow26 (10.8%)
225.0%prior 8
Ice5 (2.1%)
-37.5%prior 8
Sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel1 (0.4%)

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 remained consistent, with Toyota and Ford leading in both years. Ford-made vehicles saw an increased involvement from 49 in 2023 to 60 in 2024. Analysis of person demographics shows a notable increase in the number of individuals aged 16-20 involved in crashes, rising from 59 in 2023 to 78 in 2024. The involvement of other age groups remained comparatively stable.

Top Vehicle Makes (416 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA70 (16.8%)
-4.1%prior 73
2
FORD60 (14.4%)
22.4%prior 49
3
NISSAN29 (7%)
26.1%prior 23
4
HONDA28 (6.7%)
0.0%prior 28
5
CHEVROLET26 (6.3%)
-13.3%prior 30
6
JEEP25 (6%)
31.6%prior 19
7
SUBARU19 (4.6%)
-17.4%prior 23
8
VOLKSWAGEN16 (3.8%)
77.8%prior 9
9
HYUNDAI13 (3.1%)
-7.1%prior 14
10
KIA12 (2.9%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (504 persons with recorded sex)

Male283 (56.2%)
18.9%prior 238
Female221 (43.8%)
17.6%prior 188

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

The distribution of crashes across different speed limit zones was similar in both 2023 and 2024, with the highest number of incidents occurring in 30 mph and 35 mph zones. In 2024, crash counts increased in the 30 mph zone (from 65 to 77) and the 35 mph zone (from 62 to 73). The single fatal crash recorded in 2024 occurred in a 35 mph zone.

Fatal crashes by zone: 35 mph: 1 of 73 (1.37%)

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: LEICESTER, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 241
  • Total persons involved: 529
  • Total vehicles involved: 416

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). "LEICESTER, 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/leicester/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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Leicester, MA Crash Report — 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com