Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

15 CRASHES IN
LEICESTER, MA
AUGUST 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstAugust 2023

In August 2024, Leicester experienced 15 total crashes, a 25% decrease compared to the 20 crashes reported in August 2023. Total injuries also saw a reduction, falling from 9 to 7, a decrease of 22.2%. A significant shift was observed in speeding-related crashes, which decreased by 100% from 3 crashes in the prior period to 0 crashes in the current period.

15

-25.0%was 20

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

7

-22.2%was 9

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 · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates a decrease in crash activity year-over-year. Total crashes decreased by 25%, from 20 in August 2023 to 15 in August 2024. Similarly, the number of total injuries declined by 22.2%, from 9 to 7, over the same period.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

7

Motorists Injured

Prior: 9-22.2%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

Temporal patterns show a shift in peak crash days and hours. The peak day for crashes moved from Thursday in August 2023, which had 7 crashes, to Monday in August 2024, with 4 crashes. The peak crash hour shifted from 5 p.m. in the prior period to 6 p.m. in the current period, with both hours recording 3 crashes.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatal crashes in either August 2023 or August 2024. The total number of injured persons decreased from 9 to 7 year-over-year. In the current period, 26.7% of crashes involved possible injuries, compared to 5% involving possible injuries and 20% involving minor injuries in the prior period.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Possible Injury4possible injury crashes26.7%
300.0%prior 1
No Injury11no injury crashes73.3%
-26.7%prior 15

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Comparing contributing factors, 'Inattention' crashes increased by 2, from 3 in August 2023 to 5 in August 2024, representing a share of 33.3% of crashes in the current period. Crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' decreased by 2, from 4 to 2, while 'Failed to yield right of way' crashes increased from 0 to 2. Crashes involving 'Followed too closely' and 'Exceeded authorized speed limit' both decreased by 100%, from 3 crashes and 2 crashes respectively, to 0 crashes in the current period.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention5 (33.3%)
No improper driving2 (13.3%)
Failed to yield right of way2 (13.3%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner2 (13.3%)
Other improper action1 (6.7%)
Fatigued/asleep1 (6.7%)
Operating defective equipment1 (6.7%)
Distracted1 (6.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions accounted for 12 incidents in August 2024, compared to 14 in August 2023. The number of crashes on 'Wet' road surfaces remained constant at 2 incidents in both periods. Crashes during 'Daylight' decreased from 17 to 11, while crashes in 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions increased from 2 to 3 year-over-year.

Weather

Clear12 (80.0%)
-14.3%prior 14
Cloudy1 (6.7%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (6.7%)
Rain1 (6.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight11 (73.3%)
-35.3%prior 17
Dark - lighted roadway3 (20.0%)
Dusk1 (6.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry13 (86.7%)
-27.8%prior 18
Wet2 (13.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (28 vehicles)

1
FORD5 (17.9%)
2
HONDA4 (14.3%)
3
CHEVROLET3 (10.7%)
4
NISSAN3 (10.7%)
5
SUBARU3 (10.7%)
6
VOLKSWAGEN2 (7.1%)
7
TOYOTA2 (7.1%)
-75.0%prior 8
8
MERCEDES-BENZ2 (7.1%)
9
JEEP1 (3.6%)
10
RAM1 (3.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (35 persons with recorded sex)

Male21 (60.0%)
-12.5%prior 24
Female14 (40.0%)
27.3%prior 11

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crash occurrences across different speed zones showed some shifts. Crashes in the 25 mph zone decreased from 3 in August 2023 to 0 in August 2024, a 100% reduction. Conversely, crashes in the 30 mph zone increased by 1, from 4 to 5, and crashes in the 40 mph zone increased by 1, from 2 to 3. Crashes in the 35 mph zone decreased by 2, from 7 to 5, and in the 45 mph zone decreased by 3, from 4 to 1.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · 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: 2024-08-01 through 2024-08-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-08-01 through 2024-08-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: LEICESTER, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 15
  • Total persons involved: 36
  • Total vehicles involved: 28

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: August 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/leicester/august-2024-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 — August 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com