Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

24 CRASHES IN
LEICESTER, MA
JANUARY 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstJanuary 2022

In January 2023, LEICESTER experienced 24 crashes, an increase of 14.3% compared to the 21 crashes recorded in January 2022. A notable positive shift was the absence of fatal crashes in the current period, down from one fatality in the prior year.

24

14.3%was 21

Total Crash Events

0

-100.0%was 1

Persons Killed

8

14.3%was 7

Persons Injured

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. 2 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 2023-01-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash incidents in LEICESTER increased year-over-year, with total crashes rising by 14.3% from 21 in January 2022 to 24 in January 2023. While total injuries saw a slight increase from 7 to 8, there was a significant positive trend with zero fatalities reported in the current period, compared to one in the prior year.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — January 2023

0.0% vs prior (1)

The number of hit-and-run crashes remained consistent at 1 for both January 2022 and January 2023. Despite this, the hit-and-run crash rate saw a slight decrease from 4.8% in the prior period to 4.2% in the current period.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 1-100.0%

8

Motorists Injured

Prior: 714.3%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-01-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal distribution of crashes shifted year-over-year; the peak crash day moved from Tuesday with 7 crashes in January 2022 to Sunday, Monday, and Friday, each recording 5 crashes in January 2023. Additionally, the peak crash hour changed from 4 PM with 3 crashes in the prior period to 8 PM, also with 3 crashes, in the current period.

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

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

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes decreased from 1 (4.8% of total crashes) in January 2022 to 0 in January 2023. Concurrently, serious injury crashes increased from 0 to 1 (4.2% of current crashes), and minor injury crashes rose from 1 (4.8%) to 3 (12.5%). Possible injury crashes remained at 2 for both periods, but their share slightly decreased from 9.5% to 8.3%.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes4.2%
Minor Injury3minor injury crashes12.5%
200.0%prior 1
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes8.3%
0.0%prior 2
No Injury16no injury crashes66.7%
-5.9%prior 17

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

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

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

Top Contributing Factors

The count of crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' decreased from 6 in January 2022 to 4 in January 2023, and 'Inattention' also saw a reduction from 5 to 3 crashes. Conversely, crashes due to 'Over-correcting/over-steering' increased from 1 to 2, and 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' emerged as a more prominent factor, increasing from 0 to 3 crashes year-over-year.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving4 (16.7%)-33.3%prior 6
Inattention3 (12.5%)-40.0%prior 5
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road3 (12.5%)
Operating defective equipment2 (8.3%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner2 (8.3%)
Over-correcting/over-steering2 (8.3%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (4.2%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (4.2%)
Distracted1 (4.2%)
Fatigued/asleep1 (4.2%)

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

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring on 'Wet' road surfaces increased from 3 (14.3% of prior crashes) to 7 (29.2% of current crashes) year-over-year. Similarly, crashes in 'Dark - roadway not lighted' conditions doubled from 3 to 6, representing a rise in their share from 14.3% to 25%. Conversely, crashes during 'Daylight' conditions decreased from 14 (66.7%) to 11 (45.8%) of total crashes.

Weather

Clear14 (58.3%)
7.7%prior 13
Snow3 (12.5%)
Rain2 (8.3%)
Rain/Fog, smog, smoke1 (4.2%)
Rain/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (4.2%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (4.2%)
Cloudy1 (4.2%)
Fog, smog, smoke1 (4.2%)

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

Lighting

Daylight11 (45.8%)
-21.4%prior 14
Dark - roadway not lighted6 (25.0%)
Dark - lighted roadway5 (20.8%)
Dusk2 (8.3%)

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

Road Surface

Dry10 (41.7%)
-9.1%prior 11
Wet7 (29.2%)
Ice5 (20.8%)
0.0%prior 5
Snow2 (8.3%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (36 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA12 (33.3%)
2
HONDA4 (11.1%)
3
MAZDA3 (8.3%)
4
NISSAN3 (8.3%)
5
CHEVROLET2 (5.6%)
6
FORD2 (5.6%)
7
HYUNDAI2 (5.6%)
8
JEEP2 (5.6%)
9
INFI1 (2.8%)
10
GMC1 (2.8%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (45 persons with recorded sex)

Male25 (55.6%)
25.0%prior 20
Female20 (44.4%)
-4.8%prior 21

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

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 35 mph speed zone significantly increased from 1 in January 2022 to 8 in January 2023. Conversely, crashes in the 30 mph zone decreased from 10 to 7. There were no fatal crashes reported in any speed zone in the current period, a decrease from one fatal crash in the 45 mph zone in the prior period.

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

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-01-01 through 2023-01-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: LEICESTER, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 24
  • Total persons involved: 49
  • Total vehicles involved: 36

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: January 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2023-01-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/leicester/january-2023-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

ThatCarHitMe.com · An Injuria.ai Company

Leicester, MA Crash Report — January 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com