Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

18 CRASHES IN
LITTLETON, MA
AUGUST 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstAugust 2022

Total crashes in Littleton decreased from 26 in August 2022 to 18 in August 2023, representing a 30.77% reduction year-over-year. The most notable shift was in fatalities, which increased from 0 in August 2022 to 1 in August 2023. Injuries also decreased significantly, from 7 to 3 over the same period.

18

-30.8%was 26

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

3

-57.1%was 7

Persons Injured

2

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.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, the trend indicates a decrease in total crashes, with a 30.77% reduction from 26 crashes in August 2022 to 18 crashes in August 2023. Despite this reduction in total incidents, a fatal crash occurred in August 2023, whereas none were reported in August 2022. Total injuries decreased by 57.14%, from 7 to 3.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — August 2023

11.1% hit-and-run rate this period vs 0.0% prior. Prior period: 0.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

3

Motorists Injured

Prior: 7-57.1%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · 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 Wednesday in both periods, though the count decreased from 8 in August 2022 to 7 in August 2023. The peak hour shifted from 4 p.m. with 4 crashes in August 2022 to 3 p.m. with 3 crashes in August 2023. Notable changes include Monday crashes decreasing from 4 to 0 and Saturday crashes decreasing from 3 to 0.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

The severity distribution saw a significant change with the occurrence of one fatal crash in August 2023, compared to zero fatal crashes in August 2022, resulting in a fatal rate of 5.56%. Total injuries decreased from 7 in August 2022 to 3 in August 2023. Minor injury crashes remained at 2 in both periods, but their proportion of total crashes increased from 7.7% to 11.1% due to the overall decrease in crash volume.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes5.6%
Minor Injury2minor injury crashes11.1%
0.0%prior 2
No Injury15no injury crashes83.3%
-31.8%prior 22

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Among common contributing factors, 'No improper driving' decreased by 2 crashes, from 6 in August 2022 to 4 in August 2023. 'Inattention' also saw a reduction of 4 crashes, from 5 to 1. 'Followed too closely' and 'Distracted' remained constant with 5 and 1 crash counts, respectively, in both periods. 'Driving too fast for conditions' was cited in 2 crashes in August 2023 but none in August 2022.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Followed too closely5 (27.8%)0.0%prior 5
No improper driving4 (22.2%)-33.3%prior 6
Driving too fast for conditions2 (11.1%)
Inattention1 (5.6%)-80.0%prior 5
Other improper action1 (5.6%)
Wrong side or wrong way1 (5.6%)
Distracted1 (5.6%)
Failed to yield right of way1 (5.6%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (5.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions decreased from 22 in August 2022 to 13 in August 2023, reflecting the overall decrease in crash volume. 'Daylight' crashes also decreased from 22 to 14. There was a slight increase in crashes occurring in 'Dark - roadway not lighted' conditions, from 1 to 2, and a new occurrence of 1 crash at 'Dawn' in August 2023, compared to none in the prior period.

Weather

Clear13 (72.2%)
-40.9%prior 22
Cloudy2 (11.1%)
Rain2 (11.1%)
Clear/Unknown1 (5.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight14 (77.8%)
-36.4%prior 22
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (11.1%)
Dark - lighted roadway1 (5.6%)
Dawn1 (5.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry15 (83.3%)
-31.8%prior 22
Wet3 (16.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (37 vehicles)

1
HONDA6 (16.2%)
-53.8%prior 13
2
TOYOTA6 (16.2%)
-57.1%prior 14
3
FORD4 (10.8%)
4
DODGE3 (8.1%)
5
JEEP3 (8.1%)
6
CHEVROLET2 (5.4%)
-60.0%prior 5
7
FRHT2 (5.4%)
8
ACURA1 (2.7%)
9
MAZDA1 (2.7%)
10
MERCEDES-BENZ1 (2.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (32 persons with recorded sex)

Male17 (53.1%)
-48.5%prior 33
Female15 (46.9%)
-40.0%prior 25

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 25 mph speed zones decreased from 5 in August 2022 to 2 in August 2023. The number of crashes in 10 mph, 35 mph, 45 mph, and 65 mph speed zones remained constant between the two periods. Notably, crashes in 55 mph zones decreased from 6 to 3, but one fatal crash occurred in a 55 mph zone in August 2023, whereas there were no fatal crashes in any speed zone in August 2022.

Fatal crashes by zone: 55 mph: 1 of 3 (33.333%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · 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: 2023-08-01 through 2023-08-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-08-01 through 2023-08-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: LITTLETON, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 18
  • Total persons involved: 39
  • Total vehicles involved: 37

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). "LITTLETON, MA Crash Intelligence Report: August 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/littleton/august-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

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Littleton, MA Crash Report — August 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com