Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

239 CRASHES IN
MARBLEHEAD, MA
2022

All metrics benchmarked against2021

In 2022, Marblehead recorded 239 total vehicle crashes, an 18.9% increase from the 201 crashes reported in 2021. While total injuries saw a slight decrease from 36 to 32, the most notable change was the occurrence of one fatal crash in 2022, whereas none were recorded in the prior year.

239

18.9%was 201

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

32

-11.1%was 36

Persons Injured

26

30.0%was 20

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. 28 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

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

Trend Summary

Overall, traffic crashes in Marblehead trended upward from 2021 to 2022, with total incidents rising by 18.9% from 201 to 239. This increase in crash volume was accompanied by the city's first traffic fatality in this two-year period. Concurrently, the total number of non-fatal injuries decreased by 11.1% from 36 to 32.

26

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2022

30.0% vs prior (20)

The number of hit-and-run incidents increased from 20 in 2021 to 26 in 2022, representing a 30% rise in count. The hit-and-run rate, as a percentage of total crashes, also saw a slight upward trend, increasing from 10.0% in the prior year to 10.9% in the current year.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 3-66.7%

3

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 250.0%

28

Motorists Injured

Prior: 31-9.7%

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

When Crashes Happen

The temporal pattern of crashes showed a shift in the peak day of the week. In 2022, Tuesday was the busiest day with 54 crashes, a change from Friday in 2021 which saw 40 crashes. However, the peak hour for collisions remained consistent year-over-year, with 1 p.m. being the most frequent time for crashes in both periods (21 in 2021, 26 in 2022).

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

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

Crash Severity Breakdown

The severity of crashes shifted notably with the introduction of one fatal incident in 2022, resulting in a fatal crash rate of 0.42 per 100 crashes, up from zero in 2021. Despite the overall increase in total crashes, the proportion of crashes resulting in any injury decreased. In 2022, 12.5% of crashes involved an injury (30 out of 239), compared to 16.0% in 2021 (32 out of 201).

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes0.4%
Minor Injury17minor injury crashes7.1%
54.5%prior 11
Possible Injury13possible injury crashes5.4%
-31.6%prior 19
No Injury180no injury crashes75.3%
27.7%prior 141

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

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

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

Top Contributing Factors

In both years, 'No improper driving' was the most cited factor, with its count increasing from 85 in 2021 to 111 in 2022. The second-ranked factor, 'Inattention,' saw a significant increase in its incident count, rising by 70.6% from 17 crashes in 2021 to 29 in 2022. 'Distracted' driving, which was the third most common factor in 2021 with 11 incidents, fell in the rankings as its count decreased to 6 in 2022.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving111 (46.4%)30.6%prior 85
Inattention29 (12.1%)70.6%prior 17
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner8 (3.3%)-11.1%prior 9
Failed to yield right of way7 (2.9%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway7 (2.9%)
Distracted6 (2.5%)-45.5%prior 11
Followed too closely4 (1.7%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road4 (1.7%)
Glare3 (1.3%)
Over-correcting/over-steering3 (1.3%)

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

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crash conditions remained broadly similar between the two years, with most incidents occurring in daylight on dry roads. In 2022, 82.8% of crashes happened in daylight, a higher proportion than the 73.1% recorded in 2021. The percentage of crashes on dry road surfaces was stable, accounting for 82.0% of incidents in 2022 compared to 84.1% in 2021.

Weather

Clear164 (69.2%)
14.7%prior 143
Clear/Cloudy22 (9.3%)
100.0%prior 11
Cloudy14 (5.9%)
-36.4%prior 22
Cloudy/Rain11 (4.6%)
83.3%prior 6
Rain/Cloudy7 (3.0%)
Rain7 (3.0%)
-22.2%prior 9
Snow4 (1.7%)
Clear/Unknown2 (0.8%)
Cloudy/Snow2 (0.8%)
Rain/Severe crosswinds1 (0.4%)

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

Lighting

Daylight198 (84.6%)
34.7%prior 147
Dark - lighted roadway24 (10.3%)
-29.4%prior 34
Dusk4 (1.7%)
-60.0%prior 10
Dark - roadway not lighted3 (1.3%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting3 (1.3%)
Dawn2 (0.9%)

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

Road Surface

Dry196 (82.7%)
16.0%prior 169
Wet31 (13.1%)
19.2%prior 26
Snow6 (2.5%)
Ice3 (1.3%)
Water (standing, moving)1 (0.4%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

The top three vehicle makes involved in crashes—Toyota, Ford, and Honda—remained consistent across both years, with only minor changes in their rankings. Analysis of person demographics shows an increase in crash involvement for older age groups. The number of individuals aged 65 and older involved in crashes grew from 59 in 2021 to 75 in 2022, while those in the 55-64 age group increased from 42 to 59.

Top Vehicle Makes (441 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA55 (12.5%)
7.8%prior 51
2
FORD46 (10.4%)
53.3%prior 30
3
HONDA40 (9.1%)
14.3%prior 35
4
JEEP28 (6.3%)
75.0%prior 16
5
CHEVROLET24 (5.4%)
26.3%prior 19
6
SUBARU20 (4.5%)
-20.0%prior 25
7
BMW18 (4.1%)
80.0%prior 10
8
VOLKSWAGEN18 (4.1%)
28.6%prior 14
9
NISSAN17 (3.9%)
13.3%prior 15
10
ACURA15 (3.4%)
200.0%prior 5

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

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

Sex Distribution (354 persons with recorded sex)

Male206 (58.2%)
19.1%prior 173
Female148 (41.8%)
5.0%prior 141

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

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 30 mph zones were most frequent in both years, accounting for 92 incidents in 2021 and 83 in 2022. There was a notable shift in lower speed zones, with crashes in 25 mph zones increasing from 42 in 2021 to 76 in 2022. The single fatal crash recorded in 2022 occurred in a 30 mph zone.

Fatal crashes by zone: 30 mph: 1 of 83 (1.205%)

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

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-01-01 through 2022-12-31 (365 days)
  • Geographic scope: MARBLEHEAD, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 239
  • Total persons involved: 501
  • Total vehicles involved: 441

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