Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

139 CRASHES IN
MARLBOROUGH, MA
JANUARY 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstJanuary 2023

MARLBOROUGH experienced a significant increase in total crashes from January 2023 to January 2024, rising from 83 to 139 crashes, a 67.5% increase. While fatalities remained at zero in both periods, DUI-related crashes saw a substantial increase, quadrupling from 1 incident to 5 incidents year-over-year.

139

67.5%was 83

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

21

5.0%was 20

Persons Injured

11

37.5%was 8

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. 4 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 2024-01-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend for crashes in MARLBOROUGH is upward, with a considerable increase in total incidents. Total crashes rose by 56, from 83 in January 2023 to 139 in January 2024, representing a 67.5% increase.

11

Hit-and-Run Crashes — January 2024

37.5% vs prior (8)

The number of hit-and-run crashes increased from 8 in January 2023 to 11 in January 2024. However, the hit-and-run rate decreased from 9.6% of total crashes in the prior period to 7.9% in the current period.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 10.0%

20

Motorists Injured

Prior: 1811.1%

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

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes shifted from Monday in January 2023, with 22 incidents, to Tuesday in January 2024, with 31 incidents. The peak crash hour also moved, from 4 p.m. with 13 crashes in the prior period to 6 p.m. with 21 crashes in the current period.

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

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

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatalities remained at 0 in both January 2023 and January 2024. Total injuries increased slightly from 20 to 21, but the proportion of Serious Injury crashes decreased from 2.4% (2 crashes) to 0.7% (1 crash). Minor Injury crashes also saw a decrease in their share, from 15.7% to 7.9%.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes0.7%
-50.0%prior 2
Minor Injury11minor injury crashes7.9%
-15.4%prior 13
Possible Injury6possible injury crashes4.3%
200.0%prior 2
No Injury117no injury crashes84.2%
88.7%prior 62

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

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

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

Top Contributing Factors

The number of crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' increased from 27 in January 2023 to 48 in January 2024, a rise of 21 incidents. 'Driving too fast for conditions' saw a notable increase from 4 crashes to 11 crashes, while 'Failed to yield right of way' and 'Followed too closely' remained constant at 11 and 7 crashes respectively across both periods.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving48 (34.5%)77.8%prior 27
Inattention17 (12.2%)41.7%prior 12
Driving too fast for conditions11 (7.9%)
Failed to yield right of way11 (7.9%)0.0%prior 11
Followed too closely7 (5%)0.0%prior 7
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner6 (4.3%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road5 (3.6%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway4 (2.9%)
Distracted4 (2.9%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit2 (1.4%)

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

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions increased from 47 to 59, and those in 'Snow' conditions rose from 9 to 18. Under 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions, crashes increased significantly from 22 to 50. The number of crashes on 'Snow' road surfaces nearly tripled, going from 12 to 33, and crashes on 'Ice' surfaces were reported as 17 in the current period, a condition not among the top listed in the prior period.

Weather

Clear59 (43.1%)
25.5%prior 47
Snow18 (13.1%)
100.0%prior 9
Cloudy15 (10.9%)
87.5%prior 8
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)11 (8.0%)
Rain5 (3.6%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)4 (2.9%)
Snow/Cloudy4 (2.9%)
Snow/Blowing sand, snow4 (2.9%)
Cloudy/Rain3 (2.2%)
-40.0%prior 5
Clear/Cloudy3 (2.2%)

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

Lighting

Daylight67 (49.3%)
36.7%prior 49
Dark - lighted roadway50 (36.8%)
127.3%prior 22
Dark - roadway not lighted11 (8.1%)
120.0%prior 5
Dusk7 (5.1%)
40.0%prior 5
Dawn1 (0.7%)

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

Road Surface

Dry57 (41.6%)
9.6%prior 52
Snow33 (24.1%)
175.0%prior 12
Wet28 (20.4%)
75.0%prior 16
Ice17 (12.4%)
Slush2 (1.5%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased from 156 in January 2023 to 240 in January 2024. All reported age groups saw an increase in persons involved, with the 35-44 age group experiencing the largest numerical increase, rising from 23 to 47 persons. Toyota remained the top vehicle make involved, increasing from 30 to 47, while Chevrolet saw a significant rise from 7 to 21 vehicles involved.

Top Vehicle Makes (240 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA47 (19.6%)
56.7%prior 30
2
HONDA32 (13.3%)
33.3%prior 24
3
FORD23 (9.6%)
130.0%prior 10
4
NISSAN21 (8.8%)
75.0%prior 12
5
CHEVROLET21 (8.8%)
200.0%prior 7
6
SUBARU12 (5%)
50.0%prior 8
7
JEEP11 (4.6%)
37.5%prior 8
8
HYUNDAI7 (2.9%)
9
MERCEDES-BENZ6 (2.5%)
10
KIA6 (2.5%)
20.0%prior 5

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

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

Sex Distribution (258 persons with recorded sex)

Male153 (59.3%)
61.1%prior 95
Female105 (40.7%)
72.1%prior 61

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

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 25 MPH zones increased from 19 to 31, and those in 30 MPH zones rose from 20 to 35. Crashes in 35 MPH zones saw the largest numerical increase, from 10 to 27 incidents. No fatal crashes were reported in any speed zone for either January 2023 or January 2024.

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

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-01-01 through 2024-01-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: MARLBOROUGH, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 139
  • Total persons involved: 284
  • Total vehicles involved: 240

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). "MARLBOROUGH, MA Crash Intelligence Report: January 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2024-01-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/marlborough/january-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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Marlborough, MA Crash Report — January 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com