Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

81 CRASHES IN
MARLBOROUGH, MA
SEPTEMBER 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstSeptember 2022

Total crashes in Marlborough increased by 15.7%, from 70 in September 2022 to 81 in September 2023. Despite this increase in overall crashes, total injuries decreased by 10.5%, from 19 to 17, representing a notable shift in crash outcomes. Fatalities remained at zero for both periods.

81

15.7%was 70

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

17

-10.5%was 19

Persons Injured

7

16.7%was 6

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 · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash incidents in Marlborough saw an upward trend year-over-year, with total crashes increasing by 11 incidents, or 15.7%, from 70 in September 2022 to 81 in September 2023. This indicates a measurable rise in the frequency of crashes for the month.

7

Hit-and-Run Crashes — September 2023

16.7% vs prior (6)

Hit-and-run crashes increased slightly from 6 incidents in September 2022 to 7 incidents in September 2023. Despite this increase in count, the hit-and-run rate remained stable at 8.6% of total crashes for both periods.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

17

Motorists Injured

Prior: 18-5.6%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · 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 Wednesday in September 2022, with 13 incidents, to Tuesday in September 2023, which recorded 23 crashes. The peak hour for crashes remained significant in the late afternoon, with 11 crashes at 4 PM in the prior period and 11 crashes at 5 PM in the current period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Marlborough experienced no fatalities in either September 2022 or September 2023. Total injuries decreased by 10.5%, from 19 in the prior period to 17 in the current period. Specifically, serious injuries (Severity A) decreased from 1 to 0, while minor injuries (Severity B) decreased from 8 to 6, and possible injuries (Severity C) increased from 4 to 5.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury6minor injury crashes7.4%
-25.0%prior 8
Possible Injury5possible injury crashes6.2%
25.0%prior 4
No Injury66no injury crashes81.5%
24.5%prior 53

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Among contributing factors, "Inattention" saw a significant increase in count, rising by 50% from 12 crashes in September 2022 to 18 crashes in September 2023. Crashes attributed to "No improper driving" also increased by 43.8%, from 16 to 23 incidents. Conversely, crashes due to "Followed too closely" decreased by 41.7%, from 12 to 7 incidents.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving23 (28.4%)43.8%prior 16
Inattention18 (22.2%)50.0%prior 12
Failed to yield right of way9 (11.1%)28.6%prior 7
Followed too closely7 (8.6%)-41.7%prior 12
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner3 (3.7%)
Over-correcting/over-steering3 (3.7%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road3 (3.7%)-40.0%prior 5
Fatigued/asleep2 (2.5%)
Visibility obstructed2 (2.5%)
Physical impairment1 (1.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in clear weather conditions increased from 53 to 63, while those in rainy conditions increased from 4 to 11. Incidents during "Dark - lighted roadway" conditions nearly doubled, rising from 7 to 13. Wet road surface crashes also increased, from 11 to 17.

Weather

Clear63 (77.8%)
18.9%prior 53
Rain11 (13.6%)
Cloudy/Rain4 (4.9%)
Cloudy3 (3.7%)
-57.1%prior 7

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight57 (70.4%)
-3.4%prior 59
Dark - lighted roadway13 (16.0%)
85.7%prior 7
Dusk5 (6.2%)
Dark - roadway not lighted4 (4.9%)
Other2 (2.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry64 (79.0%)
8.5%prior 59
Wet17 (21.0%)
54.5%prior 11

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased from 140 in September 2022 to 150 in September 2023. Toyota remained the most frequently involved make, increasing from 22 to 24 vehicles, while Honda involvement significantly increased from 10 to 22 vehicles, making it the second most common make. The 65+ age group saw a notable increase in involved persons, from 14 to 22.

Top Vehicle Makes (150 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA24 (16%)
9.1%prior 22
2
HONDA22 (14.7%)
120.0%prior 10
3
FORD21 (14%)
10.5%prior 19
4
CHEVROLET11 (7.3%)
-8.3%prior 12
5
NISSAN10 (6.7%)
0.0%prior 10
6
HYUNDAI9 (6%)
7
JEEP6 (4%)
20.0%prior 5
8
ACURA4 (2.7%)
9
KIA4 (2.7%)
-33.3%prior 6
10
SUBARU4 (2.7%)
-55.6%prior 9

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (152 persons with recorded sex)

Male84 (55.3%)
-5.6%prior 89
Female68 (44.7%)
15.3%prior 59

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 30 mph zones increased from 20 to 24, and those in 35 mph zones nearly doubled, rising from 7 to 13. Conversely, crashes in 5 mph zones decreased from 4 to 2. No fatalities were recorded in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · 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: 2023-09-01 through 2023-09-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-09-01 through 2023-09-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: MARLBOROUGH, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 81
  • Total persons involved: 172
  • Total vehicles involved: 150

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: September 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/marlborough/september-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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Marlborough, MA Crash Report — September 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com