Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

19 CRASHES IN
MELROSE, MA
JANUARY 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstJanuary 2023

Total crashes in MELROSE decreased by 5% from 20 in January 2023 to 19 in January 2024. Total injuries also saw a significant reduction, decreasing by 37.5% from 8 to 5 over the same period. The most notable year-over-year shift was the complete absence of pedestrian crashes in January 2024, compared to 2 such crashes in January 2023.

19

-5.0%was 20

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

5

-37.5%was 8

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.

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

Overall, crashes and injuries in MELROSE decreased year-over-year for the month of January. Total crashes decreased by 5%, from 20 in January 2023 to 19 in January 2024. Total injuries experienced a more substantial decline of 37.5%, falling from 8 to 5, while fatalities remained at 0 in both periods.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — January 2024

0.0% vs prior (1)

The number of hit-and-run crashes remained constant at 1 in both January 2024 and January 2023. The hit-and-run rate slightly increased from 5.0% in the prior period to 5.3% in the current period due to the overall decrease in total crashes. This indicates a relatively stable occurrence of hit-and-run incidents year-over-year.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

5

Motorists Injured

Prior: 6-16.7%

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 with 6 crashes in January 2023 to Thursday with 5 crashes in January 2024. Similarly, the peak hour changed from 5 p.m. with 4 crashes in the prior period to 2 p.m. with 3 crashes in the current period. This indicates a shift in the temporal distribution of crash occurrences between the two periods.

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 2024 and January 2023. Total injuries decreased from 8 in the prior period to 5 in the current period, representing a 37.5% reduction. The number of serious injuries (severity A) remained constant at 1 in both periods, while minor injuries (severity B) also remained constant at 3. The prior period recorded 2 possible injuries (severity C), which were not present in the current period.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes5.3%
0.0%prior 1
Minor Injury3minor injury crashes15.8%
0.0%prior 3
No Injury15no injury crashes78.9%
7.1%prior 14

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 count of crashes attributed to "No improper driving" decreased by 3, from 8 in January 2023 to 5 in January 2024, a 37.5% reduction. Crashes due to "Failed to yield right of way" also decreased by 2, from 3 to 1, a 66.7% reduction. Conversely, "Inattention"-related crashes increased by 1, from 1 to 2, a 100% increase, and "Distracted" driving appeared as a factor in 2 crashes in the current period, where it was not a top factor in the prior period.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving5 (26.3%)-37.5%prior 8
Followed too closely2 (10.5%)
Inattention2 (10.5%)
Distracted2 (10.5%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (5.3%)
Visibility obstructed1 (5.3%)
Over-correcting/over-steering1 (5.3%)
Failed to yield right of way1 (5.3%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (5.3%)

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 slightly from 9 in the prior period to 10 in the current period. Conversely, crashes in rain conditions (including Rain and Rain/Snow) decreased from 7 to 2, a 71.4% reduction, and crashes in snow conditions decreased from 5 to 3, a 40% reduction. There was a notable shift in lighting conditions, with daylight crashes increasing from 9 to 14, while crashes in dark-lighted roadway conditions decreased from 9 to 2. Dry road surface crashes increased from 7 to 11, while wet road surface crashes decreased from 9 to 5.

Weather

Clear10 (52.6%)
11.1%prior 9
Cloudy5 (26.3%)
Snow2 (10.5%)
Rain1 (5.3%)
-80.0%prior 5
Rain/Snow1 (5.3%)

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

Lighting

Daylight14 (73.7%)
55.6%prior 9
Dark - lighted roadway2 (10.5%)
-77.8%prior 9
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (10.5%)
Dusk1 (5.3%)

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

Road Surface

Dry11 (57.9%)
57.1%prior 7
Wet5 (26.3%)
-44.4%prior 9
Snow2 (10.5%)
Sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel1 (5.3%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (37 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA8 (21.6%)
14.3%prior 7
2
HONDA6 (16.2%)
3
JEEP5 (13.5%)
4
SUBARU3 (8.1%)
5
FORD3 (8.1%)
6
BMW2 (5.4%)
7
MERCEDES-BENZ2 (5.4%)
8
KIA1 (2.7%)
9
CHEVROLET1 (2.7%)
10
INFI1 (2.7%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (41 persons with recorded sex)

Male23 (56.1%)
-4.2%prior 24
Female18 (43.9%)
38.5%prior 13

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

The number of crashes occurring in 25 mph speed zones remained constant at 17 in both January 2023 and January 2024. Crashes in 30 mph zones also remained constant at 1 crash across both periods. A single crash occurred in a 35 mph speed zone in the current period, which was not observed in the prior period. No fatal crashes were recorded in any speed zone during either period.

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: MELROSE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 19
  • Total persons involved: 45
  • 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). "MELROSE, 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/melrose/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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Melrose, MA Crash Report — January 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com