Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

25 CRASHES IN
MENDON, MA
MAY 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstMay 2023

Total crashes in Mendon increased significantly from 11 in May 2023 to 25 in May 2024, representing a 127.27% rise. The most notable shift was the emergence of fatal crashes, with one fatal crash and one fatality reported in May 2024, compared to zero in May 2023.

25

127.3%was 11

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

12

9.1%was 11

Persons Injured

1

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. 1 crash with unreported severity is not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash incidents in Mendon show a substantial upward trend year-over-year. Total crashes increased by 127.27%, rising from 11 in May 2023 to 25 in May 2024. Additionally, total fatalities increased from 0 to 1, and total injuries rose from 11 to 12.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — May 2024

0.0% vs prior (1)

The number of hit-and-run crashes remained stable at 1 in both May 2023 and May 2024. However, due to the overall increase in total crashes, the hit-and-run rate decreased from 9.1% in May 2023 to 4% in May 2024.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

12

Motorists Injured

Prior: 119.1%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · 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 Friday with 3 crashes in May 2023 to Tuesday with 7 crashes in May 2024. The peak hour also changed, moving from 2 PM with 3 crashes in May 2023 to 4 PM with 5 crashes in May 2024. This indicates a shift in the most frequent crash times and days.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Crash severity distribution changed significantly, with May 2024 reporting one fatal crash (4% share of total crashes) and one fatality, compared to zero fatal crashes and zero fatalities in May 2023. Minor injury crashes decreased from 8 (72.7% share) in May 2023 to 7 (28% share) in May 2024, while no injury crashes rose from 3 (27.3% share) to 15 (60% share).

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes4%
Minor Injury7minor injury crashes28%
-12.5%prior 8
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes4%
No Injury15no injury crashes60%
400.0%prior 3

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Among contributing factors, 'No improper driving' increased by 1 crash, from 5 in May 2023 to 6 in May 2024. Factors such as 'Followed too closely,' 'Inattention,' and 'Failed to yield right of way' each increased by 3 crashes year-over-year. 'Exceeded authorized speed limit' and 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' both increased by 1 crash, while 'Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings' appeared as a new factor in May 2024 with 2 crashes.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving6 (24%)20.0%prior 5
Followed too closely4 (16%)
Inattention4 (16%)
Failed to yield right of way4 (16%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings2 (8%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit2 (8%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (8%)
Other improper action1 (4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in clear weather conditions increased from 5 in May 2023 to 18 in May 2024. Crashes on dry road surfaces also increased from 8 to 23 year-over-year, while crashes on wet surfaces decreased from 3 to 1. Daylight conditions continued to be the most common lighting condition, increasing from 8 to 20 crashes.

Weather

Clear18 (72.0%)
260.0%prior 5
Clear/Clear4 (16.0%)
Cloudy1 (4.0%)
Rain1 (4.0%)
Unknown/Unknown1 (4.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight20 (83.3%)
150.0%prior 8
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (8.3%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (4.2%)
Dusk1 (4.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry23 (95.8%)
187.5%prior 8
Wet1 (4.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (46 vehicles)

1
CHEVROLET8 (17.4%)
2
FORD7 (15.2%)
3
HONDA4 (8.7%)
4
TOYOTA4 (8.7%)
5
SUBARU3 (6.5%)
6
JEEP3 (6.5%)
7
HYUNDAI3 (6.5%)
8
NISSAN2 (4.3%)
9
ACURA2 (4.3%)
10
FRHT2 (4.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (57 persons with recorded sex)

Female31 (54.4%)
342.9%prior 7
Male26 (45.6%)
116.7%prior 12

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 30 mph speed zone saw the largest increase, rising from 4 in May 2023 to 10 in May 2024. The 35 mph zone also experienced a notable increase from 1 crash to 5 crashes, and this zone recorded the only fatal crash in May 2024. Crashes in the 40 mph zone increased from 1 to 6, while the 50 mph zone remained stable with 1 crash in both periods.

Fatal crashes by zone: 35 mph: 1 of 5 (20%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · 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: 2024-05-01 through 2024-05-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-05-01 through 2024-05-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: MENDON, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 25
  • Total persons involved: 59
  • Total vehicles involved: 46

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). "MENDON, MA Crash Intelligence Report: May 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/mendon/may-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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Mendon, MA Crash Report — May 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com