Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

6 CRASHES IN
MERRIMAC, MA
JANUARY 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstJanuary 2022

In January 2023, Merrimac experienced a total of 6 crashes, marking a 53.8% decrease from the 13 crashes recorded in January 2022. Concurrently, the number of total injuries fell significantly from 7 in January 2022 to 2 in January 2023. This period saw a notable shift in the types of contributing factors reported, with 'Driving too fast for conditions' no longer appearing as a factor.

6

-53.8%was 13

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

2

-71.4%was 7

Persons Injured

0

Fatal Crash Events

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 · 2023-01-01 to 2023-01-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash activity in Merrimac showed a significant downward trend year-over-year. Total crashes decreased by 53.8%, falling from 13 in January 2022 to 6 in January 2023. Similarly, total injuries declined by 71.4%, from 7 to 2, while total fatalities remained at 0 in both periods.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

2

Motorists Injured

Prior: 7-71.4%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-01-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal distribution of crashes shifted year-over-year, with the peak day for crashes moving from Friday (6 crashes) in January 2022 to both Sunday and Thursday (2 crashes each) in January 2023. The peak crash hour also changed, occurring at 4 p.m. with 2 crashes in January 2022, and at 2 p.m. with 2 crashes in January 2023.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-01-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-01-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There was a notable improvement in crash severity, with serious injuries (code A) decreasing from 1 in January 2022 to 0 in January 2023. Minor injuries (code B) also saw a reduction, from 2 in the prior year to 1 in the current year. The proportion of crashes resulting in no injury increased from 76.9% in January 2022 to 83.3% in January 2023.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury1minor injury crashes16.7%
-50.0%prior 2
No Injury5no injury crashes83.3%
-50.0%prior 10

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-01-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-01-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The count of crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' decreased by 2, from 6 in January 2022 to 4 in January 2023. 'Driving too fast for conditions' was a factor in 2 crashes in January 2022 but was not reported in January 2023. Conversely, 'Distracted' driving, not reported in January 2022, was a factor in 1 crash in January 2023.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving4 (66.7%)-33.3%prior 6
Distracted1 (16.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-01-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions decreased from 4 in January 2022 to 2 in January 2023, while crashes in 'Snow' conditions, which accounted for 3 incidents in the prior year, were not reported in the current year. Crashes on 'Dry' road surfaces decreased from 7 to 4, whereas crashes on 'Wet' road surfaces increased from 1 to 2 year-over-year. Crashes during 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions decreased from 4 to 1, while crashes during 'Dark - roadway not lighted' conditions increased from 1 to 2.

Weather

Clear2 (40.0%)
Cloudy1 (20.0%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (20.0%)
Cloudy/Snow1 (20.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-01-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight3 (50.0%)
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (33.3%)
Dark - lighted roadway1 (16.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-01-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry4 (66.7%)
-42.9%prior 7
Wet2 (33.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-01-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (7 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA3 (42.9%)
-40.0%prior 5
2
ACURA1 (14.3%)
3
HONDA1 (14.3%)
4
MAZDA1 (14.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-01-31 · Vehicle unit records

Sex Distribution (7 persons with recorded sex)

Male5 (71.4%)
-61.5%prior 13
Female2 (28.6%)
-75.0%prior 8

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-01-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 65 mph speed zone decreased from 5 in January 2022 to 4 in January 2023. Speed zones of 5 mph, 35 mph, and 40 mph, which accounted for 1, 4, and 3 crashes respectively in January 2022, were not associated with any crashes in January 2023. Conversely, the 30 mph speed zone, which had no crashes in the prior year, recorded 2 crashes in January 2023.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-01-31 · 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: 2023-01-01 through 2023-01-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-01-01 through 2023-01-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: MERRIMAC, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 6
  • Total persons involved: 8
  • Total vehicles involved: 7

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). "MERRIMAC, MA Crash Intelligence Report: January 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2023-01-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/merrimac/january-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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Merrimac, MA Crash Report — January 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com