ThatCarHitMe.com
An Injuria.ai Company
YEAR-OVER-YEAR CRASH REPORT · METHUEN, MA · 2022
Purpose: Machine-readable JSON endpoint for AI agents, LLMs, researchers, and programmatic consumers. Returns all underlying crash data and AI-generated commentary without HTML.
Authentication: None required. Public endpoint.
GET: https://thatcarhitme.com/api/crash-data/reports/data/massachusetts/methuen/2022-annual-report
Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis
1,193 CRASHES IN
METHUEN, MA
2022
In Methuen, total traffic crashes increased by 18.1% from 1,010 in 2021 to 1,193 in 2022. This rise was accompanied by a 13.4% increase in injuries, though fatalities remained stable at one per year. Among the most notable shifts was a 48.3% increase in the number of crashes involving suspected driving under the influence, which rose from 29 to 43 incidents.
1,193
▲ 18.1%was 1,010
Total Crash Events
1
Persons Killed
439
▲ 13.4%was 387
Persons Injured
51
▲ 21.4%was 42
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. 12 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records
Trend Summary
Crash data indicates a rising trend in collisions year-over-year. Total crashes increased by 18.1%, from 1,010 in the prior period to 1,193 in the current period. This corresponded with an increase in total injuries from 387 to 439, while total fatalities held constant at one.
51
Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2022
▲ 21.4% vs prior (42)
The number of hit-and-run incidents rose from 42 in 2021 to 51 in 2022, a 21.4% increase in count. However, the hit-and-run rate as a percentage of total crashes remained stable, moving from 4.2% in the prior year to 4.3% in the current year. This indicates the increase in hit-and-run events was proportional to the overall rise in collisions.
Vulnerable Road User Casualties
1
Motorists Killed
439
Motorists Injured
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)
When Crashes Happen
The temporal patterns of crashes shifted between the two periods. The peak day for crashes moved from Friday (166 crashes) in 2021 to Tuesday (187 crashes) in 2022. The peak hour also shifted slightly earlier, from 5 PM in the prior period (103 crashes) to 3 PM in the current period (101 crashes).
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)
Crash Severity Breakdown
The distribution of crash severity saw some changes year-over-year, although the number of fatal crashes remained constant at one. The proportion of crashes resulting in minor injuries increased, rising from 9.2% (93 crashes) in 2021 to 12.5% (149 crashes) in 2022. Conversely, the share of crashes involving possible injuries decreased from 15.5% to 12.2%.
Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale
Severity Distribution (Crash Events)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record
Top Contributing Factors
The primary contributing factors for crashes shifted between periods. In 2022, "Failed to yield right of way" became the leading factor with 176 crashes, up from 145 in the prior year. This displaced "Followed too closely," which was the top factor in 2021 with 182 crashes but decreased to 171 crashes in 2022. Crashes attributed to "Inattention" also grew in count from 128 to 149.
Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash
Road & Environmental Conditions
The majority of crashes in both years occurred in clear weather and daylight on dry roads. The proportion of crashes happening in clear weather increased from 68.1% (688 crashes) in 2021 to 72.1% (860 crashes) in 2022. Proportions for crashes on dry roads (76.2% in both years) and during daylight hours (70.1% vs. 67.3%) remained relatively consistent.
Weather
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash
Lighting
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Lighting condition field
Road Surface
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Road surface condition field
Vehicles & Demographics
The top three vehicle makes involved in collisions were Honda, Toyota, and Ford in both years, with their rankings unchanged. An analysis of persons involved in crashes shows a notable increase in the 21-25 age group, which grew from 312 individuals in 2021 to 417 in 2022. This 33.7% increase in count for that demographic was higher than the 20.7% overall increase in persons involved.
Top Vehicle Makes (2,245 vehicles)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Vehicle unit records
143 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.
Sex Distribution (2,692 persons with recorded sex)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events
Speed Limit Zones
Crash distribution across speed zones was similar year-over-year, with 30 mph, 35 mph, and 65 mph zones seeing the most incidents in both periods. The single fatal crash in 2022 occurred within a 50 mph zone. This is a change from the prior year, when the fatal crash occurred in a 30 mph zone.
Fatal crashes by zone: 50 mph: 1 of 4 (25%)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · 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: 2022-01-01 through 2022-12-31
- Report generated: June 21, 2026
Data Coverage
- Reporting period: 2022-01-01 through 2022-12-31 (365 days)
- Geographic scope: METHUEN, MA
- Total crash records analyzed: 1,193
- Total persons involved: 2,937
- Total vehicles involved: 2,245
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). "METHUEN, MA Crash Intelligence Report: 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/methuen/2022-annual-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
ThatCarHitMe.com · An Injuria.ai Company
ThatCarHitMe.com
An Injuria.ai Company
Crash Data Intelligence
Data: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly
Period: 2022-01-01 – 2022-12-31
Generated: June 21, 2026 · All rights reserved