Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

921 CRASHES IN
MIDDLEBOROUGH, MA
2024

All metrics benchmarked against2023

In 2024, Middleborough recorded 921 total vehicle crashes, a 4.5% decrease from the 964 crashes reported in 2023. Despite the overall reduction in collisions, the number of fatalities increased from one in the prior year to four in the current period. This rise in crash lethality, coupled with an 18.2% increase in total injuries, marks the most significant year-over-year shift in the data.

921

-4.5%was 964

Total Crash Events

4

300.0%was 1

Persons Killed

305

18.2%was 258

Persons Injured

58

-19.4%was 72

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (4) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (4) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities. 18 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall traffic collisions in Middleborough saw a modest decline, with total crashes decreasing by 4.5% from 964 in 2023 to 921 in 2024. However, this decrease in crash frequency was accompanied by a significant increase in severity. The number of people injured rose by 18.2% from 258 to 305, and fatalities quadrupled from one to four year-over-year.

58

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2024

-19.4% vs prior (72)

Hit-and-run incidents showed a positive trend, decreasing year-over-year. The total number of hit-and-run crashes fell from 72 in 2023 to 58 in 2024, a reduction of 19.4%. Correspondingly, the hit-and-run rate, as a percentage of total crashes, also declined from 7.5% to 6.3%.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 1-100.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

4

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

4

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 6-33.3%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 10.0%

300

Motorists Injured

Prior: 25119.5%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes remained broadly consistent year-over-year, with Friday being the day with the most incidents in both 2023 (168 crashes) and 2024 (146 crashes). However, the peak hour for collisions shifted earlier in the day. In 2024, the highest number of crashes occurred at 3 PM with 90 incidents, compared to a 5 PM peak in 2023, which also saw 90 incidents during its busiest hour.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Crash severity worsened significantly in 2024 compared to the previous year. The number of fatal crashes quadrupled from one to four, causing the fatal crash rate to rise from 0.1% to 0.4% of all crashes. The proportion of crashes resulting in any type of injury also increased, with serious injuries rising from 2.6% to 2.9% and minor injuries from 12.3% to 14.2% of total incidents. Consequently, the share of crashes with no reported injuries decreased from 75.8% in 2023 to 74.0% in 2024.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal4fatal crashes0.4%
300.0%prior 1
Serious Injury27serious injury crashes2.9%
8.0%prior 25
Minor Injury131minor injury crashes14.2%
10.1%prior 119
Possible Injury59possible injury crashes6.4%
3.5%prior 57
No Injury682no injury crashes74%
-6.7%prior 731

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

In 2024, 'Inattention' became the leading contributing factor, with its count increasing by 21.2% from 165 to 200 incidents, representing 21.7% of the year's crashes. This displaced 'No improper driving' as the top category, which saw its count decrease from 170 to 151. While crashes attributed to 'Followed too closely' decreased in count by 15.3% (from 144 to 122), incidents involving 'Driving too fast for conditions' saw a notable 41.7% increase in count, rising from 24 to 34 year-over-year.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention200 (21.7%)21.2%prior 165
No improper driving151 (16.4%)-11.2%prior 170
Followed too closely122 (13.2%)-15.3%prior 144
Failed to yield right of way120 (13%)-7.7%prior 130
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road41 (4.5%)-32.8%prior 61
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner39 (4.2%)-9.3%prior 43
Driving too fast for conditions34 (3.7%)41.7%prior 24
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings29 (3.1%)70.6%prior 17
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway19 (2.1%)18.8%prior 16
Other improper action17 (1.8%)-29.2%prior 24

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

The environmental conditions under which crashes occurred were largely stable between the two periods. The vast majority of incidents in both 2024 and 2023 happened in clear weather (73.1% and 74.5% respectively) and on dry roads (76.2% and 78.8% respectively). A more distinct change was observed in winter conditions, where the number of crashes on snow or ice increased from 20 in 2023 to 38 in 2024.

Weather

Clear673 (73.6%)
-6.3%prior 718
Rain96 (10.5%)
-3.0%prior 99
Cloudy57 (6.2%)
-28.7%prior 80
Cloudy/Rain23 (2.5%)
4.5%prior 22
Snow20 (2.2%)
42.9%prior 14
Clear/Clear14 (1.5%)
Cloudy/Snow5 (0.5%)
Rain/Cloudy4 (0.4%)
-20.0%prior 5
Rain/Severe crosswinds4 (0.4%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)4 (0.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight638 (69.7%)
-2.6%prior 655
Dark - lighted roadway127 (13.9%)
-1.6%prior 129
Dark - roadway not lighted105 (11.5%)
-6.3%prior 112
Dusk20 (2.2%)
-47.4%prior 38
Dawn18 (2.0%)
-14.3%prior 21
Dark - unknown roadway lighting7 (0.8%)
Other1 (0.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry702 (76.6%)
-7.6%prior 760
Wet175 (19.1%)
0.0%prior 175
Snow26 (2.8%)
116.7%prior 12
Ice12 (1.3%)
50.0%prior 8
Sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel1 (0.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The makes of vehicles involved in crashes remained consistent, with Toyota, Ford, and Chevrolet being the top three in both 2023 and 2024 with nearly identical counts. Analysis of persons involved shows demographic shifts, with a notable decrease in the 16-20 age group from 247 individuals in 2023 to 198 in 2024. Conversely, involvement of the 65+ age group increased from 219 to 259 individuals year-over-year.

Top Vehicle Makes (1,641 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA239 (14.6%)
-2.0%prior 244
2
FORD197 (12%)
0.0%prior 197
3
CHEVROLET168 (10.2%)
-1.2%prior 170
4
HONDA152 (9.3%)
6.3%prior 143
5
NISSAN115 (7%)
-3.4%prior 119
6
HYUNDAI82 (5%)
41.4%prior 58
7
JEEP73 (4.4%)
-24.7%prior 97
8
GMC63 (3.8%)
-13.7%prior 73
9
SUBARU51 (3.1%)
27.5%prior 40
10
KIA43 (2.6%)
0.0%prior 43

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (1,888 persons with recorded sex)

Male1,081 (57.3%)
-6.2%prior 1,153
Female806 (42.7%)
2.8%prior 784
X / Unspecified1 (0.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

There was a shift in the distribution of crashes across speed zones. Collisions in 35 mph and 40 mph zones decreased, while those in 25 mph and 45 mph zones increased. Most notably, the location of fatal crashes shifted to higher speed zones in 2024. All four fatalities in 2024 occurred in zones of 40 mph or higher (three in 40 mph zones, one in a 65 mph zone), whereas the single fatality in 2023 occurred in a 35 mph zone.

Fatal crashes by zone: 40 mph: 3 of 90 (3.333%) · 65 mph: 1 of 127 (0.787%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · 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: 2024-01-01 through 2024-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-01-01 through 2024-12-31 (366 days)
  • Geographic scope: MIDDLEBOROUGH, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 921
  • Total persons involved: 2,047
  • Total vehicles involved: 1,641

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). "MIDDLEBOROUGH, MA Crash Intelligence Report: 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/middleborough/2024-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

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Middleborough, MA Crash Report — 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com