Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

10 CRASHES IN
MONTAGUE, MA
AUGUST 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstAugust 2022

In August 2023, MONTAGUE experienced 10 total crashes, a 66.7% increase compared to the 6 crashes recorded in August 2022. Total injuries also increased from 0 to 1 year-over-year. Notably, crashes attributed to driving under the influence (DUI) decreased from 2 in August 2022 to 0 in August 2023.

10

66.7%was 6

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

1

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 · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall crash trends in MONTAGUE show a significant increase year-over-year, with total crashes rising by 66.7% from 6 in August 2022 to 10 in August 2023. While fatalities remained at 0 in both periods, injuries increased from 0 to 1 during the same timeframe. This indicates a worsening trend in crash frequency.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Motorists Injured

Prior: 0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · 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 moving from Tuesday, which had 3 crashes in August 2022, to Wednesday, which recorded 4 crashes in August 2023. However, the peak hour for crashes remained consistent at 3 PM in both periods, with 2 crashes occurring at that time in both August 2022 and August 2023.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury1minor injury crashes10%
No Injury9no injury crashes90%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The contributing factors for crashes saw notable shifts between the two periods. Factors such as 'Operating vehicle in an erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' decreased significantly from 3 crashes in August 2022 to 0 in August 2023, and 'Distracted' crashes also fell from 1 to 0. Conversely, factors like 'Driving too fast for conditions,' 'Failed to yield right of way,' 'Fatigued/asleep,' 'Swerving or avoiding,' 'Visibility obstructed,' and 'Inattention' each emerged with 1 crash in August 2023, having recorded 0 in the prior year.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Failed to yield right of way1 (10%)
Fatigued/asleep1 (10%)
Followed too closely1 (10%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (10%)
No improper driving1 (10%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (10%)
Visibility obstructed1 (10%)
Inattention1 (10%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in daylight conditions increased from 4 in August 2022 to 9 in August 2023. Crashes occurring in dark conditions decreased from 2 in August 2022 to 1 in August 2023, with the specific type of dark condition shifting from 'Dark - roadway not lighted' to 'Dark - lighted roadway'.

Weather

Clear4 (40.0%)
Cloudy3 (30.0%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (10.0%)
Rain1 (10.0%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (10.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight9 (90.0%)
Dark - lighted roadway1 (10.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Wet6 (60.0%)
Dry3 (30.0%)
Water (standing, moving)1 (10.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (20 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA3 (15%)
2
FORD3 (15%)
3
CHEVROLET2 (10%)
4
HONDA2 (10%)
5
HYUNDAI2 (10%)
6
NISSAN1 (5%)
7
SUZI1 (5%)
8
AUDI1 (5%)
9
VOLVO1 (5%)
10
CHRYSLER1 (5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (21 persons with recorded sex)

Male11 (52.4%)
120.0%prior 5
Female10 (47.6%)
150.0%prior 4

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

The distribution of crashes across speed zones changed year-over-year. Crashes in 20 mph zones increased from 1 in August 2022 to 3 in August 2023, while crashes in 30 mph zones decreased from 3 to 1. The 40 mph zone remained constant with 2 crashes in both periods, and new crash activity was observed in 25 mph and 45 mph zones in August 2023, each with 2 crashes.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · 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: 2023-08-01 through 2023-08-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-08-01 through 2023-08-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: MONTAGUE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 10
  • Total persons involved: 25
  • Total vehicles involved: 20

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). "MONTAGUE, MA Crash Intelligence Report: August 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/montague/august-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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Montague, MA Crash Report — August 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com