Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

57 CRASHES IN
NATICK, MA
MARCH 2026

All metrics benchmarked againstMarch 2025

In March 2026, Natick experienced a substantial increase in total crashes compared to March 2025, rising from 31 to 57 crashes, an 83.9% increase. The most notable shift was the overall surge in crash incidents, accompanied by a decrease in the hit-and-run rate.

57

83.9%was 31

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

3

-40.0%was 5

Persons Injured

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes

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 · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Total crashes in Natick saw a significant upward trend, increasing from 31 crashes in March 2025 to 57 crashes in March 2026. This represents an 83.9% rise in crash incidents year-over-year, indicating a notable increase in traffic safety events.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — March 2026

0.0% vs prior (1)

The number of hit-and-run crashes remained constant at 1 in both March 2025 and March 2026. However, due to the overall increase in total crashes, the hit-and-run rate decreased from 3.2% in March 2025 to 1.8% in March 2026, indicating a downward trend in the proportion of crashes involving a hit-and-run.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

3

Motorists Injured

Prior: 5-40.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · 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 year-over-year. In March 2026, the peak day for crashes was Tuesday with 18 incidents, whereas in March 2025, Friday was the peak with 6 incidents. Similarly, the peak hour changed from 5 PM with 3 crashes in March 2025 to 2 PM with 8 crashes in March 2026, indicating a shift in when crashes are most frequent.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

While both periods reported no fatalities, the total number of injured persons decreased from 5 in March 2025 to 3 in March 2026. Minor injuries saw a decrease from 5 (16.1% share) to 1 (1.8% share), while possible injuries increased from 0 to 2 (3.5% share) year-over-year. The proportion of crashes with no injury rose from 83.9% to 94.7% of all crashes.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury1minor injury crashes1.8%
-80.0%prior 5
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes3.5%
No Injury54no injury crashes94.7%
107.7%prior 26

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Several contributing factors saw notable changes in crash counts year-over-year. Crashes attributed to 'Inattention' increased from 11 to 13, an 18.2% rise, and 'No improper driving' crashes surged from 1 to 7, a 600% increase. 'Failed to yield right of way' crashes rose from 3 to 4, a 33.3% increase, while 'Followed too closely' remained constant at 7 crashes in both periods.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention13 (22.8%)18.2%prior 11
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road7 (12.3%)
Followed too closely7 (12.3%)0.0%prior 7
No improper driving7 (12.3%)
Other improper action4 (7%)
Failed to yield right of way4 (7%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings3 (5.3%)
Distracted3 (5.3%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner3 (5.3%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway2 (3.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions increased from 25 in March 2025 to 40 in March 2026, while those in 'Daylight' conditions rose from 24 to 47. Crashes on 'Dry' road surfaces increased from 27 to 39, and crashes on 'Wet' road surfaces increased from 4 to 11. This suggests an increase in crashes across various conditions, particularly during clear weather and on dry roads.

Weather

Clear40 (70.2%)
60.0%prior 25
Cloudy7 (12.3%)
Rain4 (7.0%)
Snow2 (3.5%)
Snow/Snow1 (1.8%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (1.8%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (1.8%)
Snow/Cloudy1 (1.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight47 (82.5%)
95.8%prior 24
Dark - lighted roadway7 (12.3%)
Dawn2 (3.5%)
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (1.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry39 (68.4%)
44.4%prior 27
Wet11 (19.3%)
Snow4 (7.0%)
Ice2 (3.5%)
Slush1 (1.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased substantially from 60 in March 2025 to 105 in March 2026, a 75% rise. Toyota remained the top make involved, increasing from 15 to 17 vehicles. The age group 35-44 saw the largest increase in persons involved, rising from 7 to 21, and the 65+ age group also saw a significant increase from 6 to 19 persons involved.

Top Vehicle Makes (105 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA17 (16.2%)
13.3%prior 15
2
HONDA13 (12.4%)
116.7%prior 6
3
FORD11 (10.5%)
120.0%prior 5
4
CHEVROLET9 (8.6%)
80.0%prior 5
5
HYUNDAI6 (5.7%)
6
MAZDA6 (5.7%)
7
JEEP6 (5.7%)
8
NISSAN4 (3.8%)
9
SUBARU4 (3.8%)
-20.0%prior 5
10
VOLKSWAGEN3 (2.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (119 persons with recorded sex)

Male66 (55.5%)
88.6%prior 35
Female53 (44.5%)
60.6%prior 33

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 35 mph speed zones increased from 7 in March 2025 to 20 in March 2026, and crashes in 30 mph zones rose from 7 to 15. Crashes in 50 mph zones also increased from 6 to 10. Conversely, crashes in 25 mph zones saw a slight decrease from 7 to 6. There were no fatal crashes reported in any speed zone for both periods.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · 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: 2026-03-01 through 2026-03-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2026-03-01 through 2026-03-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: NATICK, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 57
  • Total persons involved: 124
  • Total vehicles involved: 105

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). "NATICK, MA Crash Intelligence Report: March 2026." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/natick/march-2026-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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Natick, MA Crash Report — March 2026 | ThatCarHitMe.com