Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

60 CRASHES IN
NATICK, MA
OCTOBER 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstOctober 2021

In October 2022, Natick experienced 60 crashes, a decrease from 64 crashes in October 2021, representing a 6.25% reduction year-over-year. Despite fewer overall crashes, total injuries increased by 54.5%, rising from 11 in the prior period to 17 in the current period. Fatalities remained at 0 in both periods.

60

-6.3%was 64

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

17

54.5%was 11

Persons Injured

2

100.0%was 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. 1 crash with unreported severity is not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-10-01 to 2022-10-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Total crashes in Natick decreased by 4, from 64 in October 2021 to 60 in October 2022, marking a 6.25% reduction. Fatalities remained stable at 0 for both periods. However, total injuries saw a significant increase of 54.5%, rising from 11 to 17.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — October 2022

100.0% vs prior (1)

Hit-and-run crashes increased from 1 in October 2021 to 2 in October 2022. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate rose from 1.6% of all crashes in the prior period to 3.3% in the current period.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

2

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 1100.0%

15

Motorists Injured

Prior: 966.7%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-10-01 to 2022-10-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes shifted from Wednesday with 12 crashes in October 2021 to Saturday with 13 crashes in October 2022. The peak hour also changed, moving from 4 PM with 10 crashes in the prior period to 9 AM with 7 crashes in the current period. This indicates a shift in the most frequent crash times and days year-over-year.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-10-01 to 2022-10-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-10-01 to 2022-10-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes and total fatalities remained at 0 in both October 2021 and October 2022. The number of serious injury crashes decreased from 1 to 0. Minor injury crashes increased from 6 to 8, while possible injury crashes remained constant at 4.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury8minor injury crashes13.3%
33.3%prior 6
Possible Injury4possible injury crashes6.7%
0.0%prior 4
No Injury47no injury crashes78.3%
-4.1%prior 49

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-10-01 to 2022-10-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-10-01 to 2022-10-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The top contributing factor, 'Inattention', saw a slight increase from 17 crashes in October 2021 to 18 crashes in October 2022. 'Followed too closely' increased from 5 crashes to 8 crashes, a 60% rise in count. Conversely, 'Failed to yield right of way' decreased from 10 crashes to 8 crashes, and 'Other improper action' significantly dropped from 9 crashes to 2 crashes.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention18 (30%)5.9%prior 17
No improper driving12 (20%)20.0%prior 10
Followed too closely8 (13.3%)60.0%prior 5
Failed to yield right of way8 (13.3%)-20.0%prior 10
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road7 (11.7%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner2 (3.3%)
Other improper action2 (3.3%)-77.8%prior 9
Visibility obstructed1 (1.7%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (1.7%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings1 (1.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-10-01 to 2022-10-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Clear weather remained the most common condition, accounting for 45 crashes in October 2021 and 38 crashes in October 2022. Crashes on wet road surfaces saw a minor increase from 13 to 14. Daylight conditions remained dominant, with 49 crashes in the prior period and 46 in the current period.

Weather

Clear38 (63.3%)
-15.6%prior 45
Rain7 (11.7%)
16.7%prior 6
Cloudy7 (11.7%)
40.0%prior 5
Rain/Cloudy2 (3.3%)
Clear/Other2 (3.3%)
Cloudy/Rain2 (3.3%)
-66.7%prior 6
Cloudy/Other1 (1.7%)
Cloudy/Fog, smog, smoke1 (1.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-10-01 to 2022-10-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight46 (76.7%)
-6.1%prior 49
Dark - lighted roadway9 (15.0%)
-18.2%prior 11
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (3.3%)
Dusk2 (3.3%)
Dawn1 (1.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-10-01 to 2022-10-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry46 (76.7%)
-9.8%prior 51
Wet14 (23.3%)
7.7%prior 13

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-10-01 to 2022-10-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The age group '35-44' experienced the highest count of persons involved in crashes in October 2022 with 30, up from 21 in October 2021. Meanwhile, the '16-20' age group saw a decrease from 15 persons to 8 persons involved. Among top vehicle makes, TOYOTA became the most frequent in October 2022 with 20 vehicles, surpassing HONDA which had 22 vehicles in October 2021 and 17 in the current period.

Top Vehicle Makes (119 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA20 (16.8%)
17.6%prior 17
2
HONDA17 (14.3%)
-22.7%prior 22
3
FORD12 (10.1%)
71.4%prior 7
4
CHEVROLET10 (8.4%)
5
NISSAN6 (5%)
0.0%prior 6
6
GMC6 (5%)
7
JEEP6 (5%)
-14.3%prior 7
8
MERCEDES-BENZ5 (4.2%)
9
SUBARU4 (3.4%)
-20.0%prior 5
10
AUDI3 (2.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-10-01 to 2022-10-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (135 persons with recorded sex)

Male70 (51.9%)
-6.7%prior 75
Female65 (48.1%)
-3.0%prior 67

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-10-01 to 2022-10-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 30 mph zones increased from 17 in October 2021 to 20 in October 2022. Similarly, crashes in 35 mph zones rose from 14 to 19. Conversely, crashes in 50 mph zones decreased from 11 to 6. There were no fatal crashes reported in any speed zone for either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-10-01 to 2022-10-31 · 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: 2022-10-01 through 2022-10-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-10-01 through 2022-10-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: NATICK, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 60
  • Total persons involved: 145
  • Total vehicles involved: 119

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: October 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-10-01 to 2022-10-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/natick/october-2022-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 — October 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com