Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

77 CRASHES IN
NATICK, MA
OCTOBER 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstOctober 2022

In October 2023, Natick experienced 77 total crashes, an increase from 60 crashes in October 2022, representing a 28.3% rise year-over-year. Despite total injuries remaining constant at 17, there was a notable shift in injury severity, with serious injuries increasing from 0 to 6 persons. The number of crashes where 'Inattention' was a contributing factor also saw a significant increase.

77

28.3%was 60

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

17

Persons Injured

2

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 · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates an increase in crash incidents, with total crashes rising from 60 in October 2022 to 77 in October 2023. This represents a 28.3% increase in the total number of crashes year-over-year. While total injuries remained stable, the severity distribution shifted.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — October 2023

0.0% vs prior (2)

The number of hit-and-run crashes remained constant at 2 in both October 2022 and October 2023. However, the hit-and-run rate decreased from 3.3% of total crashes in October 2022 to 2.6% in October 2023. This decrease in rate occurred despite the same count, due to an overall increase in total crashes.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 2-50.0%

15

Motorists Injured

Prior: 150.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · 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 Saturday, with 13 crashes in October 2022, to Friday and Wednesday, both recording 14 crashes in October 2023. The peak hour also changed, moving from 9 AM with 7 crashes in October 2022 to 3 PM and 7 PM, both with 8 crashes, in October 2023.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatalities remained at zero in both October 2022 and October 2023. However, the number of serious injuries (severity A) increased from 0 persons in the prior period to 6 persons in the current period. Minor injuries decreased from 12 to 8 persons, and possible injuries decreased from 5 to 3 persons.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury3serious injury crashes3.9%
Minor Injury7minor injury crashes9.1%
-12.5%prior 8
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes2.6%
-50.0%prior 4
No Injury65no injury crashes84.4%
38.3%prior 47

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The leading contributing factor, 'Inattention', increased from 18 crashes in October 2022 to 30 crashes in October 2023, a 66.7% increase in count. Crashes attributed to 'Followed too closely' also increased from 8 to 10, while 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' decreased from 7 to 4. 'Other improper action' saw a notable increase from 2 to 5 crashes.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention30 (39%)66.7%prior 18
No improper driving12 (15.6%)0.0%prior 12
Followed too closely10 (13%)25.0%prior 8
Other improper action5 (6.5%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road4 (5.2%)-42.9%prior 7
Failed to yield right of way3 (3.9%)-62.5%prior 8
Distracted2 (2.6%)
Made an improper turn2 (2.6%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner2 (2.6%)
Visibility obstructed1 (1.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions increased from 38 in October 2022 to 64 in October 2023, while crashes during 'Rain' decreased from 7 to 5. Crashes in 'Daylight' increased from 46 to 53, and those in 'Dark - lighted roadway' increased from 9 to 16. Crashes on 'Dry' road surfaces increased from 46 to 69, while crashes on 'Wet' surfaces decreased from 14 to 8.

Weather

Clear64 (83.1%)
68.4%prior 38
Rain5 (6.5%)
-28.6%prior 7
Cloudy4 (5.2%)
-42.9%prior 7
Cloudy/Rain3 (3.9%)
Clear/Cloudy1 (1.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight53 (68.8%)
15.2%prior 46
Dark - lighted roadway16 (20.8%)
77.8%prior 9
Dusk6 (7.8%)
Dawn2 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry69 (89.6%)
50.0%prior 46
Wet8 (10.4%)
-42.9%prior 14

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of persons involved in crashes increased from 145 in October 2022 to 175 in October 2023. Notable shifts in age distribution include an increase in persons aged 16-20 from 8 to 20, and those aged 65+ from 13 to 25. Toyota remained the top vehicle make involved, increasing from 20 vehicles in October 2022 to 30 in October 2023.

Top Vehicle Makes (145 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA30 (20.7%)
50.0%prior 20
2
FORD13 (9%)
8.3%prior 12
3
HONDA12 (8.3%)
-29.4%prior 17
4
CHEVROLET12 (8.3%)
20.0%prior 10
5
JEEP10 (6.9%)
66.7%prior 6
6
NISSAN9 (6.2%)
50.0%prior 6
7
SUBARU6 (4.1%)
8
MAZDA6 (4.1%)
9
AUDI5 (3.4%)
10
LEXUS4 (2.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (171 persons with recorded sex)

Male95 (55.6%)
35.7%prior 70
Female76 (44.4%)
16.9%prior 65

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 30 mph speed zone increased from 20 in October 2022 to 30 in October 2023. Similarly, crashes in the 35 mph zone rose from 19 to 24. Conversely, crashes in the 40 mph zone decreased from 5 to 2, and fatal crashes remained at zero across all speed limit zones in both periods.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · 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: 2023-10-01 through 2023-10-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-10-01 through 2023-10-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: NATICK, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 77
  • Total persons involved: 175
  • Total vehicles involved: 145

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 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/natick/october-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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Natick, MA Crash Report — October 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com