ThatCarHitMe.com
An Injuria.ai Company
YEAR-OVER-YEAR CRASH REPORT · NEEDHAM, MA · MARCH 2023
Purpose: Machine-readable JSON endpoint for AI agents, LLMs, researchers, and programmatic consumers. Returns all underlying crash data and AI-generated commentary without HTML.
Authentication: None required. Public endpoint.
GET: https://thatcarhitme.com/api/crash-data/reports/data/massachusetts/needham/march-2023-report
Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis
39 CRASHES IN
NEEDHAM, MA
MARCH 2023
Overall, total crashes in March 2023 increased by 44.4% to 39 crashes compared to 27 crashes in March 2022. This period also saw an increase in hit-and-run incidents, rising from 0 to 2 crashes year-over-year. Total injuries rose by 22.2% from 9 to 11.
39
▲ 44.4%was 27
Total Crash Events
0
Persons Killed
11
▲ 22.2%was 9
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 · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records
Trend Summary
The overall trend indicates a significant increase in crash activity year-over-year, with total crashes rising by 44.4% from 27 in March 2022 to 39 in March 2023. Concurrently, total injuries increased by 22.2%, from 9 to 11, during the same period.
2
Hit-and-Run Crashes — March 2023
5.1% hit-and-run rate this period vs 0.0% prior. Prior period: 0.
Vulnerable Road User Casualties
0
Cyclists Killed
0
Motorists Killed
1
Cyclists Injured
10
Motorists Injured
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · 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 slightly, with both March 2022 and March 2023 recording Wednesday as a peak day, though the count increased from 8 to 11 crashes. The peak hour for crashes also changed, moving from 5 p.m. with 5 crashes in March 2022 to 1 p.m. with 7 crashes in March 2023.
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)
Crash Severity Breakdown
There were no fatalities reported in either March 2022 or March 2023. Minor injury crashes increased in count from 4 (14.8% share) to 7 (17.9% share) year-over-year. Conversely, possible injury crashes decreased from 3 (11.1% share) to 2 (5.1% share).
Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · KABCO injury classification scale
Severity Distribution (Crash Events)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Most severe injury per crash record
Top Contributing Factors
Among contributing factors, 'Failed to yield right of way' increased from 6 crashes to 9 crashes, a 50% increase. 'No improper driving' also saw a rise from 4 crashes to 7 crashes, representing a 75% increase. Conversely, 'Inattention' decreased from 5 crashes to 3 crashes, a 40% decrease, while 'Followed too closely' more than doubled from 1 crash to 3 crashes, a 200% increase.
Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash
Road & Environmental Conditions
Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions increased from 18 to 27 year-over-year, while those on 'Dry' road surfaces rose from 20 to 30. The number of crashes under 'Daylight' conditions also increased significantly, from 19 in March 2022 to 32 in March 2023. Crashes on 'Wet' road surfaces increased from 3 to 5, and 'Slush' road surface crashes increased from 1 to 3.
Weather
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Weather condition at time of crash
Lighting
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Lighting condition field
Road Surface
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Road surface condition field
Vehicles & Demographics
The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased by 43.1%, from 51 in March 2022 to 73 in March 2023. Toyota remained the most frequently involved make with 15 vehicles in both periods, while Honda saw a decrease from 9 to 7 vehicles and Ford vehicles increased from 2 to 6. In terms of persons involved, the 35-44 age group experienced the largest increase, rising from 5 to 16, and the 16-20 age group also saw a notable increase from 4 to 10.
Top Vehicle Makes (73 vehicles)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Vehicle unit records
4 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.
Sex Distribution (76 persons with recorded sex)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events
Speed Limit Zones
Crashes within 30 mph speed zones increased from 20 in March 2022 to 26 in March 2023. Crashes in 55 mph zones also saw an increase, rising from 3 to 5. Additionally, the current period reported crashes in 15 mph (1 crash), 25 mph (1 crash), 40 mph (1 crash), and 50 mph (1 crash) zones, which were not present in the prior period's data. No fatal crashes were recorded in any speed zone for either period.
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · 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: 2023-03-01 through 2023-03-31
- Report generated: June 21, 2026
Data Coverage
- Reporting period: 2023-03-01 through 2023-03-31 (31 days)
- Geographic scope: NEEDHAM, MA
- Total crash records analyzed: 39
- Total persons involved: 80
- Total vehicles involved: 73
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). "NEEDHAM, MA Crash Intelligence Report: March 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/needham/march-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
ThatCarHitMe.com · An Injuria.ai Company
ThatCarHitMe.com
An Injuria.ai Company
Crash Data Intelligence
Data: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly
Period: 2023-03-01 – 2023-03-31
Generated: June 21, 2026 · All rights reserved