Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

322 CRASHES IN
NEW BEDFORD, MA
AUGUST 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstAugust 2021

In August 2022, NEW BEDFORD, MA experienced 322 crashes, marking a 7.2% decrease from the 347 crashes reported in August 2021. A significant shift is the increase in hit-and-run crashes, which rose from 15 in the prior year to 29 in the current period, alongside the occurrence of 1 fatality in August 2022 compared to zero in August 2021.

322

-7.2%was 347

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

94

-9.6%was 104

Persons Injured

29

93.3%was 15

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (1) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (1) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities. 40 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, total crashes in NEW BEDFORD, MA decreased year-over-year from 347 in August 2021 to 322 in August 2022, representing a 7.2% reduction. Despite this decrease in total crashes, the number of fatalities increased from 0 to 1, while total injuries decreased by 9.6% from 104 to 94.

29

Hit-and-Run Crashes — August 2022

93.3% vs prior (15)

Hit-and-run crashes significantly increased from 15 in August 2021 to 29 in August 2022. This change indicates an upward trend in the hit-and-run rate, which rose from 4.3% to 9% year-over-year.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Other Killed

Prior: 00.0%

5

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 425.0%

3

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 30.0%

85

Motorists Injured

Prior: 97-12.4%

1

Other Injured

Prior: 0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · 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 Tuesday in August 2021, with 73 crashes, to Friday in August 2022, with 52 crashes. The peak hour for crashes remained 4 PM in both periods, with 37 crashes recorded at this hour in August 2022, an increase from 31 crashes at 4 PM in August 2021.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatalities increased from 0 in August 2021 to 1 in August 2022, resulting in a fatal crash rate of 0.31% in the current period. Total injuries decreased from 104 to 94, with serious injuries decreasing from 8 to 6, minor injuries increasing from 36 to 44, and possible injuries decreasing from 34 to 21.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes0.3%
Serious Injury6serious injury crashes1.9%
-25.0%prior 8
Minor Injury44minor injury crashes13.7%
22.2%prior 36
Possible Injury21possible injury crashes6.5%
-38.2%prior 34
No Injury210no injury crashes65.2%
-0.9%prior 212

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' decreased by 33, from 118 in August 2021 to 85 in August 2022. 'Inattention' as a contributing factor also decreased by 8 crashes, from 35 to 27. Conversely, 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' increased from 5 crashes in August 2021 to 12 crashes in August 2022.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving85 (26.4%)-28.0%prior 118
Inattention27 (8.4%)-22.9%prior 35
Failed to yield right of way15 (4.7%)-6.3%prior 16
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road12 (3.7%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner12 (3.7%)140.0%prior 5
Visibility obstructed11 (3.4%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings11 (3.4%)-21.4%prior 14
Other improper action9 (2.8%)-25.0%prior 12
Followed too closely8 (2.5%)-20.0%prior 10
Over-correcting/over-steering5 (1.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in clear weather conditions decreased from 270 in August 2021 to 250 in August 2022. Crashes on wet road surfaces saw a notable decrease from 36 in August 2021 to 13 in August 2022. Additionally, crashes in dark-lighted roadway conditions decreased from 67 to 49.

Weather

Clear250 (79.4%)
-7.4%prior 270
Cloudy18 (5.7%)
-18.2%prior 22
Clear/Unknown13 (4.1%)
Clear/Other10 (3.2%)
Clear/Cloudy9 (2.9%)
0.0%prior 9
Rain7 (2.2%)
-61.1%prior 18
Cloudy/Rain3 (1.0%)
-50.0%prior 6
Cloudy/Unknown1 (0.3%)
Fog, smog, smoke1 (0.3%)
Cloudy/Clear1 (0.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight245 (77.8%)
-1.2%prior 248
Dark - lighted roadway49 (15.6%)
-26.9%prior 67
Dawn6 (1.9%)
Dark - roadway not lighted5 (1.6%)
-28.6%prior 7
Dark - unknown roadway lighting4 (1.3%)
Dusk4 (1.3%)
-63.6%prior 11
Other2 (0.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry302 (95.6%)
-1.0%prior 305
Wet13 (4.1%)
-63.9%prior 36
Snow1 (0.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes decreased from 649 in August 2021 to 628 in August 2022. Honda surpassed Toyota as the most frequently involved make, with 80 vehicles in August 2022 compared to Toyota's 75, while in August 2021 Toyota had 103 and Honda had 88. The 16-20 age group saw a decrease in persons involved from 79 to 54, while the 26-34 age group increased from 137 to 156 persons involved.

Top Vehicle Makes (628 vehicles)

1
HONDA80 (12.7%)
-9.1%prior 88
2
TOYOTA75 (11.9%)
-27.2%prior 103
3
FORD63 (10%)
-7.4%prior 68
4
NISSAN54 (8.6%)
45.9%prior 37
5
CHEVROLET47 (7.5%)
-13.0%prior 54
6
HYUNDAI29 (4.6%)
3.6%prior 28
7
KIA26 (4.1%)
-13.3%prior 30
8
JEEP23 (3.7%)
-17.9%prior 28
9
DODGE16 (2.5%)
-27.3%prior 22
10
GMC13 (2.1%)
18.2%prior 11

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (579 persons with recorded sex)

Male339 (58.5%)
1.8%prior 333
Female240 (41.5%)
-21.1%prior 304

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

The majority of crashes in both periods occurred in the 30 MPH speed limit zone, decreasing from 230 crashes in August 2021 to 199 crashes in August 2022. A fatal crash was reported in the 65 MPH zone in August 2022, whereas no fatalities were recorded in this zone during August 2021.

Fatal crashes by zone: 65 mph: 1 of 14 (7.143%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31 · 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: 2022-08-01 through 2022-08-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-08-01 through 2022-08-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: NEW BEDFORD, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 322
  • Total persons involved: 754
  • Total vehicles involved: 628

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). "NEW BEDFORD, MA Crash Intelligence Report: August 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-08-01 to 2022-08-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/new-bedford/august-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

ThatCarHitMe.com · An Injuria.ai Company

New Bedford, MA Crash Report — August 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com