Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

122 CRASHES IN
NEWTON, MA
JULY 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstJuly 2021

In July 2022, NEWTON, MA experienced 122 total crashes, a decrease of 5.4% from the 129 crashes reported in July 2021. A notable shift was the 400% increase in serious injury crashes, rising from 1 in the prior period to 5 in the current period. Conversely, DUI crashes decreased by 100%, from 3 to 0.

122

-5.4%was 129

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

34

6.3%was 32

Persons Injured

16

-23.8%was 21

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. 7 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, total crashes in July 2022 showed a slight downward trend, decreasing by 5.4% from 129 crashes in July 2021 to 122 crashes. Despite this reduction in overall incidents, the number of persons injured increased by 6.25%, from 32 to 34.

16

Hit-and-Run Crashes — July 2022

-23.8% vs prior (21)

Hit-and-run crashes decreased by 23.8%, from 21 incidents in July 2021 to 16 in July 2022. The associated hit-and-run rate also declined from 16.3% to 13.1% year-over-year, indicating a downward trend.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

3

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 1200.0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 10.0%

30

Motorists Injured

Prior: 300.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · 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 Friday with 30 incidents in July 2021 to Thursday with 25 incidents in July 2022. The peak hour for crashes also shifted, moving from 4 PM with 13 crashes in the prior period to 5 PM with 15 crashes in the current period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes remained at zero in both periods. However, serious injury crashes (severity A) increased significantly by 400%, from 1 (0.8% of crashes) in July 2021 to 5 (4.1% of crashes) in July 2022. Minor and possible injury crashes both decreased in count and proportion year-over-year.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury5serious injury crashes4.1%
400.0%prior 1
Minor Injury11minor injury crashes9%
-8.3%prior 12
Possible Injury8possible injury crashes6.6%
-20.0%prior 10
No Injury91no injury crashes74.6%
-10.8%prior 102

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The top contributing factor, "No improper driving," saw a 90.5% increase in count, rising from 21 in July 2021 to 40 in July 2022, becoming the most cited factor. Conversely, crashes attributed to "Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings" decreased by 75%, from 8 to 2. "Inattention" crashes increased by 14.3%, from 21 to 24.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving40 (32.8%)90.5%prior 21
Inattention24 (19.7%)14.3%prior 21
Followed too closely11 (9%)-15.4%prior 13
Other improper action6 (4.9%)
Driving too fast for conditions3 (2.5%)-50.0%prior 6
Failed to yield right of way3 (2.5%)-40.0%prior 5
Over-correcting/over-steering3 (2.5%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings2 (1.6%)-75.0%prior 8
Made an improper turn2 (1.6%)
Physical impairment2 (1.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in "Wet" road surface conditions decreased significantly by 77.1%, from 35 in July 2021 to 8 in July 2022. Correspondingly, crashes in "Rain" weather conditions dropped from 17 to 4, a 76.5% decrease. Crashes in "Clear" weather and "Dry" road conditions saw increases, rising from 72 to 99 and 92 to 112 respectively.

Weather

Clear99 (83.9%)
37.5%prior 72
Clear/Clear8 (6.8%)
0.0%prior 8
Rain4 (3.4%)
-76.5%prior 17
Cloudy3 (2.5%)
-82.4%prior 17
Cloudy/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (0.8%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (0.8%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (0.8%)
Cloudy/Clear1 (0.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight106 (89.1%)
1.9%prior 104
Dark - lighted roadway8 (6.7%)
-38.5%prior 13
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (1.7%)
Dusk2 (1.7%)
-66.7%prior 6
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (0.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry112 (93.3%)
21.7%prior 92
Wet8 (6.7%)
-77.1%prior 35

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The 35-44 age group represented the highest number of persons involved in crashes in July 2022 with 43 individuals, a change from the 26-34 age group being highest in July 2021 with 50 individuals. The number of persons in the 45-54 age group increased by 52.2%, from 23 to 35. Honda and Toyota remained the top two vehicle makes involved, with Subaru entering the top three in July 2022, replacing Ford.

Top Vehicle Makes (225 vehicles)

1
HONDA43 (19.1%)
7.5%prior 40
2
TOYOTA34 (15.1%)
3.0%prior 33
3
SUBARU14 (6.2%)
55.6%prior 9
4
AUDI13 (5.8%)
116.7%prior 6
5
NISSAN12 (5.3%)
9.1%prior 11
6
FORD12 (5.3%)
-45.5%prior 22
7
HYUNDAI7 (3.1%)
16.7%prior 6
8
KIA6 (2.7%)
9
BMW6 (2.7%)
0.0%prior 6
10
MAZDA6 (2.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (248 persons with recorded sex)

Male133 (53.6%)
3.1%prior 129
Female115 (46.4%)
-19.6%prior 143

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes occurring in the 25 mph and 30 mph speed zones remained stable year-over-year, with 54 and 20 crashes respectively. Crashes in the 55 mph zone decreased by 28.6%, from 28 in July 2021 to 20 in July 2022. No fatal crashes were recorded in any speed zone for either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · 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: 2022-07-01 through 2022-07-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-07-01 through 2022-07-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: NEWTON, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 122
  • Total persons involved: 283
  • Total vehicles involved: 225

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). "NEWTON, MA Crash Intelligence Report: July 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/newton/july-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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Newton, MA Crash Report — July 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com