Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

196 CRASHES IN
NORTH READING, MA
2022

All metrics benchmarked against2021

In North Reading, total vehicle crashes increased by 21.7% from 161 in 2021 to 196 in 2022. While total injuries remained stable, the most notable year-over-year change was the appearance of two fatal crashes in 2022, whereas none were recorded in the prior year.

196

21.7%was 161

Total Crash Events

2

Persons Killed

54

-1.8%was 55

Persons Injured

6

50.0%was 4

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (2) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (2) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities. 4 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Crash data indicates a rising trend in North Reading, with total incidents increasing from 161 to 196 year-over-year. This increase was accompanied by a shift in severity, as total fatalities rose from zero to two, even as the total number of injuries reported saw a slight decrease from 55 to 54.

6

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2022

50.0% vs prior (4)

Hit-and-run incidents trended upward in the current period. The total count of hit-and-run crashes increased from 4 to 6 year-over-year. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate as a percentage of all crashes also rose, from 2.5% in 2021 to 3.1% in 2022.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

2

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

3

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 30.0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 2-50.0%

50

Motorists Injured

Prior: 500.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal pattern of crashes showed some changes between the two periods. While Friday remained the peak day for crashes in both years, the number of incidents on Friday grew from 31 to 40. The peak hour for crashes shifted from 2 PM in the prior year (17 crashes) to the 5 PM rush hour in the current year (28 crashes).

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

The severity of crashes worsened, with two fatal incidents occurring in 2022 compared to none in 2021, causing the fatal crash rate to rise from 0% to 1.02%. Conversely, the proportion of crashes involving non-fatal injuries decreased. The share of crashes resulting in serious injuries dropped from 5.6% to 1.5%, while the share of minor and possible injury crashes remained relatively stable.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal2fatal crashes1%
Serious Injury3serious injury crashes1.5%
-66.7%prior 9
Minor Injury23minor injury crashes11.7%
21.1%prior 19
Possible Injury18possible injury crashes9.2%
20.0%prior 15
No Injury146no injury crashes74.5%
23.7%prior 118

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The leading contributing factor in both years was 'Failed to yield right of way,' with the count of such crashes increasing from 44 to 49. The count for crashes attributed to 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' more than doubled, rising from 6 to 13. In contrast, crashes involving 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' saw a decrease in count from 13 in the prior year to 5 in the current year.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Failed to yield right of way49 (25%)11.4%prior 44
No improper driving42 (21.4%)40.0%prior 30
Inattention15 (7.7%)15.4%prior 13
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner13 (6.6%)116.7%prior 6
Other improper action9 (4.6%)-10.0%prior 10
Followed too closely8 (4.1%)14.3%prior 7
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road5 (2.6%)-61.5%prior 13
Over-correcting/over-steering5 (2.6%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway5 (2.6%)
Driving too fast for conditions5 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crash conditions remained broadly consistent year-over-year, with the majority of incidents in both periods occurring in daylight, on dry roads, and in clear weather. In 2022, 79.1% of crashes happened on dry roads, compared to 80.1% in 2021. Similarly, daylight crashes accounted for 73.5% of the total in 2022, a slight increase from 70.8% in the previous year, indicating no significant shift toward adverse-condition crashes.

Weather

Clear127 (64.8%)
21.0%prior 105
Cloudy19 (9.7%)
72.7%prior 11
Clear/Unknown16 (8.2%)
33.3%prior 12
Rain12 (6.1%)
0.0%prior 12
Cloudy/Rain6 (3.1%)
Snow4 (2.0%)
Clear/Cloudy3 (1.5%)
Clear/Other2 (1.0%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (0.5%)
Cloudy/Other1 (0.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight144 (73.5%)
26.3%prior 114
Dark - lighted roadway38 (19.4%)
0.0%prior 38
Dusk6 (3.1%)
20.0%prior 5
Dark - roadway not lighted5 (2.6%)
Dawn3 (1.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry155 (79.1%)
20.2%prior 129
Wet30 (15.3%)
11.1%prior 27
Snow5 (2.6%)
Ice4 (2.0%)
Slush2 (1.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The top vehicle makes involved in crashes, Toyota and Honda, remained consistent across both years. However, the number of Ford vehicles involved in crashes increased from 24 to 40. Regarding persons involved, the most represented age group shifted from 65+ in 2021 (61 persons) to 55-64 in 2022 (66 persons).

Top Vehicle Makes (343 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA47 (13.7%)
2.2%prior 46
2
FORD40 (11.7%)
66.7%prior 24
3
HONDA38 (11.1%)
-9.5%prior 42
4
JEEP25 (7.3%)
66.7%prior 15
5
CHEVROLET24 (7%)
-11.1%prior 27
6
SUBARU20 (5.8%)
53.8%prior 13
7
NISSAN15 (4.4%)
25.0%prior 12
8
BMW14 (4.1%)
55.6%prior 9
9
VOLKSWAGEN13 (3.8%)
10
MAZDA11 (3.2%)
57.1%prior 7

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (383 persons with recorded sex)

Male207 (54.0%)
12.5%prior 184
Female176 (46.0%)
21.4%prior 145

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes remained most frequent in 30 mph zones, with the count increasing from 64 to 87 year-over-year. The two fatal crashes recorded in 2022 both occurred in 30 mph zones, where no fatalities were reported in the prior year. The number of crashes in 40 mph zones was stable, with 50 in the current period and 49 in the prior period.

Fatal crashes by zone: 30 mph: 2 of 87 (2.299%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · 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: 2022-01-01 through 2022-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-01-01 through 2022-12-31 (365 days)
  • Geographic scope: NORTH READING, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 196
  • Total persons involved: 400
  • Total vehicles involved: 343

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). "NORTH READING, MA Crash Intelligence Report: 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/north-reading/2022-annual-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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North Reading, MA Crash Report — 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com