Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

18 CRASHES IN
NORTH READING, MA
MAY 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstMay 2021

In May 2022, NORTH READING experienced 18 total crashes, an increase of 20% compared to the 15 crashes recorded in May 2021. Despite the rise in overall incidents, total injuries decreased by 60% year-over-year, from 5 to 2.

18

20.0%was 15

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

2

-60.0%was 5

Persons Injured

1

-50.0%was 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 · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall crash incidents in NORTH READING increased year-over-year, with 18 crashes reported in May 2022 compared to 15 crashes in May 2021. This represents a 20% increase in total crashes for the period.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — May 2022

-50.0% vs prior (2)

Hit-and-run crashes decreased year-over-year, with 1 incident reported in May 2022 compared to 2 incidents in May 2021. This resulted in the hit-and-run crash rate falling from 13.3% to 5.6% during the observed period.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

2

Motorists Injured

Prior: 5-60.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes shifted significantly year-over-year. In May 2022, the peak day for crashes was Tuesday with 5 incidents, differing from May 2021 where Saturday saw the highest count with 3 crashes. Similarly, the peak hour shifted from 6 PM with 3 crashes in May 2021 to 8 AM with 4 crashes in May 2022.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatalities remained at zero in both May 2022 and May 2021. Total injuries decreased from 5 in May 2021 to 2 in May 2022, representing a 60% reduction. Crashes resulting in no injuries increased from 11 (73.3% share) in May 2021 to 16 (88.9% share) in May 2022.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury1minor injury crashes5.6%
-66.7%prior 3
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes5.6%
0.0%prior 1
No Injury16no injury crashes88.9%
45.5%prior 11

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Among contributing factors, 'No improper driving' crashes increased from 4 in May 2021 to 5 in May 2022. Conversely, 'Failed to yield right of way' incidents decreased from 5 crashes to 3 crashes year-over-year. 'Inattention' emerged as a notable factor in May 2022 with 3 crashes, not appearing in the top factors for May 2021.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving5 (27.8%)
Failed to yield right of way3 (16.7%)-40.0%prior 5
Inattention3 (16.7%)
Followed too closely1 (5.6%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (5.6%)
Other improper action1 (5.6%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (5.6%)
Glare1 (5.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions saw a substantial increase, rising from 1 crash (6.7% share) in May 2021 to 5 crashes (27.8% share) in May 2022. Concurrently, crashes in 'Daylight' conditions decreased from 14 (93.3% share) to 13 (72.2% share). Incidents on 'Wet' road surfaces decreased from 2 crashes to 1 crash year-over-year.

Weather

Clear13 (72.2%)
30.0%prior 10
Cloudy3 (16.7%)
Clear/Unknown2 (11.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight13 (72.2%)
-7.1%prior 14
Dark - lighted roadway5 (27.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry17 (94.4%)
30.8%prior 13
Wet1 (5.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (31 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA6 (19.4%)
20.0%prior 5
2
CHEVROLET4 (12.9%)
3
FORD2 (6.5%)
4
GMC2 (6.5%)
5
HYUNDAI2 (6.5%)
6
BMW2 (6.5%)
7
DODGE2 (6.5%)
8
JEEP2 (6.5%)
9
MAZDA2 (6.5%)
10
LEXUS1 (3.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (32 persons with recorded sex)

Male19 (59.4%)
26.7%prior 15
Female13 (40.6%)
-31.6%prior 19

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes occurring in 30 mph speed zones increased from 6 in May 2021 to 9 in May 2022. Conversely, incidents in 35 mph zones decreased from 4 crashes to 1 crash during the same period. Additionally, crashes in 25 mph zones increased from 1 to 3, while 5 mph and 10 mph zones, which were not present in May 2021 data, each recorded 1 crash in May 2022.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · 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: 2022-05-01 through 2022-05-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-05-01 through 2022-05-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: NORTH READING, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 18
  • Total persons involved: 33
  • Total vehicles involved: 31

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: May 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/north-reading/may-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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North Reading, MA Crash Report — May 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com