Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

42 CRASHES IN
NORTHAMPTON, MA
NOVEMBER 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstNovember 2023

In November 2024, Northampton experienced 42 crashes, marking a 20.75% decrease compared to the 53 crashes reported in November 2023. The most significant year-over-year shift was the increase in total fatalities from 0 in November 2023 to 2 in November 2024.

42

-20.8%was 53

Total Crash Events

2

Persons Killed

15

Persons Injured

2

Fatal Crash Events

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.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-11-01 to 2024-11-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, the number of crashes in Northampton decreased by 20.75%, from 53 in November 2023 to 42 in November 2024. Despite this reduction in total crashes, the number of fatalities increased from 0 to 2, while total injuries remained stable at 15 for both periods.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

0

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 1-100.0%

2

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 1100.0%

13

Motorists Injured

Prior: 130.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-11-01 to 2024-11-30 · 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 Monday in November 2023, with 10 crashes, to Tuesday in November 2024, with 11 crashes. The peak hour for crashes also changed, moving from 5 PM in November 2023 to 12 PM in November 2024, with both periods recording 7 crashes during their respective peak hours.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-11-01 to 2024-11-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-11-01 to 2024-11-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes increased from 0 in November 2023 to 2 in November 2024, representing 4.76% of all crashes in the current period. Although the total number of injuries remained stable at 15 for both periods, the share of crashes resulting in Minor Injury decreased from 24.5% in November 2023 to 11.9% in November 2024. Additionally, November 2024 reported 2 Serious Injury crashes, a category not present in the prior year's data.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal2fatal crashes4.8%
Serious Injury2serious injury crashes4.8%
Minor Injury5minor injury crashes11.9%
-61.5%prior 13
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes4.8%
0.0%prior 2
No Injury31no injury crashes73.8%
-18.4%prior 38

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-11-01 to 2024-11-30 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-11-01 to 2024-11-30 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The leading contributing factor, 'Inattention,' saw a decrease from 12 crashes in November 2023 to 10 crashes in November 2024. Crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' also decreased from 11 to 9, and 'Failed to yield right of way' reduced from 8 to 5 crashes year-over-year. Conversely, 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' increased from 1 crash in November 2023 to 4 crashes in November 2024.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention10 (23.8%)-16.7%prior 12
No improper driving9 (21.4%)-18.2%prior 11
Failed to yield right of way5 (11.9%)-37.5%prior 8
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner4 (9.5%)
Followed too closely2 (4.8%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit2 (4.8%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (4.8%)
Distracted2 (4.8%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (2.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-11-01 to 2024-11-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

The number of crashes occurring in clear weather conditions decreased from 37 in November 2023 to 22 in November 2024. Conversely, crashes on wet road surfaces increased from 6 in the prior period to 8 in the current period. Crashes during daylight hours remained stable at 29 in November 2024 compared to 30 in November 2023, while crashes in 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions decreased from 13 to 10.

Weather

Clear22 (52.4%)
-40.5%prior 37
Cloudy4 (9.5%)
-60.0%prior 10
Clear/Unknown4 (9.5%)
Clear/Other3 (7.1%)
Rain/Cloudy2 (4.8%)
Rain2 (4.8%)
Cloudy/Other1 (2.4%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (2.4%)
Clear/Clear1 (2.4%)
Rain/Clear1 (2.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-11-01 to 2024-11-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight29 (69.0%)
-3.3%prior 30
Dark - lighted roadway10 (23.8%)
-23.1%prior 13
Dusk2 (4.8%)
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (2.4%)
-83.3%prior 6

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-11-01 to 2024-11-30 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry34 (81.0%)
-26.1%prior 46
Wet8 (19.0%)
33.3%prior 6

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-11-01 to 2024-11-30 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The number of Toyota vehicles involved in crashes increased from 14 in November 2023 to 17 in November 2024, while Ford vehicles decreased from 12 to 9. A notable shift in age distribution was observed, with persons in the 0-15 age group increasing from 3 to 14, and the 65+ age group increasing from 19 to 25. Conversely, the 16-20 age group saw a decrease from 11 to 6, and the 21-25 age group decreased from 17 to 7.

Top Vehicle Makes (71 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA17 (23.9%)
21.4%prior 14
2
HONDA10 (14.1%)
0.0%prior 10
3
FORD9 (12.7%)
-25.0%prior 12
4
SUBARU9 (12.7%)
-10.0%prior 10
5
HYUNDAI4 (5.6%)
6
NISSAN3 (4.2%)
-66.7%prior 9
7
MAZDA3 (4.2%)
8
JEEP3 (4.2%)
9
VOLKSWAGEN2 (2.8%)
10
CHEVROLET2 (2.8%)
-66.7%prior 6

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-11-01 to 2024-11-30 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (96 persons with recorded sex)

Female49 (51.0%)
4.3%prior 47
Male47 (49.0%)
-27.7%prior 65

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-11-01 to 2024-11-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 25 mph speed zone decreased from 18 in November 2023 to 13 in November 2024, while crashes in the 30 mph zone increased from 8 to 11. The 35 mph zone saw a decrease from 15 crashes to 8, and the 65 mph zone decreased from 4 to 3 crashes. Notably, November 2024 recorded fatal crashes in the 5 mph zone (1 fatal crash) and 65 mph zone (1 fatal crash), compared to zero fatal crashes across all speed zones in November 2023.

Fatal crashes by zone: 5 mph: 1 of 1 (100%) · 65 mph: 1 of 3 (33.333%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-11-01 to 2024-11-30 · 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: 2024-11-01 through 2024-11-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-11-01 through 2024-11-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: NORTHAMPTON, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 42
  • Total persons involved: 97
  • Total vehicles involved: 71

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). "NORTHAMPTON, MA Crash Intelligence Report: November 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-11-01 to 2024-11-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/northampton/november-2024-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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Northampton, MA Crash Report — November 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com