Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

16 CRASHES IN
NORTHBOROUGH, MA
APRIL 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstApril 2021

In April 2022, NORTHBOROUGH recorded 16 total crashes, a 15.8% decrease compared to the 19 crashes reported in April 2021. The most notable year-over-year shift is the absence of fatalities in April 2022, down from 1 fatality in April 2021. Total injuries, however, increased from 1 to 4 over the same period.

16

-15.8%was 19

Total Crash Events

0

-100.0%was 1

Persons Killed

4

300.0%was 1

Persons Injured

4

300.0%was 1

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Total crashes in NORTHBOROUGH decreased from 19 in April 2021 to 16 in April 2022, representing a 15.8% reduction year-over-year. Despite this decrease in total crashes, the number of total injuries increased from 1 to 4 during the same period, indicating a shift towards more injury-involved incidents among fewer total crashes.

4

Hit-and-Run Crashes — April 2022

300.0% vs prior (1)

Hit-and-run crashes increased substantially year-over-year, rising from 1 incident in April 2021 to 4 incidents in April 2022. This change resulted in the hit-and-run rate climbing from 5.3% of all crashes in April 2021 to 25% in April 2022.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 1-100.0%

4

Motorists Injured

Prior: 1300.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · 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 Thursday in April 2021, which recorded 8 crashes, to Wednesday in April 2022, with 4 crashes. The peak hour for crashes also shifted slightly, from 5p with 3 crashes in April 2021 to 6p with 3 crashes in April 2022, suggesting a continued concentration of incidents in the late afternoon and early evening.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes decreased significantly year-over-year, with 0 fatal crashes and 0 fatalities reported in April 2022, down from 1 fatal crash and 1 fatality in April 2021. However, total injuries saw an increase, rising from 1 injury in April 2021 to 4 injuries in April 2022. This resulted in 4 crashes with minor or possible injuries in April 2022, compared to 1 minor injury crash in April 2021.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury2minor injury crashes12.5%
100.0%prior 1
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes12.5%
No Injury10no injury crashes62.5%
-41.2%prior 17

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The leading contributing factor shifted from 'Followed too closely' in April 2021, which accounted for 5 crashes, to 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road,' associated with 4 crashes in April 2022. Crashes attributed to 'Failed to yield right of way' decreased from 4 in April 2021 to 1 in April 2022, while 'Inattention' crashes also declined from 2 to 1. Conversely, 'Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings' crashes increased from 1 in April 2021 to 2 in April 2022.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road4 (25%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings2 (12.5%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway2 (12.5%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (6.3%)
Inattention1 (6.3%)
No improper driving1 (6.3%)
Wrong side or wrong way1 (6.3%)
Emotional1 (6.3%)
Failed to yield right of way1 (6.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in clear weather conditions decreased from 13 in April 2021 to 9 in April 2022, while those in rainy conditions increased from 2 to 4 over the same period. Regarding lighting, crashes during daylight hours decreased from 16 to 11, but crashes in dark-lighted roadway conditions increased from 1 to 4. Similarly, incidents on dry road surfaces decreased from 16 to 11, whereas those on wet surfaces increased from 2 to 5.

Weather

Clear5 (31.3%)
-37.5%prior 8
Clear/Clear4 (25.0%)
-20.0%prior 5
Rain2 (12.5%)
Rain/Rain2 (12.5%)
Cloudy1 (6.3%)
Clear/Cloudy1 (6.3%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (6.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight11 (68.8%)
-31.3%prior 16
Dark - lighted roadway4 (25.0%)
Dusk1 (6.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry11 (68.8%)
-31.3%prior 16
Wet5 (31.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (25 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA4 (16%)
-20.0%prior 5
2
FORD3 (12%)
3
NISSAN3 (12%)
4
HYUNDAI2 (8%)
5
BMW2 (8%)
6
MAZDA1 (4%)
7
SUBARU1 (4%)
8
VOLKS1 (4%)
9
CHEVROLET1 (4%)
10
DODGE1 (4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (28 persons with recorded sex)

Male15 (53.6%)
-34.8%prior 23
Female13 (46.4%)
-23.5%prior 17

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes occurring in 30 mph zones decreased from 5 in April 2021 to 4 in April 2022. Incidents in 50 mph zones also saw a reduction, dropping from 5 crashes (including 1 fatal crash) to 2 crashes (with 0 fatal crashes) year-over-year. Conversely, crashes in 25 mph zones increased from 1 in April 2021 to 3 in April 2022.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · 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: 2022-04-01 through 2022-04-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-04-01 through 2022-04-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: NORTHBOROUGH, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 16
  • Total persons involved: 30
  • Total vehicles involved: 25

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). "NORTHBOROUGH, MA Crash Intelligence Report: April 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/northborough/april-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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Northborough, MA Crash Report — April 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com