Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

23 CRASHES IN
NORTHBOROUGH, MA
APRIL 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstApril 2023

Total crashes in NORTHBOROUGH increased by 35.3%, rising from 17 in April 2023 to 23 in April 2024. Despite this increase in crash events, total injuries decreased by 41.7%, from 12 injured persons in the prior period to 7 in the current period. A notable shift was the increase in crashes attributed to "Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road," which became the leading contributing factor.

23

35.3%was 17

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

7

-41.7%was 12

Persons Injured

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash events in NORTHBOROUGH showed an upward trend, with a 35.3% increase in total crashes, from 17 in April 2023 to 23 in April 2024. This indicates a significant rise in the number of reported crash incidents year-over-year.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — April 2024

8.7% hit-and-run rate this period vs 0.0% prior. Prior period: 0.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

7

Motorists Injured

Prior: 12-41.7%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · 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 2023 (6 crashes) to Tuesday in April 2024 (6 crashes). While the peak hour remained 4 p.m. in both periods, the number of crashes during this hour increased from 3 in April 2023 to 4 in April 2024. Crashes on Tuesdays saw a substantial increase, rising from 1 in April 2023 to 6 in April 2024.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

No fatalities were reported in either April 2023 or April 2024. Despite an increase in total crashes, the number of injured persons decreased by 41.7%, from 12 in April 2023 to 7 in April 2024. The proportion of crashes resulting in "No Injury" increased from 64.7% in April 2023 to 69.6% in April 2024, while "Minor Injury" crashes decreased from 29.4% to 13%.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury3minor injury crashes13%
-40.0%prior 5
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes8.7%
No Injury16no injury crashes69.6%
45.5%prior 11

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The contributing factor "Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road" saw a substantial increase, rising from 3 crashes in April 2023 to 7 crashes in April 2024, a 133.3% increase in count. Conversely, "Failed to yield right of way" decreased significantly, from 7 crashes in April 2023 to 2 crashes in April 2024, representing a 71.4% decrease in count. "Followed too closely" also increased, from 1 crash to 4 crashes, a 300% increase in count.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road7 (30.4%)
Followed too closely4 (17.4%)
Driving too fast for conditions2 (8.7%)
Failed to yield right of way2 (8.7%)-71.4%prior 7
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner2 (8.7%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings1 (4.3%)
Distracted1 (4.3%)
Inattention1 (4.3%)
No improper driving1 (4.3%)
Other improper action1 (4.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in "Clear" or "Clear/Clear" weather conditions increased from 15 in April 2023 to 17 in April 2024. There was an increase in crashes during adverse weather, with "Rain" or "Rain/Rain" conditions accounting for 2 crashes in April 2024 compared to none in the prior period. The number of crashes on "Dry" road surfaces increased from 15 to 18, while crashes on "Wet" surfaces increased from 1 to 2.

Weather

Clear13 (59.1%)
85.7%prior 7
Clear/Clear4 (18.2%)
-50.0%prior 8
Cloudy/Cloudy1 (4.5%)
Rain1 (4.5%)
Rain/Rain1 (4.5%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (4.5%)
Snow/Snow1 (4.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight19 (90.5%)
35.7%prior 14
Dark - lighted roadway2 (9.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry18 (81.8%)
20.0%prior 15
Slush2 (9.1%)
Wet2 (9.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (40 vehicles)

1
HONDA8 (20%)
60.0%prior 5
2
TOYOTA5 (12.5%)
0.0%prior 5
3
FORD5 (12.5%)
4
KIA2 (5%)
5
AUDI2 (5%)
6
LEXUS2 (5%)
7
CHEVROLET2 (5%)
8
MAZDA1 (2.5%)
-80.0%prior 5
9
NISSAN1 (2.5%)
10
PORS1 (2.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (47 persons with recorded sex)

Male30 (63.8%)
42.9%prior 21
Female17 (36.2%)
-22.7%prior 22

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 30 mph speed zones increased from 3 in April 2023 to 8 in April 2024, marking a 166.7% rise in count. Conversely, crashes in 45 mph speed zones decreased from 7 to 5, a 28.6% reduction in count. New crashes were recorded in 20 mph (1 crash) and 25 mph (3 crashes) zones in April 2024, which had no recorded crashes in the prior period. No fatalities were reported in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · 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: 2024-04-01 through 2024-04-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-04-01 through 2024-04-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: NORTHBOROUGH, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 23
  • Total persons involved: 48
  • Total vehicles involved: 40

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 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/northborough/april-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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Northborough, MA Crash Report — April 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com