Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

34 CRASHES IN
NORTHBOROUGH, MA
DECEMBER 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstDecember 2023

In December 2024, NORTHBOROUGH experienced 34 crashes, marking a 17.24% increase from the 29 crashes recorded in December 2023. Total injuries also rose by 20%, from 5 to 6, while fatalities remained at zero in both periods. The most notable shift was a 300% increase in crashes attributed to 'Driving too fast for conditions', rising from 1 crash in the prior year to 4 in the current period.

34

17.2%was 29

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

6

20.0%was 5

Persons Injured

3

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. 1 crash with unreported severity is not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-12-01 to 2024-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates an increase in crash incidents, with total crashes rising from 29 in December 2023 to 34 in December 2024, representing a 17.24% increase. While fatalities remained stable at 0, total injuries increased by 20% year-over-year, from 5 to 6.

3

Hit-and-Run Crashes — December 2024

50.0% vs prior (2)

Hit-and-run crashes increased from 2 incidents in December 2023 to 3 incidents in December 2024. This change corresponds to an increase in the hit-and-run rate from 6.9% to 8.8% of all crashes, indicating an upward trend in such incidents.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

6

Motorists Injured

Prior: 520.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-12-01 to 2024-12-31 · 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 Sunday in December 2023, which saw 7 crashes, to Thursday in December 2024, with 10 crashes. The peak hour for crashes also changed, moving from 5 PM (4 crashes) in the prior period to 8 AM (7 crashes) in the current period, indicating a shift in high-risk times.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-12-01 to 2024-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-12-01 to 2024-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes remained at 0 in both December 2023 and December 2024, showing no change in the fatal crash rate. Total injuries increased from 5 in the prior period to 6 in the current period, a 20% rise. Notably, serious injuries (code 'A') were reported in December 2023 (1 crash, 3.4% of total) but were absent in December 2024.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury2minor injury crashes5.9%
0.0%prior 2
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes5.9%
100.0%prior 1
No Injury29no injury crashes85.3%
16.0%prior 25

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-12-01 to 2024-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-12-01 to 2024-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The contributing factor 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' remained constant with 6 crashes in both periods. 'Failed to yield right of way' crashes decreased by 33.3% in count, from 6 in December 2023 to 4 in December 2024. Conversely, 'Driving too fast for conditions' saw a significant 300% increase in count, rising from 1 crash in the prior period to 4 crashes in the current period.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road6 (17.6%)0.0%prior 6
No improper driving5 (14.7%)
Driving too fast for conditions4 (11.8%)
Followed too closely4 (11.8%)-20.0%prior 5
Failed to yield right of way4 (11.8%)-33.3%prior 6
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings2 (5.9%)
Glare2 (5.9%)
Visibility obstructed1 (2.9%)
Distracted1 (2.9%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (2.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-12-01 to 2024-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring on dry road surfaces decreased from 21 in December 2023 to 19 in December 2024, despite an overall increase in crashes. Snow and ice conditions were reported as contributing factors in December 2024, accounting for 5 and 2 crashes respectively, which were not present in the prior year. Crashes during daylight hours increased from 15 to 20, while those in 'Dark - lighted roadway' decreased from 9 to 4.

Weather

Clear/Clear13 (38.2%)
-7.1%prior 14
Clear6 (17.6%)
0.0%prior 6
Snow4 (11.8%)
Snow/Snow3 (8.8%)
Rain/Rain3 (8.8%)
Rain/Cloudy2 (5.9%)
Cloudy1 (2.9%)
Cloudy/Snow1 (2.9%)
Snow/Cloudy1 (2.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-12-01 to 2024-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight20 (58.8%)
33.3%prior 15
Dark - roadway not lighted7 (20.6%)
Dark - lighted roadway4 (11.8%)
-55.6%prior 9
Dusk2 (5.9%)
Dawn1 (2.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-12-01 to 2024-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry19 (55.9%)
-9.5%prior 21
Wet8 (23.5%)
0.0%prior 8
Snow5 (14.7%)
Ice2 (5.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-12-01 to 2024-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of persons involved in crashes increased from 61 in December 2023 to 70 in December 2024. The 35-44 age group saw a 100% increase in involvement, rising from 7 persons to 14 persons year-over-year. Toyota remained the most frequently involved vehicle make, with its count increasing from 10 to 12, while Honda's involvement decreased from 8 to 4.

Top Vehicle Makes (59 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA12 (20.3%)
20.0%prior 10
2
FORD5 (8.5%)
-16.7%prior 6
3
HONDA4 (6.8%)
-50.0%prior 8
4
CHEVROLET4 (6.8%)
5
SUBARU3 (5.1%)
6
NISSAN3 (5.1%)
7
LEXUS3 (5.1%)
8
AUDI2 (3.4%)
9
MAZDA2 (3.4%)
10
MERCEDES-BENZ2 (3.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-12-01 to 2024-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (65 persons with recorded sex)

Male44 (67.7%)
83.3%prior 24
Female21 (32.3%)
-40.0%prior 35

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-12-01 to 2024-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 30 MPH speed zone increased significantly from 5 in December 2023 to 13 in December 2024, a 160% rise. In contrast, crashes in the 35 MPH speed zone decreased from 8 to 3 over the same period. There were no fatal crashes reported in any speed zone during either December 2023 or December 2024.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-12-01 to 2024-12-31 · 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: 2024-12-01 through 2024-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-12-01 through 2024-12-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: NORTHBOROUGH, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 34
  • Total persons involved: 70
  • Total vehicles involved: 59

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: December 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-12-01 to 2024-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/northborough/december-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 — December 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com