Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

26 CRASHES IN
NORTHBOROUGH, MA
SEPTEMBER 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstSeptember 2022

In September 2023, NORTHBOROUGH recorded 26 total crashes, a decrease of 3.7% compared to the 27 crashes in September 2022. The most notable year-over-year shift was a significant 66.7% reduction in total injuries, decreasing from 15 to 5.

26

-3.7%was 27

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

5

-66.7%was 15

Persons Injured

2

100.0%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.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates a slight decrease in total crashes, from 27 in September 2022 to 26 in September 2023. More significantly, total injuries saw a substantial decline of 66.7%, dropping from 15 to 5.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — September 2023

100.0% vs prior (1)

Hit-and-run crashes increased year-over-year, rising from 1 crash in September 2022 to 2 crashes in September 2023. This resulted in the hit-and-run rate increasing from 3.7% in the prior period to 7.7% in the current period, indicating an upward trend.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

5

Motorists Injured

Prior: 15-66.7%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · 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 with 7 crashes in September 2022 to Friday with 5 crashes in September 2023. The peak hour also changed, moving from 5 PM with 4 crashes in the prior period to 1 PM with 6 crashes in the current period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatal crashes or fatalities in either September 2022 or September 2023. Total injuries decreased significantly from 15 in September 2022 to 5 in September 2023, with serious injuries (code A) dropping from 2 to 0, minor injuries (code B) from 5 to 2, and possible injuries (code C) from 3 to 2. Consequently, the proportion of crashes with no injuries increased from a 63% share to an 84.6% share.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury2minor injury crashes7.7%
-60.0%prior 5
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes7.7%
-33.3%prior 3
No Injury22no injury crashes84.6%
29.4%prior 17

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The top contributing factor, 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road,' increased from 6 crashes in September 2022 to 7 crashes in September 2023. 'Followed too closely' decreased from 6 crashes to 4 crashes, while 'No improper driving' saw an increase from 1 crash to 4 crashes. Notably, 'Driving too fast for conditions,' which accounted for 2 crashes in the prior period, was not a factor in any crashes in the current period.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road7 (26.9%)16.7%prior 6
Followed too closely4 (15.4%)-33.3%prior 6
No improper driving4 (15.4%)
Failed to yield right of way4 (15.4%)-20.0%prior 5
Other improper action2 (7.7%)
Distracted2 (7.7%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner2 (7.7%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings1 (3.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in adverse weather conditions, such as rain or cloudy weather, increased significantly from 1 crash in September 2022 to 9 crashes in September 2023. This corresponds with a notable rise in crashes on wet road surfaces, from 1 crash in the prior period to 10 crashes in the current period. Conversely, crashes occurring in dark conditions decreased from 8 in September 2022 to 4 in September 2023.

Weather

Clear/Clear9 (34.6%)
50.0%prior 6
Clear8 (30.8%)
-60.0%prior 20
Rain/Rain5 (19.2%)
Rain2 (7.7%)
Cloudy/Cloudy1 (3.8%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (3.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight22 (84.6%)
22.2%prior 18
Dark - lighted roadway3 (11.5%)
-62.5%prior 8
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (3.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry16 (61.5%)
-38.5%prior 26
Wet10 (38.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (45 vehicles)

1
HONDA6 (13.3%)
2
TOYOTA6 (13.3%)
-45.5%prior 11
3
FORD4 (8.9%)
4
HYUNDAI3 (6.7%)
-40.0%prior 5
5
VOLKSWAGEN2 (4.4%)
6
BUIC2 (4.4%)
7
CHEVROLET2 (4.4%)
-60.0%prior 5
8
JEEP2 (4.4%)
9
MAZDA2 (4.4%)
10
SUBARU2 (4.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Vehicle unit records

Sex Distribution (56 persons with recorded sex)

Male29 (51.8%)
-19.4%prior 36
Female27 (48.2%)
12.5%prior 24

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

The peak speed limit zone for crashes remained at 35 mph, increasing from 7 crashes in September 2022 to 9 crashes in September 2023. There was a slight shift in crash distribution, with crashes in 20-35 mph zones increasing from a 55.6% share to a 61.5% share, while crashes in 40+ mph zones decreased from a 44.4% share to a 38.5% share. No fatal crashes occurred in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · 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: 2023-09-01 through 2023-09-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-09-01 through 2023-09-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: NORTHBOROUGH, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 26
  • Total persons involved: 57
  • Total vehicles involved: 45

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: September 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/northborough/september-2023-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 — September 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com