Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

27 CRASHES IN
NORWOOD, MA
APRIL 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstApril 2023

NORWOOD experienced a decrease in total crashes from 36 in April 2023 to 27 in April 2024, representing a 25% reduction. However, the most notable shift was the emergence of one fatality in April 2024, compared to zero in the prior year. Total injuries also decreased by 56.5%, from 23 to 10 year-over-year.

27

-25.0%was 36

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

10

-56.5%was 23

Persons Injured

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (1) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (1) 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 · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crashes in NORWOOD decreased by 25% year-over-year, from 36 crashes in April 2023 to 27 crashes in April 2024. Total injuries also saw a significant reduction, dropping from 23 to 10. Despite the overall decline in incidents, a fatal crash occurred in April 2024, where there were none in April 2023.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — April 2024

3.7% hit-and-run rate this period vs 0.0% prior. Prior period: 0.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

10

Motorists Injured

Prior: 23-56.5%

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 temporal distribution of crashes shifted year-over-year. While April 2023 saw a peak on Thursdays with 8 crashes, April 2024's peak shifted to Saturdays, also with 8 crashes. Similarly, the peak hour for crashes moved from 5p with 4 crashes in April 2023 to 3p with 4 crashes 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

A significant change in crash severity was observed, with one fatal crash occurring in April 2024, compared to zero in April 2023. Total injuries decreased from 23 in April 2023 to 10 in April 2024, representing a 56.5% reduction. Specifically, minor injury crashes decreased from 10 to 4, and possible injury crashes decreased from 3 to 2.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes3.7%
Serious Injury1serious injury crashes3.7%
0.0%prior 1
Minor Injury4minor injury crashes14.8%
-60.0%prior 10
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes7.4%
-33.3%prior 3
No Injury19no injury crashes70.4%
-13.6%prior 22

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

"Failed to yield right of way" remained consistent as a contributing factor with 6 crashes in both April 2023 and April 2024. Crashes attributed to "Inattention" decreased from 5 in April 2023 to 3 in April 2024, a 40% reduction in count. Conversely, crashes with "No improper driving" as a factor increased from 5 in April 2023 to 6 in April 2024, an increase of 20% in count.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Failed to yield right of way6 (22.2%)0.0%prior 6
No improper driving6 (22.2%)20.0%prior 5
Inattention3 (11.1%)-40.0%prior 5
Followed too closely2 (7.4%)
Fatigued/asleep1 (3.7%)
Distracted1 (3.7%)
Emotional1 (3.7%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (3.7%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (3.7%)
Over-correcting/over-steering1 (3.7%)

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

While clear weather conditions remained the most common factor, crashes occurring in clear weather decreased from 30 in April 2023 to 16 in April 2024. Similarly, crashes under daylight conditions decreased from 26 to 18 year-over-year. The number of crashes on dry road surfaces also saw a reduction, from 31 to 20.

Weather

Clear16 (59.3%)
-46.7%prior 30
Cloudy3 (11.1%)
Rain2 (7.4%)
Clear/Unknown1 (3.7%)
Clear/Other1 (3.7%)
Clear/Rain1 (3.7%)
Cloudy/Unknown1 (3.7%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (3.7%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (3.7%)

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

Lighting

Daylight18 (66.7%)
-30.8%prior 26
Dark - lighted roadway7 (25.9%)
40.0%prior 5
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (3.7%)
Dusk1 (3.7%)

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

Road Surface

Dry20 (74.1%)
-35.5%prior 31
Wet6 (22.2%)
20.0%prior 5
Slush1 (3.7%)

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 (48 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA10 (20.8%)
-9.1%prior 11
2
HONDA8 (16.7%)
0.0%prior 8
3
JEEP3 (6.3%)
4
KIA3 (6.3%)
5
FORD3 (6.3%)
-40.0%prior 5
6
BMW2 (4.2%)
7
CHEVROLET2 (4.2%)
8
LEXUS2 (4.2%)
9
MAZDA2 (4.2%)
10
SUBARU2 (4.2%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (57 persons with recorded sex)

Female31 (54.4%)
-11.4%prior 35
Male26 (45.6%)
-46.9%prior 49

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 the 30 mph speed zone decreased from 23 in April 2023 to 18 in April 2024. Notably, the single fatal crash in April 2024 occurred in a 30 mph zone, whereas no fatal crashes occurred in any speed zone in April 2023. Crashes in the 45 mph zone slightly decreased from 4 to 3, while crashes in the 50 mph zone increased from 2 to 3.

Fatal crashes by zone: 30 mph: 1 of 18 (5.556%)

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: NORWOOD, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 27
  • Total persons involved: 61
  • Total vehicles involved: 48

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). "NORWOOD, 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/norwood/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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Norwood, MA Crash Report — April 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com