Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

38 CRASHES IN
NORWOOD, MA
MAY 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstMay 2023

In May 2024, NORWOOD, MA experienced 38 crashes, a 9.52% decrease from the 42 crashes recorded in May 2023. A significant shift was the increase in total fatalities, rising from 0 in May 2023 to 1 in May 2024.

38

-9.5%was 42

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

9

-25.0%was 12

Persons Injured

0

-100.0%was 3

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 · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates a slight decrease in total crashes, falling from 42 in May 2023 to 38 in May 2024. However, this period saw an increase in crash severity, with total fatalities rising from 0 to 1 and total injuries decreasing from 12 to 9.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

9

Motorists Injured

Prior: 11-18.2%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes remained Wednesday in both periods, with 9 crashes in May 2024 and 8 in May 2023. The peak hour shifted from 3 PM with 6 crashes in May 2023 to 4 PM with 5 crashes in May 2024. Notably, crashes on Friday decreased from 5 in May 2023 to 2 in May 2024.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

The severity distribution changed significantly year-over-year, with May 2024 recording 1 fatal crash and 1 serious injury crash, compared to 0 fatal crashes and 0 serious injury crashes in May 2023. Total injuries decreased from 12 persons in May 2023 to 9 persons in May 2024.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes2.6%
Serious Injury1serious injury crashes2.6%
Minor Injury5minor injury crashes13.2%
0.0%prior 5
Possible Injury3possible injury crashes7.9%
50.0%prior 2
No Injury28no injury crashes73.7%
-20.0%prior 35

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The top contributing factor shifted from 'Failed to yield right of way' (9 crashes, 21.4% share) in May 2023 to 'No improper driving' (11 crashes, 28.9% share) in May 2024. 'Failed to yield right of way' crashes decreased by 3, from 9 to 6, while 'Inattention' crashes decreased by 3, from 7 to 4.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving11 (28.9%)57.1%prior 7
Failed to yield right of way6 (15.8%)-33.3%prior 9
Inattention4 (10.5%)-42.9%prior 7
Followed too closely3 (7.9%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner3 (7.9%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings3 (7.9%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (5.3%)
Visibility obstructed1 (2.6%)
Over-correcting/over-steering1 (2.6%)
Illness1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in clear weather conditions decreased from 30 in May 2023 to 23 in May 2024. Conversely, rain-related crashes (Rain, Rain/Cloudy, Cloudy/Rain) increased from a combined total of 4 in May 2023 to 10 in May 2024. Crashes occurring during daylight hours increased from 29 to 32, while those in dark conditions decreased from 11 to 4.

Weather

Clear23 (60.5%)
-23.3%prior 30
Cloudy/Rain5 (13.2%)
Rain3 (7.9%)
Cloudy2 (5.3%)
Clear/Unknown2 (5.3%)
Rain/Cloudy2 (5.3%)
Clear/Other1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight32 (84.2%)
10.3%prior 29
Dark - lighted roadway4 (10.5%)
-20.0%prior 5
Dawn1 (2.6%)
Dusk1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry29 (76.3%)
-14.7%prior 34
Wet9 (23.7%)
12.5%prior 8

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes decreased from 82 in May 2023 to 75 in May 2024. Honda vehicles involved increased from 11 to 17, while Ford vehicles increased significantly from 4 to 14. The number of persons aged 0-15 involved in crashes decreased from 10 to 6, and those aged 65+ decreased from 18 to 16.

Top Vehicle Makes (75 vehicles)

1
HONDA17 (22.7%)
54.5%prior 11
2
TOYOTA15 (20%)
-6.3%prior 16
3
FORD14 (18.7%)
4
CHEVROLET3 (4%)
-62.5%prior 8
5
KIA3 (4%)
6
JEEP3 (4%)
7
TESL2 (2.7%)
8
HYUNDAI2 (2.7%)
9
NISSAN2 (2.7%)
-80.0%prior 10
10
PORS1 (1.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (87 persons with recorded sex)

Male51 (58.6%)
-5.6%prior 54
Female36 (41.4%)
-28.0%prior 50

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 30 mph speed zone decreased slightly from 27 in May 2023 to 26 in May 2024, but this zone recorded 1 fatal crash in May 2024 compared to 0 in the prior year. Crashes in the 65 mph zone decreased from 6 to 2, with no fatalities in either period for this zone. The majority of crashes in both periods occurred in the 30 mph speed zone.

Fatal crashes by zone: 30 mph: 1 of 26 (3.846%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · 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: 2024-05-01 through 2024-05-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-05-01 through 2024-05-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: NORWOOD, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 38
  • Total persons involved: 93
  • Total vehicles involved: 75

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: May 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/norwood/may-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 — May 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com