Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

16 CRASHES IN
ORLEANS, MA
AUGUST 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstAugust 2022

In August 2023, ORLEANS experienced 16 total crashes, a decrease from 19 crashes reported in August 2022. This represents a 15.8% reduction in overall crash incidents year-over-year. A notable shift includes a 150% increase in crashes occurring on wet road surfaces, rising from 2 to 5 incidents.

16

-15.8%was 19

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

7

16.7%was 6

Persons Injured

0

Fatal Crash Events

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 · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Total crashes decreased from 19 in August 2022 to 16 in August 2023, representing a 15.8% reduction. Fatalities remained at zero in both periods, indicating a stable trend in the most severe outcomes. Total injuries increased slightly from 6 to 7, a rise of 16.7% year-over-year.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 0%

6

Motorists Injured

Prior: 450.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · 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 Thursday in both August 2022 and August 2023, although the number of crashes on Thursday decreased from 5 to 4. The peak hour for crashes shifted from 3 PM with 3 crashes in August 2022 to 12 PM with 5 crashes in August 2023. This indicates a change in the busiest time of day for crash occurrences.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Both August 2022 and August 2023 recorded zero fatalities. Total injuries increased from 6 in August 2022 to 7 in August 2023. The proportion of crashes resulting in minor injuries rose significantly from 10.5% (2 crashes) in August 2022 to 31.3% (5 crashes) in August 2023.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury5minor injury crashes31.3%
150.0%prior 2
No Injury11no injury crashes68.8%
-26.7%prior 15

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The top contributing factors 'Failed to yield right of way' and 'Inattention' remained consistent with 5 and 3 crashes respectively in both periods. Crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' increased from 2 in August 2022 to 3 in August 2023, a 50% rise in count. Notably, crashes attributed to 'Exceeded authorized speed limit' appeared in August 2023 with 1 crash, while 'Followed too closely' crashes, present with 2 in August 2022, were absent in August 2023.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Failed to yield right of way5 (31.3%)0.0%prior 5
Inattention3 (18.8%)
No improper driving3 (18.8%)
Visibility obstructed1 (6.3%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit1 (6.3%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (6.3%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (6.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

The proportion of crashes occurring in clear weather conditions decreased from 78.9% (15 crashes) in August 2022 to 56.3% (9 crashes) in August 2023. Conversely, crashes on wet road surfaces increased from 2 in August 2022 to 5 in August 2023, a 150% rise in count. Additionally, crashes occurring in 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions increased from 1 in August 2022 to 3 in August 2023.

Weather

Clear9 (56.3%)
-40.0%prior 15
Cloudy3 (18.8%)
Rain2 (12.5%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (6.3%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (6.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight13 (81.3%)
-27.8%prior 18
Dark - lighted roadway3 (18.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry11 (68.8%)
-35.3%prior 17
Wet5 (31.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (28 vehicles)

1
FORD4 (14.3%)
2
JEEP3 (10.7%)
3
CHEVROLET3 (10.7%)
4
SUBARU3 (10.7%)
5
TOYOTA2 (7.1%)
-75.0%prior 8
6
NISSAN2 (7.1%)
7
HONDA2 (7.1%)
8
VOLVO1 (3.6%)
9
ACURA1 (3.6%)
10
YAMA1 (3.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Vehicle unit records

Sex Distribution (39 persons with recorded sex)

Male21 (53.8%)
-32.3%prior 31
Female18 (46.2%)
-14.3%prior 21

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes at 30 mph speed zones increased from 5 in August 2022 to 6 in August 2023, a 20% rise in count. Conversely, crashes at 35 mph zones decreased significantly from 5 to 2, a 60% reduction. Crashes at 40 mph zones also saw a slight decrease from 6 to 5.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · 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: 2023-08-01 through 2023-08-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-08-01 through 2023-08-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: ORLEANS, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 16
  • Total persons involved: 39
  • Total vehicles involved: 28

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). "ORLEANS, MA Crash Intelligence Report: August 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/orleans/august-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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Orleans, MA Crash Report — August 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com