Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

6 CRASHES IN
ORLEANS, MA
MAY 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstMay 2022

In May 2023, Orleans experienced 6 total crashes, a 25% decrease compared to the 8 crashes reported in May 2022. Fatalities remained at zero in both periods, while injuries held steady at 2. The most notable year-over-year shift was the absence of crashes involving 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' in May 2023, which was a factor in 3 crashes in May 2022.

6

-25.0%was 8

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

2

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 · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crashes in Orleans decreased by 25% year-over-year, from 8 crashes in May 2022 to 6 crashes in May 2023. Despite this reduction in total incidents, the number of persons injured remained constant at 2 in both periods. Fatalities were not reported in either May 2022 or May 2023.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

2

Motorists Injured

Prior: 20.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes shifted significantly year-over-year. In May 2022, the peak day for crashes was Friday with 3 incidents, while in May 2023, Monday and Tuesday each recorded 2 crashes. The peak crash hour also moved from 10 PM with 1 crash in May 2022 to 12 PM and 2 PM with 2 crashes each in May 2023, indicating a shift towards earlier daytime incidents.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

The severity distribution of crashes saw minor changes year-over-year. Both May 2022 and May 2023 recorded 0 fatal crashes and 2 minor injury crashes. Due to the overall decrease in total crashes, the proportion of minor injury crashes increased from 25% of all crashes in May 2022 to 33.3% in May 2023.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury2minor injury crashes33.3%
0.0%prior 2
No Injury4no injury crashes66.7%
-33.3%prior 6

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Contributing factors observed a notable shift between the two periods. Crashes involving 'Inattention' increased from 1 in May 2022 to 2 in May 2023, representing a 100% increase in count. Factors such as 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' (3 crashes) and 'No improper driving' (3 crashes), which were prominent in May 2022, were not among the top factors in May 2023.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Failed to yield right of way2 (33.3%)
Inattention2 (33.3%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (16.7%)
Other improper action1 (16.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (13 vehicles)

1
MERCEDES-BENZ2 (15.4%)
2
HONDA2 (15.4%)
3
SUBARU2 (15.4%)
4
FORD1 (7.7%)
5
AUDI1 (7.7%)
6
JEEP1 (7.7%)
7
NISSAN1 (7.7%)
8
ISU1 (7.7%)
9
CHEVROLET1 (7.7%)
10
DODGE1 (7.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Vehicle unit records

Sex Distribution (15 persons with recorded sex)

Female9 (60.0%)
80.0%prior 5
Male6 (40.0%)
-14.3%prior 7

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

The distribution of crashes across speed zones also changed year-over-year. Crashes occurring in 30 mph zones increased from 1 in May 2022 to 2 in May 2023, a 100% increase in count. Conversely, crashes in 5 mph, 45 mph, and 50 mph zones, each accounting for 1 crash in May 2022, were not recorded in May 2023. The number of crashes in 35 mph and 40 mph zones remained consistent at 2 crashes each across both periods.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · 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: 2023-05-01 through 2023-05-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-05-01 through 2023-05-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: ORLEANS, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 6
  • Total persons involved: 15
  • Total vehicles involved: 13

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: May 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/orleans/may-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 — May 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com