Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

112 CRASHES IN
PEABODY, MA
APRIL 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstApril 2022

In April 2023, Peabody experienced 112 total crashes, an increase from 102 crashes reported in April 2022, representing a 9.8% rise year-over-year. The most notable shift was a significant increase in DUI-related crashes, which more than doubled from 3 in April 2022 to 7 in April 2023.

112

9.8%was 102

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

37

12.1%was 33

Persons Injured

10

100.0%was 5

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. 8 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, the trend for crashes in Peabody is upward, with total crashes increasing from 102 in April 2022 to 112 in April 2023. This represents a 9.8% increase in total crash incidents year-over-year. Total injuries also increased from 33 to 37 during the same period.

10

Hit-and-Run Crashes — April 2023

100.0% vs prior (5)

Hit-and-run crashes increased significantly, rising from 5 in April 2022 to 10 in April 2023. This change led to a doubling of the hit-and-run rate, from 4.9% in April 2022 to 8.9% in April 2023, indicating an upward trend.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

3

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 0%

3

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 0%

31

Motorists Injured

Prior: 33-6.1%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes remained Tuesday in both periods, with 21 crashes recorded on this day in both April 2022 and April 2023. However, the peak hour shifted from 4 PM with 14 crashes in April 2022 to 3 PM with 13 crashes in April 2023. While the peak day remained consistent, the peak hour experienced a slight shift.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatal crashes in either April 2022 or April 2023. Serious injury crashes (severity A) increased from 1 (1.0% of total crashes) in April 2022 to 2 (1.8% of total crashes) in April 2023. Minor injury crashes (severity B) remained constant at 13 in both periods, though their share decreased from 12.7% to 11.6% of total crashes.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury2serious injury crashes1.8%
100.0%prior 1
Minor Injury13minor injury crashes11.6%
0.0%prior 13
Possible Injury12possible injury crashes10.7%
9.1%prior 11
No Injury77no injury crashes68.8%
2.7%prior 75

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Crashes attributed to 'Inattention' decreased by 6, from 25 in April 2022 to 19 in April 2023. Conversely, 'Followed too closely' crashes more than doubled, increasing by 8 from 6 in April 2022 to 14 in April 2023. 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' also saw a substantial increase, rising from 1 crash in April 2022 to 7 crashes in April 2023.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving33 (29.5%)13.8%prior 29
Inattention19 (17%)-24.0%prior 25
Followed too closely14 (12.5%)133.3%prior 6
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road7 (6.3%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner6 (5.4%)
Other improper action4 (3.6%)
Distracted4 (3.6%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings3 (2.7%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway2 (1.8%)
Failed to yield right of way2 (1.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Rain' conditions increased from 5 in April 2022 to 8 in April 2023. The number of crashes on 'Wet' road surfaces more than doubled, rising from 8 in April 2022 to 17 in April 2023. Crashes occurring in 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions also increased, from 18 to 26 year-over-year.

Weather

Clear71 (64.5%)
4.4%prior 68
Cloudy18 (16.4%)
-5.3%prior 19
Rain8 (7.3%)
60.0%prior 5
Clear/Cloudy5 (4.5%)
0.0%prior 5
Cloudy/Rain4 (3.6%)
Rain/Clear2 (1.8%)
Rain/Other1 (0.9%)
Snow1 (0.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight78 (70.9%)
-1.3%prior 79
Dark - lighted roadway26 (23.6%)
44.4%prior 18
Dusk3 (2.7%)
Dawn1 (0.9%)
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (0.9%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (0.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry93 (84.5%)
0.0%prior 93
Wet17 (15.5%)
112.5%prior 8

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The age group 45-54 saw a significant decrease in persons involved in crashes, dropping from 34 in April 2022 to 18 in April 2023. Conversely, the 65+ age group experienced a substantial increase, from 17 persons in April 2022 to 38 persons in April 2023. The number of males involved in crashes increased from 109 to 126, while females decreased from 105 to 84.

Top Vehicle Makes (200 vehicles)

1
HONDA35 (17.5%)
9.4%prior 32
2
TOYOTA33 (16.5%)
57.1%prior 21
3
FORD25 (12.5%)
31.6%prior 19
4
NISSAN17 (8.5%)
-19.0%prior 21
5
JEEP9 (4.5%)
-10.0%prior 10
6
GMC8 (4%)
7
SUBARU6 (3%)
-33.3%prior 9
8
CHEVROLET5 (2.5%)
-61.5%prior 13
9
HYUNDAI4 (2%)
-42.9%prior 7
10
BMW4 (2%)
-20.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (210 persons with recorded sex)

Male126 (60.0%)
15.6%prior 109
Female84 (40.0%)
-20.0%prior 105

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 25 mph zones increased from 28 in April 2022 to 30 in April 2023. Crashes in 30 mph zones also rose, from 18 to 24 year-over-year. There were no fatal crashes reported in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30 · 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: 2023-04-01 through 2023-04-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-04-01 through 2023-04-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: PEABODY, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 112
  • Total persons involved: 237
  • Total vehicles involved: 200

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). "PEABODY, MA Crash Intelligence Report: April 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-04-01 to 2023-04-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/peabody/april-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

ThatCarHitMe.com · An Injuria.ai Company

Peabody, MA Crash Report — April 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com