Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

4 CRASHES IN
PELHAM, MA
OCTOBER 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstOctober 2022

In October 2023, Pelham experienced 4 total crashes, marking a 33.33% increase compared to the 3 crashes recorded in October 2022. A notable shift includes the emergence of speeding as a contributing factor, with 1 crash attributed to exceeding the authorized speed limit in the current period, compared to none in the prior period.

4

33.3%was 3

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

0

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates an increase in crash incidents year-over-year, with total crashes rising from 3 in October 2022 to 4 in October 2023. This represents a 33.33% increase in crash frequency for the month.

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes shifted significantly year-over-year. The peak day for crashes moved from Sunday in October 2022, which saw 2 crashes, to Tuesday in October 2023, also with 2 crashes. Similarly, the peak crash hour shifted from 6 PM in the prior period, with 1 crash, to 5 AM in the current period, which recorded 2 crashes.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Top Contributing Factors

The contributing factors show some changes year-over-year. Crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' remained stable at 2 in both periods. Factors such as 'Exceeded authorized speed limit' and 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' each appeared with 1 crash in October 2023, having not been present in October 2022, while 'Followed too closely' decreased from 1 crash in October 2022 to 0 in October 2023.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving2 (50%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit1 (25%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (25%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Lighting conditions saw shifts, with crashes occurring in 'Dark - roadway not lighted' increasing from 1 in October 2022 to 2 in October 2023, and 'Dawn' conditions accounting for 2 crashes in October 2023, where none were reported in the prior year. Conversely, crashes in 'Daylight' conditions decreased from 2 in October 2022 to 0 in October 2023. Regarding road surface, 'Dry' conditions saw an increase from 1 crash in October 2022 to 3 crashes in October 2023, while 'Wet' conditions, responsible for 2 crashes in the prior period, were not reported in the current period. Additionally, 1 crash in October 2023 occurred on a 'Sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel' surface, which was not a factor in October 2022.

Lighting

Dark - roadway not lighted2 (50.0%)
Dawn2 (50.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry3 (75.0%)
Sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel1 (25.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (4 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA2 (50%)
2
HONDA1 (25%)
3
NISSAN1 (25%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Vehicle unit records

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crash distribution across speed zones also changed year-over-year. The number of crashes in 25 mph zones increased from 1 in October 2022 to 2 in October 2023. Crashes in 45 mph zones, which accounted for 1 incident in the prior period, were absent in the current period, while 55 mph zones saw 1 crash in October 2023, having none in October 2022. Crashes in 50 mph zones remained consistent with 1 crash in both periods, and no fatalities were reported in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · 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: 2023-10-01 through 2023-10-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-10-01 through 2023-10-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: PELHAM, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 4
  • Total persons involved: 4
  • Total vehicles involved: 4

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). "PELHAM, MA Crash Intelligence Report: October 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/pelham/october-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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Pelham, MA Crash Report — October 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com