Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

181 CRASHES IN
PEPPERELL, MA
2022

All metrics benchmarked against2021

In 2022, Pepperell recorded 181 total vehicle crashes, an increase of 12.4% from the 161 crashes documented in 2021. Despite the rise in total incidents, the number of reported injuries saw a significant decrease, falling from 53 in 2021 to 34 in 2022. There were no fatalities reported in either period. The most notable year-over-year shift was this inverse relationship between the rising number of total crashes and the declining number of injuries.

181

12.4%was 161

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

34

-35.8%was 53

Persons Injured

7

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend in Pepperell shows an increase in crash frequency but a decrease in severity. Total crashes rose from 161 in 2021 to 181 in 2022, marking a 12.4% year-over-year increase. Conversely, the number of individuals injured in these crashes declined by 35.8%, from 53 people in 2021 to 34 in 2022.

7

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2022

3.9% hit-and-run rate this period vs 0.0% prior. Prior period: 0.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 2-50.0%

32

Motorists Injured

Prior: 51-37.3%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The timing of crashes showed a shift between the two periods. In 2021, the peak day for crashes was Saturday with 32 incidents, whereas in 2022, the peak was shared by Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, each with 32 crashes. The peak hour for collisions remained consistent at 5 PM in both years, though the number of crashes during this hour increased from 18 in 2021 to 21 in 2022.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Crash severity decreased from 2021 to 2022, even as the total number of crashes increased. There were no fatal crashes in either year. The number of crashes resulting in serious injuries fell from 5 in 2021 to 2 in 2022. Correspondingly, the share of no-injury crashes grew from 76.4% of all incidents in 2021 to 83.4% in 2022.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury2serious injury crashes1.1%
-60.0%prior 5
Minor Injury11minor injury crashes6.1%
-35.3%prior 17
Possible Injury12possible injury crashes6.6%
-20.0%prior 15
No Injury151no injury crashes83.4%
22.8%prior 123

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The top three contributing factors remained consistent across both years, though their counts shifted. Crashes attributed to 'Inattention' decreased in count from 36 in 2021 to 27 in 2022. Conversely, crashes where 'No improper driving' was cited increased from 44 to 57. Incidents involving 'Failed to yield right of way' remained relatively stable, increasing from 20 to 22 crashes.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving57 (31.5%)29.5%prior 44
Inattention27 (14.9%)-25.0%prior 36
Failed to yield right of way22 (12.2%)10.0%prior 20
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road7 (3.9%)
Followed too closely6 (3.3%)-33.3%prior 9
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner5 (2.8%)-16.7%prior 6
Over-correcting/over-steering5 (2.8%)
Other improper action4 (2.2%)-20.0%prior 5
Fatigued/asleep4 (2.2%)
Distracted4 (2.2%)-33.3%prior 6

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

The distribution of environmental conditions during crashes remained broadly similar year-over-year. In 2022, a slightly higher proportion of crashes occurred in clear weather (64.6%) and on dry roads (74.6%) compared to 2021 (59.6% and 71.4%, respectively). Consequently, the share of crashes in wet conditions decreased, with 24 wet-road crashes in 2022 versus 31 in 2021. Lighting conditions for crashes were largely unchanged between the two periods.

Weather

Clear117 (65.7%)
21.9%prior 96
Cloudy29 (16.3%)
7.4%prior 27
Rain8 (4.5%)
-27.3%prior 11
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)4 (2.2%)
Snow4 (2.2%)
-33.3%prior 6
Rain/Cloudy3 (1.7%)
Rain/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)3 (1.7%)
Cloudy/Rain2 (1.1%)
Clear/Cloudy2 (1.1%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)/Cloudy1 (0.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight121 (68.0%)
10.0%prior 110
Dark - lighted roadway30 (16.9%)
11.1%prior 27
Dark - roadway not lighted8 (4.5%)
-38.5%prior 13
Dark - unknown roadway lighting7 (3.9%)
Dawn6 (3.4%)
Dusk5 (2.8%)
-37.5%prior 8
Other1 (0.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry135 (75.8%)
17.4%prior 115
Wet24 (13.5%)
-22.6%prior 31
Ice10 (5.6%)
42.9%prior 7
Snow6 (3.4%)
-14.3%prior 7
Other1 (0.6%)
Sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel1 (0.6%)
Water (standing, moving)1 (0.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The makes of vehicles involved in crashes were largely consistent year-over-year, with Ford, Toyota, and Honda being the most common. In 2022, Ford (46 vehicles) surpassed Toyota (43 vehicles) as the most frequently involved make, reversing the order from 2021 when Toyota led with 44 vehicles. Regarding persons involved, the 26-34 age group saw a notable increase in representation, growing from 45 individuals in 2021 to 60 in 2022.

Top Vehicle Makes (292 vehicles)

1
FORD46 (15.8%)
15.0%prior 40
2
TOYOTA43 (14.7%)
-2.3%prior 44
3
HONDA39 (13.4%)
56.0%prior 25
4
CHEVROLET28 (9.6%)
0.0%prior 28
5
NISSAN14 (4.8%)
0.0%prior 14
6
DODGE14 (4.8%)
180.0%prior 5
7
SUBARU13 (4.5%)
44.4%prior 9
8
JEEP10 (3.4%)
100.0%prior 5
9
GMC9 (3.1%)
28.6%prior 7
10
KIA6 (2.1%)
-25.0%prior 8

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (336 persons with recorded sex)

Male207 (61.6%)
19.7%prior 173
Female126 (37.5%)
-11.9%prior 143
X / Unspecified3 (0.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

The distribution of crashes across different speed zones saw some shifts between 2021 and 2022. While the 30 mph zone remained the most frequent location for crashes in both years (59 in 2021, 61 in 2022), the number of crashes in 25 mph zones doubled, increasing from 10 to 20. Crashes in 40 mph zones saw a slight decrease from 44 to 40. No fatal crashes were recorded in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · 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: 2022-01-01 through 2022-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-01-01 through 2022-12-31 (365 days)
  • Geographic scope: PEPPERELL, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 181
  • Total persons involved: 361
  • Total vehicles involved: 292

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). "PEPPERELL, MA Crash Intelligence Report: 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/pepperell/2022-annual-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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Pepperell, MA Crash Report — 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com