Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

143 CRASHES IN
PEPPERELL, MA
2023

All metrics benchmarked against2022

In 2023, Pepperell recorded 143 total traffic crashes, a 21.0% decrease from the 181 crashes reported in 2022. While overall collisions and injuries declined, the most notable shift was a doubling in the number of serious injury crashes, which rose from 2 in 2022 to 4 in 2023. There were no traffic fatalities reported in either period.

143

-21.0%was 181

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

30

-11.8%was 34

Persons Injured

3

-57.1%was 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. 4 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall crash trend in Pepperell was downward year-over-year. Total collisions fell by 21.0%, from 181 in 2022 to 143 in 2023. The number of people injured in these incidents also decreased by 11.8%, from 34 in the prior year to 30 in the current year.

3

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2023

-57.1% vs prior (7)

Hit-and-run incidents saw a notable decrease between 2022 and 2023. The total count of hit-and-run crashes fell from 7 to 3. This indicates a downward trend in the hit-and-run rate, which declined from 3.9% of all crashes in 2022 to 2.1% in 2023.

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: 10.0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 10.0%

28

Motorists Injured

Prior: 32-12.5%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The timing of crashes shifted between the two periods. In 2022, the peak for crashes was tied across Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with 32 incidents each, while in 2023, Friday became the distinct peak day with 35 crashes. A more significant change was observed in the peak hour, which moved from the 5 p.m. evening commute hour (21 crashes) in 2022 to the 10 a.m. hour (16 crashes) in 2023.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Crash severity patterns saw a mixed change, with zero fatal crashes recorded in either 2023 or 2022. Although total injuries declined from 34 to 30, the number of crashes resulting in a serious injury doubled from 2 in 2022 to 4 in 2023. This caused the share of serious injury crashes to increase from 1.1% to 2.8% of all collisions.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury4serious injury crashes2.8%
100.0%prior 2
Minor Injury14minor injury crashes9.8%
27.3%prior 11
Possible Injury10possible injury crashes7%
-16.7%prior 12
No Injury111no injury crashes77.6%
-26.5%prior 151

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The top three contributing factors remained consistent: "No improper driving," "Inattention," and "Failed to yield right of way." However, the count of crashes attributed to "Driving too fast for conditions" increased by 167%, from 3 incidents in 2022 to 8 in 2023. Similarly, crashes involving "Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road" doubled in count, rising from 7 in 2022 to 14 in 2023.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving42 (29.4%)-26.3%prior 57
Inattention22 (15.4%)-18.5%prior 27
Failed to yield right of way19 (13.3%)-13.6%prior 22
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road14 (9.8%)100.0%prior 7
Driving too fast for conditions8 (5.6%)
Distracted6 (4.2%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner4 (2.8%)-20.0%prior 5
Followed too closely4 (2.8%)-33.3%prior 6
Fatigued/asleep3 (2.1%)
Operating defective equipment2 (1.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

In both years, most crashes occurred during daylight on dry roads. The proportion of crashes in daylight conditions increased from 66.9% of all crashes in 2022 to 75.5% in 2023. Collisions on wet roads remained stable with 23 incidents in 2023 versus 24 in the prior year, while crashes on snowy road surfaces increased from 6 to 10.

Weather

Clear89 (62.7%)
-23.9%prior 117
Cloudy22 (15.5%)
-24.1%prior 29
Rain10 (7.0%)
25.0%prior 8
Snow/Cloudy5 (3.5%)
Cloudy/Rain5 (3.5%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)3 (2.1%)
Snow2 (1.4%)
Fog, smog, smoke1 (0.7%)
Snow/Blowing sand, snow1 (0.7%)
Clear/Severe crosswinds1 (0.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight108 (75.5%)
-10.7%prior 121
Dark - lighted roadway18 (12.6%)
-40.0%prior 30
Dawn8 (5.6%)
33.3%prior 6
Dark - roadway not lighted5 (3.5%)
-37.5%prior 8
Dark - unknown roadway lighting3 (2.1%)
-57.1%prior 7
Dusk1 (0.7%)
-80.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry104 (73.2%)
-23.0%prior 135
Wet23 (16.2%)
-4.2%prior 24
Snow10 (7.0%)
66.7%prior 6
Slush4 (2.8%)
Ice1 (0.7%)
-90.0%prior 10

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The top three vehicle makes involved in crashes were Toyota, Honda, and Ford in both years, though their ranking changed. Ford, the top make in 2022 with 46 vehicles, dropped to third in 2023 with 22 vehicles, while Toyota became the most common make with 29 vehicles. The age distribution of people involved also shifted, with a notable decrease in the 16-20 age group (from 44 to 28) and an increase in the 35-44 age group (from 34 to 40).

Top Vehicle Makes (208 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA29 (13.9%)
-32.6%prior 43
2
HONDA25 (12%)
-35.9%prior 39
3
FORD22 (10.6%)
-52.2%prior 46
4
CHEVROLET21 (10.1%)
-25.0%prior 28
5
HYUNDAI12 (5.8%)
100.0%prior 6
6
NISSAN9 (4.3%)
-35.7%prior 14
7
JEEP8 (3.8%)
-20.0%prior 10
8
SUBARU8 (3.8%)
-38.5%prior 13
9
GMC6 (2.9%)
-33.3%prior 9
10
MERCEDES-BENZ5 (2.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (230 persons with recorded sex)

Male129 (56.1%)
-37.7%prior 207
Female101 (43.9%)
-19.8%prior 126

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes decreased across most posted speed limit zones year-over-year. The most substantial reductions were in 25 mph zones, which dropped from 20 crashes in 2022 to 9 in 2023, and 45 mph zones, which fell from 17 to 9 crashes. Crashes in 30 mph and 40 mph zones, where most incidents occurred, saw more modest declines. No fatal crashes were recorded in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · 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: 2023-01-01 through 2023-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-01-01 through 2023-12-31 (365 days)
  • Geographic scope: PEPPERELL, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 143
  • Total persons involved: 244
  • Total vehicles involved: 208

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: 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/pepperell/2023-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 — 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com