Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

12 CRASHES IN
PEPPERELL, MA
MAY 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstMay 2023

Total crashes in PEPPERELL, MA decreased from 14 in May 2023 to 12 in May 2024, representing a 14.3% reduction year-over-year. The most notable shift was in contributing factors, where 'Inattention' crashes increased by 150% (from 2 to 5 crashes) while 'Failed to yield right of way' crashes decreased by 60% (from 5 to 2 crashes).

12

-14.3%was 14

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

4

-20.0%was 5

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 · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash activity in PEPPERELL, MA for May 2024 shows a decreasing trend compared to May 2023. Total crashes decreased by 14.3%, from 14 crashes in the prior period to 12 crashes in the current period. Similarly, total injuries decreased by 20%, from 5 injuries in May 2023 to 4 injuries in May 2024, with no fatalities reported in either period.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 0%

3

Motorists Injured

Prior: 4-25.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes shifted from Friday in May 2023 to Thursday in May 2024, with both days recording 3 crashes. The peak hour also shifted, from 8 AM with 3 crashes in May 2023 to 9 AM with 3 crashes in May 2024. Crashes on Sundays decreased from 2 to 0, while crashes on Thursdays increased from 1 to 3.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

No fatalities were reported in either May 2023 or May 2024. Total injuries decreased from 5 in May 2023 to 4 in May 2024. The proportion of crashes with Minor Injuries increased from 7.1% (1 crash) in May 2023 to 16.7% (2 crashes) in May 2024, while crashes with Possible Injuries decreased from 28.6% (4 crashes) to 16.7% (2 crashes).

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury2minor injury crashes16.7%
100.0%prior 1
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes16.7%
-50.0%prior 4
No Injury8no injury crashes66.7%
-11.1%prior 9

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

'Inattention' as a contributing factor saw a 150% increase in count, rising from 2 crashes in May 2023 to 5 crashes in May 2024, becoming the top factor. Conversely, 'Failed to yield right of way' crashes decreased by 60% in count, from 5 crashes in May 2023 to 2 crashes in May 2024, dropping from the top factor to the second most common. 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' crashes decreased by 50% in count, from 2 to 1 crash.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention5 (41.7%)
Failed to yield right of way2 (16.7%)-60.0%prior 5
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (8.3%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings1 (8.3%)
No improper driving1 (8.3%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (8.3%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (8.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

The number of crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions decreased from 10 in May 2023 to 7 in May 2024. Crashes in 'Cloudy' weather increased from 2 to 3, while crashes in 'Rain' conditions remained stable at 2 for both periods. Crashes on 'Dry' road surfaces decreased from 11 to 10, and on 'Wet' surfaces decreased from 3 to 2.

Weather

Clear7 (58.3%)
-30.0%prior 10
Cloudy3 (25.0%)
Rain2 (16.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Road Surface

Dry10 (83.3%)
-9.1%prior 11
Wet2 (16.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (20 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA6 (30%)
2
FORD4 (20%)
-20.0%prior 5
3
CHEVROLET3 (15%)
4
HONDA2 (10%)
5
ACURA1 (5%)
6
VOLVO1 (5%)
7
INTL1 (5%)
8
JEEP1 (5%)
9
SUBARU1 (5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (21 persons with recorded sex)

Male13 (61.9%)
-7.1%prior 14
Female8 (38.1%)
-52.9%prior 17

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes occurring in 40 mph speed zones increased from 1 crash in May 2023 to 4 crashes in May 2024. Crashes in 30 mph zones decreased from 5 to 4, while 25 mph zones remained stable with 2 crashes in both periods. There were no fatal crashes reported in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · 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: 2024-05-01 through 2024-05-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-05-01 through 2024-05-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: PEPPERELL, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 12
  • Total persons involved: 22
  • Total vehicles involved: 20

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: May 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/pepperell/may-2024-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 — May 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com