Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

21 CRASHES IN
PHILLIPSTON, MA
2024

All metrics benchmarked against2023

In Phillipston, total crashes increased from 13 in the prior period to 21 in the current period, a 61.5% rise. The most significant year-over-year change was the appearance of two fatal crashes resulting in two fatalities, whereas the prior period recorded none.

21

61.5%was 13

Total Crash Events

2

Persons Killed

7

40.0%was 5

Persons Injured

2

Fatal Crash Events

Note: "Persons Killed" (2) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (2) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities. 1 crash with unreported severity is not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Crash data for Phillipston indicates a rising trend year-over-year. Total crashes increased by 61.5%, from 13 to 21. Similarly, the number of injuries grew by 40% from 5 to 7, and the city recorded two fatalities compared to zero in the previous year.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

2

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

7

Motorists Injured

Prior: 540.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal pattern of crashes shifted between the two periods. The peak day for crashes moved from a three-way tie between Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday (3 crashes each) in the prior year to a clear peak on Monday (8 crashes) in the current year. While the designated peak hour was 11 p.m. in both years, several other hours in the current period also saw an equal number of incidents.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Crash severity worsened significantly year-over-year. The current period saw two fatal crashes, accounting for 9.5% of all incidents and resulting in two fatalities, compared to zero in the prior period. While the number of injuries increased from 5 to 7, the proportion of crashes resulting in no injury decreased from a 61.5% share to a 57.1% share.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal2fatal crashes9.5%
Minor Injury4minor injury crashes19%
-20.0%prior 5
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes9.5%
No Injury12no injury crashes57.1%
50.0%prior 8

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The leading contributing factor in both periods was 'No improper driving,' with its count increasing from 6 to 7 crashes. Notably, factors not present in the prior year's data emerged in the current period, including 'Exceeded authorized speed limit' and 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road,' each cited in 2 crashes. Conversely, crashes attributed to 'Inattention' decreased from 2 to 0.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving7 (33.3%)16.7%prior 6
Exceeded authorized speed limit2 (9.5%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (9.5%)
Glare1 (4.8%)
Followed too closely1 (4.8%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (4.8%)
Fatigued/asleep1 (4.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes in both periods predominantly occurred in clear weather, during daylight hours, and on dry roads. In the current year, 95.2% of crashes happened on dry road surfaces, an increase from 84.6% in the prior year. The number of crashes occurring in adverse weather conditions was low in both years, with one crash in snow in the prior period and two crashes across fog and sleet in the current period.

Weather

Clear13 (61.9%)
18.2%prior 11
Clear/Clear5 (23.8%)
Clear/Other1 (4.8%)
Fog, smog, smoke1 (4.8%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (4.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight11 (52.4%)
83.3%prior 6
Dark - roadway not lighted7 (33.3%)
40.0%prior 5
Dawn2 (9.5%)
Dark - lighted roadway1 (4.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry20 (95.2%)
81.8%prior 11
Ice1 (4.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (25 vehicles)

1
CHEVROLET5 (20%)
2
TOYOTA4 (16%)
3
HYUNDAI3 (12%)
4
DODGE2 (8%)
5
HONDA1 (4%)
6
JEEP1 (4%)
7
KAWK1 (4%)
8
FORD1 (4%)
9
MAZDA1 (4%)
10
MERCEDES-BENZ1 (4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

Sex Distribution (38 persons with recorded sex)

Female19 (50.0%)
171.4%prior 7
Male19 (50.0%)
72.7%prior 11

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

In both years, the majority of crashes occurred in 55 mph speed zones, with the count rising from 10 to 13. A notable shift in the current period was the location of fatal crashes; one fatality occurred in a 35 mph zone and another in a 45 mph zone. The prior period recorded no fatal crashes in any speed zone.

Fatal crashes by zone: 35 mph: 1 of 1 (100%) · 45 mph: 1 of 2 (50%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · 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: 2024-01-01 through 2024-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-01-01 through 2024-12-31 (366 days)
  • Geographic scope: PHILLIPSTON, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 21
  • Total persons involved: 39
  • Total vehicles involved: 25

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). "PHILLIPSTON, MA Crash Intelligence Report: 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/phillipston/2024-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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Phillipston, MA Crash Report — 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com