Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

91 CRASHES IN
PITTSFIELD, MA
DECEMBER 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstDecember 2022

Total crashes in PITTSFIELD, MA increased by 23.0% year-over-year, rising from 74 in December 2022 to 91 in December 2023. This period saw a significant increase in crashes attributed to driver inattention, which rose by 260%. Total injuries also increased from 16 to 20.

91

23.0%was 74

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

20

25.0%was 16

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

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

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates a notable increase in crash activity year-over-year. Total crashes rose by 23.0%, from 74 in December 2022 to 91 in December 2023. Concurrently, total injuries increased by 25.0%, from 16 to 20, while fatalities remained at zero in both periods.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

2

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 0%

18

Motorists Injured

Prior: 1612.5%

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

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes shifted from Monday in December 2022, which recorded 15 incidents, to Friday in December 2023, with 22 crashes. The peak hour for crashes also shifted from 4 PM with 8 crashes in the prior period to 5 PM with 10 crashes in the current period.

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

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

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes remained at zero in both December 2022 and December 2023. The total number of injured persons increased from 16 to 20, a 25% rise. Serious injury crashes (severity A) increased from 0 in the prior period to 1 in the current period, while minor injury crashes (severity B) rose from 12 to 14.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes1.1%
Minor Injury14minor injury crashes15.4%
16.7%prior 12
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes1.1%
0.0%prior 1
No Injury68no injury crashes74.7%
17.2%prior 58

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

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

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

Top Contributing Factors

Crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' increased by 6 incidents, from 16 to 22, maintaining its position as the most frequent contributing factor. 'Inattention' crashes saw a substantial increase of 13 incidents, rising from 5 in December 2022 to 18 in December 2023, representing a 260% increase. Crashes due to 'Failed to yield right of way' remained constant at 12 for both periods.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving22 (24.2%)37.5%prior 16
Inattention18 (19.8%)260.0%prior 5
Failed to yield right of way12 (13.2%)0.0%prior 12
Followed too closely7 (7.7%)40.0%prior 5
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner4 (4.4%)
Other improper action4 (4.4%)
Distracted3 (3.3%)
Glare3 (3.3%)
Fatigued/asleep2 (2.2%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit2 (2.2%)

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

Road & Environmental Conditions

The number of crashes occurring on dry road surfaces increased from 43 to 68, while crashes on snowy roads decreased from 13 to 1, and icy road crashes decreased from 5 to 1. Crashes in rainy conditions saw an increase from 3 in December 2022 to 19 in December 2023. The number of crashes occurring in dark-lighted roadway conditions increased from 21 to 28.

Weather

Clear53 (58.2%)
12.8%prior 47
Cloudy12 (13.2%)
33.3%prior 9
Rain11 (12.1%)
Rain/Cloudy5 (5.5%)
Cloudy/Rain3 (3.3%)
Clear/Other2 (2.2%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (1.1%)
Clear/Cloudy1 (1.1%)
Cloudy/Unknown1 (1.1%)
Fog, smog, smoke1 (1.1%)

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

Lighting

Daylight47 (52.2%)
2.2%prior 46
Dark - lighted roadway28 (31.1%)
33.3%prior 21
Dark - roadway not lighted7 (7.8%)
Dusk5 (5.6%)
Dawn2 (2.2%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (1.1%)

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

Road Surface

Dry68 (74.7%)
58.1%prior 43
Wet21 (23.1%)
61.5%prior 13
Ice1 (1.1%)
-80.0%prior 5
Snow1 (1.1%)
-92.3%prior 13

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

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased from 135 to 177, a 31.1% rise. Honda became the most frequently involved vehicle make with 28 vehicles, up from 7 in the prior period, while Toyota's involvement decreased from 23 to 18. The number of persons aged 26-34 involved in crashes more than doubled, from 21 to 43, and male involvement increased from 71 to 101.

Top Vehicle Makes (177 vehicles)

1
HONDA28 (15.8%)
300.0%prior 7
2
FORD22 (12.4%)
83.3%prior 12
3
CHEVROLET22 (12.4%)
15.8%prior 19
4
TOYOTA18 (10.2%)
-21.7%prior 23
5
SUBARU14 (7.9%)
7.7%prior 13
6
HYUNDAI13 (7.3%)
30.0%prior 10
7
NISSAN10 (5.6%)
11.1%prior 9
8
DODGE6 (3.4%)
9
VOLKSWAGEN6 (3.4%)
10
KIA5 (2.8%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (179 persons with recorded sex)

Male101 (56.4%)
42.3%prior 71
Female78 (43.6%)
9.9%prior 71

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

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 30 mph speed zones increased from 33 in December 2022 to 38 in December 2023. Similarly, crashes in 35 mph zones rose from 21 to 24, and in 25 mph zones from 9 to 15. No fatalities were recorded in any speed zone during either period.

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

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-12-01 through 2023-12-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: PITTSFIELD, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 91
  • Total persons involved: 198
  • Total vehicles involved: 177

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). "PITTSFIELD, MA Crash Intelligence Report: December 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-12-01 to 2023-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/pittsfield/december-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

ThatCarHitMe.com · An Injuria.ai Company

Pittsfield, MA Crash Report — December 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com