Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

69 CRASHES IN
PLYMOUTH, MA
AUGUST 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstAugust 2022

PLYMOUTH experienced a decrease in total crashes from August 2022 to August 2023, with 69 crashes in August 2023 compared to 88 crashes in August 2022, marking a 21.6% reduction. The most notable shift was the increase in total fatalities, which rose from 0 in August 2022 to 1 in August 2023.

69

-21.6%was 88

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

23

-54.9%was 51

Persons Injured

2

-66.7%was 6

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (1) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (1) 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 · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates a decrease in crash incidents year-over-year, with total crashes falling by 19, from 88 in August 2022 to 69 in August 2023. This represents a 21.6% reduction in the number of crashes.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — August 2023

-66.7% vs prior (6)

Hit-and-run crashes decreased by 4 incidents, from 6 in August 2022 to 2 in August 2023. Correspondingly, the hit-and-run rate decreased from 6.8% in August 2022 to 2.9% in August 2023, indicating a downward trend in these types of incidents.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 10.0%

22

Motorists Injured

Prior: 48-54.2%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns for crashes showed some shifts year-over-year. In August 2023, the peak day for crashes was Wednesday with 12 incidents, whereas in August 2022, Monday was the peak day with 19 crashes. The peak hour remained consistent at 3 p.m. for both periods, with 8 crashes recorded at this time in both August 2023 and August 2022.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Crash severity saw significant changes, with total fatalities increasing from 0 in August 2022 to 1 in August 2023, resulting in a fatal crash rate of 1.45% in the current period. Total injuries decreased by 28, from 51 in August 2022 to 23 in August 2023. Serious injury crashes (code A) decreased from 4 (4.5% share) in August 2022 to 1 (1.4% share) in August 2023, while crashes with no injury (code O) increased their share from 55.7% to 72.5%.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes1.4%
Serious Injury1serious injury crashes1.4%
-75.0%prior 4
Minor Injury10minor injury crashes14.5%
-54.5%prior 22
Possible Injury6possible injury crashes8.7%
-33.3%prior 9
No Injury50no injury crashes72.5%
2.0%prior 49

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Among contributing factors, 'Inattention' increased in count from 12 in August 2022 to 19 in August 2023, a 58.3% rise. 'No improper driving' decreased significantly from 15 incidents in August 2022 to 7 in August 2023, a 53.3% reduction in count. 'Failed to yield right of way' remained constant with 12 incidents in both periods, while 'Followed too closely' increased from 8 to 10 incidents, a 25% increase.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention19 (27.5%)58.3%prior 12
Failed to yield right of way12 (17.4%)0.0%prior 12
Followed too closely10 (14.5%)25.0%prior 8
No improper driving7 (10.1%)-53.3%prior 15
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway4 (5.8%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner4 (5.8%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road3 (4.3%)
Other improper action2 (2.9%)
Physical impairment2 (2.9%)
Visibility obstructed2 (2.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Regarding crash conditions, crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather decreased from 69 in August 2022 to 51 in August 2023. Crashes during 'Daylight' conditions also saw a decrease, from 58 in August 2022 to 52 in August 2023. The number of crashes on 'Dry' road surfaces decreased from 76 in August 2022 to 59 in August 2023, while 'Wet' road surface crashes remained relatively stable, decreasing from 11 to 10.

Weather

Clear51 (76.1%)
-26.1%prior 69
Cloudy8 (11.9%)
60.0%prior 5
Rain5 (7.5%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (1.5%)
Clear/Other1 (1.5%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (1.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight52 (75.4%)
-10.3%prior 58
Dark - lighted roadway7 (10.1%)
-41.7%prior 12
Dark - roadway not lighted7 (10.1%)
-12.5%prior 8
Dusk2 (2.9%)
Dawn1 (1.4%)
-80.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry59 (85.5%)
-22.4%prior 76
Wet10 (14.5%)
-9.1%prior 11

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes decreased from 155 in August 2022 to 130 in August 2023. The top vehicle make rankings shifted, with Ford, the top make in August 2022 (23 vehicles), falling to fourth place in August 2023 (13 vehicles). Toyota became the top make in August 2023 with 19 vehicles, up from second place with 20 vehicles in the prior year.

Top Vehicle Makes (130 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA19 (14.6%)
-5.0%prior 20
2
CHEVROLET14 (10.8%)
40.0%prior 10
3
NISSAN13 (10%)
-13.3%prior 15
4
FORD13 (10%)
-43.5%prior 23
5
HONDA11 (8.5%)
-38.9%prior 18
6
JEEP9 (6.9%)
-18.2%prior 11
7
HYUNDAI6 (4.6%)
8
SUBARU6 (4.6%)
20.0%prior 5
9
RAM5 (3.8%)
10
VOLKSWAGEN3 (2.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (143 persons with recorded sex)

Male78 (54.5%)
-29.1%prior 110
Female65 (45.5%)
-13.3%prior 75

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 30 mph zones decreased from 26 in August 2022 to 21 in August 2023. Crashes in 35 mph zones decreased slightly from 18 to 15, but notably, the only fatal crash in August 2023 occurred in a 35 mph zone, whereas there were no fatal crashes in any speed zone in August 2022. Crashes in 60 mph zones also saw a decrease from 12 to 9.

Fatal crashes by zone: 35 mph: 1 of 15 (6.667%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · 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: 2023-08-01 through 2023-08-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-08-01 through 2023-08-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: PLYMOUTH, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 69
  • Total persons involved: 151
  • Total vehicles involved: 130

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). "PLYMOUTH, MA Crash Intelligence Report: August 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/plymouth/august-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

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Plymouth, MA Crash Report — August 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com