Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

7 CRASHES IN
PRINCETON, MA
JANUARY 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstJanuary 2022

In January 2023, PRINCETON, MA experienced 7 total crashes, an increase of 40% compared to the 5 crashes recorded in January 2022. Despite the rise in crash incidents, total injuries decreased from 2 in the prior period to 0 in the current period, indicating a notable shift in crash severity.

7

40.0%was 5

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

0

-100.0%was 2

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 · 2023-01-01 to 2023-01-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates an increase in crash incidents in January 2023 compared to the prior year. Total crashes rose by 2 incidents, from 5 crashes in January 2022 to 7 crashes in January 2023, representing a 40% increase.

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes shifted significantly year-over-year. In January 2023, the peak day for crashes was Monday with 4 incidents, a notable increase from the 1 crash on Monday in January 2022, when Saturday was a peak day with 1 crash. The peak hour also changed from 9p with 1 crash in January 2022 to 4p with 2 crashes in January 2023.

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

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

Top Contributing Factors

The most common contributing factor, 'No improper driving', increased from 3 crashes in January 2022 to 5 crashes in January 2023, representing a 66.7% increase in count. Factors like 'Driving too fast for conditions' and 'Visibility obstructed', each contributing to 1 crash in the prior period, were not present in the current period's data. Conversely, 'Failed to yield right of way' and 'Other improper action' each contributed to 1 crash in the current period, not appearing in the prior period's data.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving5 (71.4%)
Failed to yield right of way1 (14.3%)
Other improper action1 (14.3%)

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

Road & Environmental Conditions

Regarding road surface conditions, crashes on dry roads increased from 1 in January 2022 to 2 in January 2023, and crashes on wet roads also increased from 1 to 2. The number of crashes on snow-covered roads remained constant at 3 for both periods. For lighting conditions, crashes during daylight hours increased from 2 in January 2022 to 4 in January 2023, while crashes in 'Dark - roadway not lighted' conditions decreased from 2 to 1.

Weather

Clear1 (14.3%)
Cloudy1 (14.3%)
Cloudy/Snow1 (14.3%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (14.3%)
Rain/Fog, smog, smoke1 (14.3%)
Snow1 (14.3%)
Snow/Cloudy1 (14.3%)

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

Lighting

Daylight4 (57.1%)
Dark - lighted roadway1 (14.3%)
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (14.3%)
Dawn1 (14.3%)

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

Road Surface

Snow3 (42.9%)
Dry2 (28.6%)
Wet2 (28.6%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (10 vehicles)

1
CHEVROLET3 (30%)
2
FORD1 (10%)
3
JEEP1 (10%)
4
MACK1 (10%)
5
MERCEDES-BENZ1 (10%)
6
OTH1 (10%)
7
SUBARU1 (10%)
8
TOYOTA1 (10%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (12 persons with recorded sex)

Male9 (75.0%)
350.0%prior 2
Female3 (25.0%)
-25.0%prior 4

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

Speed Limit Zones

Crash distribution across speed zones saw changes, particularly in lower speed limits. Crashes in 30 mph zones increased from 1 in January 2022 to 3 in January 2023. Crash counts for both 35 mph and 40 mph zones remained stable, with 1 crash and 3 crashes respectively in both periods. There were no fatalities recorded in any speed zone for either period.

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

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-01-01 through 2023-01-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: PRINCETON, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 7
  • Total persons involved: 12
  • Total vehicles involved: 10

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). "PRINCETON, MA Crash Intelligence Report: January 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2023-01-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/princeton/january-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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Princeton, MA Crash Report — January 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com