Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

38 CRASHES IN
READING, MA
JANUARY 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstJanuary 2021

In January 2022, READING, MA recorded 38 total crashes, a decrease of 7.3% compared to the 41 crashes in January 2021. The most significant year-over-year change was a 69.2% reduction in total injuries, falling from 13 to 4.

38

-7.3%was 41

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

4

-69.2%was 13

Persons Injured

2

100.0%was 1

Hit-and-Run Crashes

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. 1 crash with unreported severity is not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, total crashes in READING, MA decreased by 7.3%, from 41 crashes in January 2021 to 38 crashes in January 2022. While fatalities remained at zero for both periods, total injuries saw a substantial decline of 69.2%, dropping from 13 to 4.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — January 2022

100.0% vs prior (1)

Hit-and-run crashes increased by 100%, from 1 incident in January 2021 to 2 incidents in January 2022. The hit-and-run crash rate also rose from 2.4% of all crashes in the prior period to 5.3% in the current period, indicating an upward trend.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

4

Motorists Injured

Prior: 13-69.2%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal distribution of crashes shifted year-over-year. In January 2021, the peak day for crashes was Friday with 11 incidents, while in January 2022, Sunday became the peak day with 7 crashes. The peak hour also changed, moving from 5 p.m. with 5 crashes in the prior period to 11 a.m. with 6 crashes in the current period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes remained at zero for both January 2021 and January 2022. While the total number of crashes involving injuries decreased from 7 to 4, the current period saw one serious injury crash (2.6% of total crashes) compared to none in the prior period. Minor injury crashes decreased from 5 (12.2% share) to 2 (5.3% share), and possible injury crashes decreased from 2 (4.9% share) to 1 (2.6% share).

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes2.6%
Minor Injury2minor injury crashes5.3%
-60.0%prior 5
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes2.6%
-50.0%prior 2
No Injury33no injury crashes86.8%
-2.9%prior 34

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Among contributing factors, 'Followed too closely' decreased by 4 crashes, from 10 in January 2021 to 6 in January 2022. Crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' also decreased by 2, from 10 to 8. Notably, crashes involving 'Exceeded authorized speed limit' increased significantly from 1 to 3, representing a 200% rise in count.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving8 (21.1%)-20.0%prior 10
Followed too closely6 (15.8%)-40.0%prior 10
Inattention4 (10.5%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit3 (7.9%)
Failed to yield right of way3 (7.9%)
Other improper action2 (5.3%)
Made an improper turn1 (2.6%)
Glare1 (2.6%)
Over-correcting/over-steering1 (2.6%)
Visibility obstructed1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes on dry road surfaces decreased from 35 in January 2021 to 24 in January 2022, while crashes on snow-covered roads increased from 1 to 6, and on icy roads from 1 to 4. Regarding lighting conditions, crashes in daylight decreased from 26 to 24, but crashes in dark, unlit conditions increased from 0 to 4.

Weather

Clear/Clear18 (47.4%)
-14.3%prior 21
Clear9 (23.7%)
-18.2%prior 11
Snow/Snow4 (10.5%)
Cloudy2 (5.3%)
Cloudy/Cloudy1 (2.6%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (2.6%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (2.6%)
Snow/Blowing sand, snow1 (2.6%)
Clear/Unknown1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight24 (63.2%)
-7.7%prior 26
Dark - lighted roadway4 (10.5%)
-60.0%prior 10
Dark - roadway not lighted4 (10.5%)
Dawn3 (7.9%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting2 (5.3%)
Dusk1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry24 (64.9%)
-31.4%prior 35
Snow6 (16.2%)
Ice4 (10.8%)
Wet2 (5.4%)
Slush1 (2.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes decreased slightly from 83 in January 2021 to 81 in January 2022. While Honda remained a top make, its involvement decreased from 14 to 13, and Toyota's involvement decreased from 14 to 10, whereas Ford's involvement increased from 7 to 10. A notable shift in person demographics includes a rise in persons aged 65 and over, from 6 to 17, and a significant increase in the 21-25 age group, from 6 to 15.

Top Vehicle Makes (81 vehicles)

1
HONDA13 (16%)
-7.1%prior 14
2
FORD10 (12.3%)
42.9%prior 7
3
TOYOTA10 (12.3%)
-28.6%prior 14
4
CHEVROLET7 (8.6%)
5
JEEP5 (6.2%)
-16.7%prior 6
6
NISSAN4 (4.9%)
-42.9%prior 7
7
SUBARU3 (3.7%)
8
HYUNDAI3 (3.7%)
9
ACURA2 (2.5%)
10
LEXUS2 (2.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (94 persons with recorded sex)

Male52 (55.3%)
15.6%prior 45
Female42 (44.7%)
-12.5%prior 48

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

No fatal crashes were recorded in any speed zone during either period. Crashes in the 55 mph speed zone decreased from 14 in January 2021 to 8 in January 2022. Similarly, crashes in the 30 mph zone decreased from 10 to 8. Conversely, crashes in the 35 mph speed zone increased from 3 to 5.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · 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: 2022-01-01 through 2022-01-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-01-01 through 2022-01-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: READING, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 38
  • Total persons involved: 101
  • Total vehicles involved: 81

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). "READING, MA Crash Intelligence Report: January 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/reading/january-2022-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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Reading, MA Crash Report — January 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com