ThatCarHitMe.com
An Injuria.ai Company
YEAR-OVER-YEAR CRASH REPORT · SALEM, MA · AUGUST 2023
Purpose: Machine-readable JSON endpoint for AI agents, LLMs, researchers, and programmatic consumers. Returns all underlying crash data and AI-generated commentary without HTML.
Authentication: None required. Public endpoint.
GET: https://thatcarhitme.com/api/crash-data/reports/data/massachusetts/salem/august-2023-report
Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis
48 CRASHES IN
SALEM, MA
AUGUST 2023
Total crashes in August 2023 were 48, a 4.35% increase from the 46 crashes recorded in August 2022. The most notable year-over-year shift was the presence of one fatal crash in August 2023, compared to zero fatal crashes in the prior year. This resulted in one fatality in the current period.
48
▲ 4.3%was 46
Total Crash Events
1
Persons Killed
16
▼ -11.1%was 18
Persons Injured
2
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. 3 crashes with unreported severity are 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
Overall, the total number of crashes increased slightly by 4.35%, from 46 to 48, between August 2022 and August 2023. While total crashes saw a minor increase, total injuries decreased by 11.11%, from 18 to 16. However, a significant change was the increase in total fatalities from 0 in August 2022 to 1 in August 2023.
2
Hit-and-Run Crashes — August 2023
▼ 0.0% vs prior (2)
The number of hit-and-run crashes remained consistent at 2 in both August 2022 and August 2023. The hit-and-run crash rate was 4.3% in the prior period and 4.2% in the current period, indicating a stable trend.
Vulnerable Road User Casualties
0
Pedestrians Killed
0
Cyclists Killed
1
Motorists Killed
1
Pedestrians Injured
4
Cyclists Injured
11
Motorists Injured
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 peak day for crashes remained Thursday, with 10 crashes in both August 2022 and August 2023, though Wednesday also saw 10 crashes in the current period. The peak hour shifted from 12p with 6 crashes in August 2022 to 2p and 3p, each with 7 crashes, in August 2023. Crashes on Sundays increased from 4 to 7, and on Fridays from 3 to 6.
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
Fatal crashes increased from 0 in August 2022 to 1 in August 2023, representing 2.1% of all crashes in the current period. Minor injury crashes saw a substantial increase, rising from 2 in the prior period to 10 in the current period. Conversely, possible injury crashes decreased from 11 in August 2022 to 5 in August 2023.
Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)
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
The contributing factor "Failed to yield right of way" increased from 7 crashes in the prior period to 9 crashes in the current period, a 28.6% increase in count. "No improper driving" decreased by 37.5% in count, from 8 crashes to 5 crashes year-over-year. "Followed too closely" also saw a decrease, from 5 crashes to 2 crashes, representing a 60% reduction in count.
Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause
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
The number of crashes occurring in "Clear/Clear" weather conditions remained stable at 34 in the prior period and 35 in the current period. Crashes in "Dark - lighted roadway" conditions increased from 9 in August 2022 to 11 in August 2023. Road surface conditions remained predominantly dry, with 43 crashes on dry roads in the prior period and 44 in the current period.
Weather
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Weather condition at time of crash
Lighting
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Lighting condition field
Road Surface
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 remained stable, with 87 in August 2022 and 88 in August 2023. The top vehicle makes saw slight shifts in ranking and counts; HONDA increased from 13 to 16, becoming the most frequent make, while TOYOTA decreased from 15 to 14. In terms of age distribution, the 26-34 age group saw a decrease from 29 persons involved in the prior period to 16 in the current period, while the 35-44 age group increased from 8 to 17 persons involved.
Top Vehicle Makes (88 vehicles)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Vehicle unit records
7 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.
Sex Distribution (101 persons with recorded sex)
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 occurring in 25 mph speed zones increased from 19 in August 2022 to 22 in August 2023, a 15.8% increase in count. Crashes in 30 mph zones also increased from 4 to 6, a 50% increase in count. Notably, the only fatal crash in the current period occurred in a 25 mph speed zone, which had no fatal crashes in the prior period.
Fatal crashes by zone: 25 mph: 1 of 22 (4.545%)
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: SALEM, MA
- Total crash records analyzed: 48
- Total persons involved: 108
- Total vehicles involved: 88
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). "SALEM, 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/salem/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
ThatCarHitMe.com · An Injuria.ai Company
ThatCarHitMe.com
An Injuria.ai Company
Crash Data Intelligence
Data: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly
Period: 2023-08-01 – 2023-08-31
Generated: June 21, 2026 · All rights reserved