Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

16 CRASHES IN
SANDWICH, MA
AUGUST 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstAugust 2022

In August 2023, SANDWICH, MA recorded 16 total crashes, a substantial decrease from the 42 crashes reported in August 2022, representing a 61.9% reduction. This significant decline in total crashes was accompanied by a 70% decrease in total injuries, falling from 10 in the prior year to 3 in the current period. The most notable year-over-year shift was the overall reduction in crash volume across almost all metrics.

16

-61.9%was 42

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

3

-70.0%was 10

Persons Injured

1

-50.0%was 2

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.

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, crash trends in SANDWICH, MA show a significant decrease year-over-year. Total crashes fell from 42 in August 2022 to 16 in August 2023, marking a 61.9% reduction. Similarly, total injuries decreased by 70%, from 10 to 3, indicating a positive trend in traffic safety outcomes.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — August 2023

-50.0% vs prior (2)

The number of hit-and-run crashes decreased from 2 in August 2022 to 1 in August 2023. However, the hit-and-run rate increased from 4.8% of total crashes in the prior period to 6.3% in the current period, indicating a slight upward trend in the proportion of crashes that are hit-and-runs despite the lower count.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

3

Motorists Injured

Prior: 9-66.7%

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

Temporal patterns for crashes shifted between the two periods. In August 2023, the peak day for crashes was Wednesday with 7 incidents, while in August 2022, Monday saw the highest number of crashes with 10. The peak hour also changed from 4 p.m. with 6 crashes in the prior year to 10 a.m. with 3 crashes in the current year.

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

There were no fatal crashes in either August 2023 or August 2022. Total injuries decreased significantly from 10 in August 2022 to 3 in August 2023, a 70% reduction. The proportion of crashes resulting in any injury remained relatively stable, with 18.8% of crashes in August 2023 (3 out of 16) involving injuries, compared to 19.0% in August 2022 (8 out of 42).

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes6.3%
Minor Injury1minor injury crashes6.3%
-83.3%prior 6
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes6.3%
-50.0%prior 2
No Injury13no injury crashes81.3%
-60.6%prior 33

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 leading contributing factors shifted year-over-year. 'Followed too closely' decreased from 8 crashes in August 2022 to 5 crashes in August 2023. 'Inattention' also decreased from 6 crashes to 5 crashes. Notably, 'Failed to yield right of way', which contributed to 8 crashes in August 2022, was not among the listed contributing factors in August 2023.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Followed too closely5 (31.3%)-37.5%prior 8
Inattention5 (31.3%)-16.7%prior 6
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (12.5%)
No improper driving2 (12.5%)-60.0%prior 5
Fatigued/asleep1 (6.3%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (6.3%)

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 weather conditions decreased from 31 in August 2022 to 10 in August 2023. Similarly, crashes during daylight hours dropped from 32 to 11. Conversely, crashes on wet road surfaces increased from 3 in August 2022 to 5 in August 2023.

Weather

Clear10 (66.7%)
-67.7%prior 31
Cloudy1 (6.7%)
-85.7%prior 7
Cloudy/Fog, smog, smoke1 (6.7%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (6.7%)
Rain1 (6.7%)
Rain/Fog, smog, smoke1 (6.7%)

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

Lighting

Daylight11 (68.8%)
-65.6%prior 32
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (12.5%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (6.3%)
Dawn1 (6.3%)
Other1 (6.3%)

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

Road Surface

Dry11 (68.8%)
-71.8%prior 39
Wet5 (31.3%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (29 vehicles)

1
HONDA5 (17.2%)
-28.6%prior 7
2
TOYOTA4 (13.8%)
-69.2%prior 13
3
CHEVROLET3 (10.3%)
-40.0%prior 5
4
NISSAN3 (10.3%)
-40.0%prior 5
5
RAM2 (6.9%)
6
JEEP2 (6.9%)
7
KIA2 (6.9%)
8
BMW2 (6.9%)
9
VOLVO1 (3.4%)
10
GMC1 (3.4%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (33 persons with recorded sex)

Male22 (66.7%)
-65.1%prior 63
Female11 (33.3%)
-72.5%prior 40

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 at a 55 MPH speed limit remained constant at 11 incidents in both August 2023 and August 2022. Crashes in 30 MPH zones decreased from 7 to 4, and in 45 MPH zones from 2 to 1. Several speed zones present in August 2022, such as 10, 20, 25, 35, 40, and 50 MPH, did not report any crashes in August 2023.

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: SANDWICH, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 16
  • Total persons involved: 35
  • Total vehicles involved: 29

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). "SANDWICH, 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/sandwich/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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Sandwich, MA Crash Report — August 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com