Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

62 CRASHES IN
SAUGUS, MA
APRIL 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstApril 2021

In April 2022, Saugus experienced 62 total crashes, an increase from 56 crashes in April 2021, representing a 10.7% rise. Despite the increase in total crashes, total injuries decreased by 25%, from 24 in April 2021 to 18 in April 2022. The number of crashes resulting in no injury increased by 13 incidents year-over-year.

62

10.7%was 56

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

18

-25.0%was 24

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 · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, total crashes in Saugus increased by 10.7% year-over-year, from 56 in April 2021 to 62 in April 2022. During the same period, total fatalities remained at zero, and total injuries decreased by 25%, from 24 to 18.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — April 2022

100.0% vs prior (1)

Hit-and-run crashes increased from 1 incident in April 2021 to 2 incidents in April 2022. This represents an increase in the hit-and-run rate from 1.8% to 3.2% year-over-year.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

18

Motorists Injured

Prior: 23-21.7%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · 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 April 2022, the peak day for crashes was Monday with 12 incidents, whereas in April 2021, Friday saw the most crashes with 16. The peak hour also changed, moving from 11 AM with 7 crashes in April 2021 to 3 PM with 9 crashes in April 2022.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatalities remained at zero in both April 2021 and April 2022. Total injuries decreased by 25%, from 24 to 18. Specifically, possible injuries (C) saw a decrease of 6 incidents, from 15 in April 2021 to 9 in April 2022, while crashes resulting in no injury (O) increased by 13 incidents, from 32 to 45.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury7minor injury crashes11.3%
0.0%prior 7
Possible Injury9possible injury crashes14.5%
-40.0%prior 15
No Injury45no injury crashes72.6%
40.6%prior 32

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The contributing factors show shifts in prevalence. 'Followed too closely' incidents increased significantly by 6 crashes, rising from 3 in April 2021 to 9 in April 2022. Conversely, 'Inattention' decreased by 4 crashes, from 11 in the prior period to 7 in the current period. 'No improper driving' remained the most cited factor, increasing by 3 crashes from 16 to 19.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving19 (30.6%)18.8%prior 16
Followed too closely9 (14.5%)
Inattention7 (11.3%)-36.4%prior 11
Other improper action4 (6.5%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (3.2%)
Fatigued/asleep2 (3.2%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (1.6%)
Visibility obstructed1 (1.6%)
Wrong side or wrong way1 (1.6%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit1 (1.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions increased by 10 incidents, from 37 in April 2021 to 47 in April 2022. Incidents on 'Dry' road surfaces also increased by 11, from 43 to 54. Notably, crashes in 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions more than doubled, rising from 5 in April 2021 to 11 in April 2022.

Weather

Clear47 (75.8%)
27.0%prior 37
Cloudy5 (8.1%)
-44.4%prior 9
Rain4 (6.5%)
-20.0%prior 5
Clear/Unknown3 (4.8%)
Cloudy/Rain2 (3.2%)
Rain/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (1.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight46 (74.2%)
-6.1%prior 49
Dark - lighted roadway11 (17.7%)
120.0%prior 5
Dusk3 (4.8%)
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (1.6%)
Dawn1 (1.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry54 (87.1%)
25.6%prior 43
Wet8 (12.9%)
-33.3%prior 12

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased by 18, from 104 in April 2021 to 122 in April 2022. While Toyota remained a top make, its count decreased by 8 vehicles, from 26 to 18. Honda and Nissan saw notable increases in involvement, with Honda rising by 6 vehicles (from 11 to 17) and Nissan by 9 vehicles (from 6 to 15). The 21-25 age group saw an increase of 9 persons involved, from 12 to 21, while the 16-20 age group decreased by 6 persons, from 17 to 11.

Top Vehicle Makes (122 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA18 (14.8%)
-30.8%prior 26
2
HONDA17 (13.9%)
54.5%prior 11
3
FORD15 (12.3%)
50.0%prior 10
4
NISSAN15 (12.3%)
150.0%prior 6
5
JEEP8 (6.6%)
14.3%prior 7
6
CHEVROLET5 (4.1%)
-28.6%prior 7
7
DODGE5 (4.1%)
8
VOLKSWAGEN3 (2.5%)
9
CADI3 (2.5%)
10
GMC3 (2.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (131 persons with recorded sex)

Male70 (53.4%)
16.7%prior 60
Female61 (46.6%)
5.2%prior 58

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes at 30 mph speed limits increased by 7 incidents, rising from 13 in April 2021 to 20 in April 2022, making it the most frequent speed zone for crashes. Conversely, crashes at 50 mph decreased by 4 incidents, from 23 to 19. No fatalities were recorded in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30 · 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: 2022-04-01 through 2022-04-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-04-01 through 2022-04-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: SAUGUS, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 62
  • Total persons involved: 141
  • Total vehicles involved: 122

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). "SAUGUS, MA Crash Intelligence Report: April 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-04-01 to 2022-04-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/saugus/april-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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Saugus, MA Crash Report — April 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com