Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

61 CRASHES IN
SAUGUS, MA
AUGUST 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstAugust 2023

Total crashes in Saugus, MA for August 2024 were 61, an increase from 43 crashes in August 2023. This represents a 41.9% rise in total crash incidents year-over-year. The most notable shift was a 200% increase in hit-and-run crashes, rising from 2 incidents in August 2023 to 6 incidents in August 2024.

61

41.9%was 43

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

14

-39.1%was 23

Persons Injured

6

200.0%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. 1 crash with unreported severity is not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash incidents in Saugus, MA showed an increasing trend from August 2023 to August 2024. Total crashes rose by 41.9%, from 43 to 61 incidents. Despite the increase in total crashes, the number of injured persons decreased by 39.1%, from 23 to 14.

6

Hit-and-Run Crashes — August 2024

200.0% vs prior (2)

Hit-and-run crashes increased by 200% year-over-year, rising from 2 incidents in August 2023 to 6 in August 2024. The hit-and-run crash rate also increased by 5.1 percentage points, from 4.7% of all crashes in the prior period to 9.8% in the current period. This indicates a significant increase in the proportion of crashes involving a hit-and-run.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

14

Motorists Injured

Prior: 22-36.4%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes shifted from Tuesday in August 2023 (11 crashes) to Monday in August 2024 (13 crashes). The peak hour also changed, moving from 2 PM (6 crashes) in the prior period to 4 PM (10 crashes) in the current period. This indicates a shift in the busiest times for crash incidents.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatal crashes in either August 2023 or August 2024. Total injuries decreased from 23 in August 2023 to 14 in August 2024, representing a 39.1% reduction. The proportion of crashes resulting in any injury (Minor or Possible) decreased from 34.9% (15 out of 43) in August 2023 to 22.9% (14 out of 61) in August 2024.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury11minor injury crashes18%
-15.4%prior 13
Possible Injury3possible injury crashes4.9%
50.0%prior 2
No Injury46no injury crashes75.4%
84.0%prior 25

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Crashes attributed to "No improper driving" increased by 100%, from 15 incidents in August 2023 to 30 in August 2024. "Followed too closely" as a contributing factor saw a 233.3% increase, rising from 3 to 10 incidents. Conversely, crashes involving "Inattention" decreased by 40%, from 5 incidents to 3.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving30 (49.2%)100.0%prior 15
Followed too closely10 (16.4%)
Inattention3 (4.9%)-40.0%prior 5
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner2 (3.3%)
Other improper action2 (3.3%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit2 (3.3%)
Failed to yield right of way2 (3.3%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (3.3%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (1.6%)
Physical impairment1 (1.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in "Clear" weather conditions increased by 20 incidents, from 29 in August 2023 to 49 in August 2024. Similarly, crashes during "Daylight" conditions rose by 23 incidents, from 29 to 52. The number of crashes on "Dry" road surfaces increased by 14, from 36 to 50.

Weather

Clear49 (80.3%)
69.0%prior 29
Rain4 (6.6%)
Cloudy3 (4.9%)
-62.5%prior 8
Clear/Cloudy2 (3.3%)
Cloudy/Rain2 (3.3%)
Clear/Unknown1 (1.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight52 (85.2%)
79.3%prior 29
Dark - lighted roadway6 (9.8%)
-25.0%prior 8
Dawn2 (3.3%)
Dusk1 (1.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry50 (82.0%)
38.9%prior 36
Wet11 (18.0%)
57.1%prior 7

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased by 55%, from 80 in August 2023 to 124 in August 2024. JEEP became the most frequently involved vehicle make in August 2024 with 20 incidents, up from 7 in the prior period. The 65+ age group saw a notable increase in persons involved, rising from 8 to 15.

Top Vehicle Makes (124 vehicles)

1
JEEP20 (16.1%)
185.7%prior 7
2
TOYOTA17 (13.7%)
21.4%prior 14
3
HONDA13 (10.5%)
85.7%prior 7
4
FORD9 (7.3%)
12.5%prior 8
5
CHEVROLET9 (7.3%)
6
MERCEDES-BENZ6 (4.8%)
20.0%prior 5
7
NISSAN6 (4.8%)
20.0%prior 5
8
GMC5 (4%)
9
KIA5 (4%)
10
DODGE4 (3.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (114 persons with recorded sex)

Male72 (63.2%)
46.9%prior 49
Female42 (36.8%)
5.0%prior 40

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes occurring in 50 mph speed zones more than doubled, increasing by 12 incidents from 11 in August 2023 to 23 in August 2024. Crashes in 30 mph zones also rose by 4 incidents, from 13 to 17. Conversely, crashes in 25 mph zones decreased by 3 incidents, from 7 to 4. There were no fatal crashes reported in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · 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: 2024-08-01 through 2024-08-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-08-01 through 2024-08-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: SAUGUS, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 61
  • Total persons involved: 138
  • Total vehicles involved: 124

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: August 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/saugus/august-2024-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 — August 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com