Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

21 CRASHES IN
SHARON, MA
JANUARY 2026

All metrics benchmarked againstJanuary 2025

In January 2026, SHARON experienced 21 crashes, a 30% decrease compared to the 30 crashes reported in January 2025. The most notable year-over-year shift was the overall reduction in total crashes. Despite the decrease in total crashes, the number of injuries increased by 25% from 4 to 5.

21

-30.0%was 30

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

5

25.0%was 4

Persons Injured

1

-66.7%was 3

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 · 2026-01-01 to 2026-01-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend for January in SHARON shows a decrease in total crashes, falling by 30% from 30 crashes in 2025 to 21 crashes in 2026. This indicates a notable decline in the frequency of crash incidents year-over-year for this month.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — January 2026

-66.7% vs prior (3)

The number of hit-and-run crashes decreased from 3 in January 2025 to 1 in January 2026, representing a decrease of 2 crashes. The hit-and-run rate also saw a downward trend, decreasing from 10% of total crashes in January 2025 to 4.8% in January 2026.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

5

Motorists Injured

Prior: 425.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-01-01 to 2026-01-31 · 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 Saturday in January 2025, which saw 7 crashes, to Thursday in January 2026, with 6 crashes. Similarly, the peak hour for crashes moved from 8 AM with 5 crashes in the prior period to 7 AM with 4 crashes in the current period. These shifts suggest changes in daily and hourly crash patterns year-over-year.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-01-01 to 2026-01-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-01-01 to 2026-01-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatal crashes or fatalities reported in either January 2025 or January 2026. However, total injuries increased by 25%, from 4 in the prior period to 5 in the current period. The proportion of crashes resulting in any injury (Minor or Possible) rose from 10% (3 out of 30 crashes) in January 2025 to 23.8% (5 out of 21 crashes) in January 2026.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury3minor injury crashes14.3%
50.0%prior 2
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes9.5%
100.0%prior 1
No Injury15no injury crashes71.4%
-40.0%prior 25

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-01-01 to 2026-01-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-01-01 to 2026-01-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The count of crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' decreased by 6, from 11 in January 2025 to 5 in January 2026. Conversely, crashes due to 'Followed too closely' increased by 3, rising from 1 to 4 crashes. Factors like 'Exceeded authorized speed limit,' 'Fatigued/asleep,' and 'Driving too fast for conditions,' each accounting for 2 crashes in January 2025, were not reported as contributing factors in January 2026.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving5 (23.8%)-54.5%prior 11
Followed too closely4 (19%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (9.5%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway2 (9.5%)
Failed to yield right of way2 (9.5%)
Operating defective equipment1 (4.8%)
Visibility obstructed1 (4.8%)
Inattention1 (4.8%)
Illness1 (4.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-01-01 to 2026-01-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in clear or clear/clear weather conditions decreased from 21 (70% of total crashes) in January 2025 to 12 (57.1% of total crashes) in January 2026. The number of crashes under adverse road surface conditions (snow, ice, wet) decreased from 11 in January 2025 to 7 in January 2026. Crashes occurring in darkness (dark-lighted or dark-not lighted) saw a slight decrease in count from 9 in the prior period to 8 in the current period, but increased as a proportion of total crashes from 30% to 38.1%.

Weather

Clear7 (33.3%)
-63.2%prior 19
Clear/Clear5 (23.8%)
Cloudy3 (14.3%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)2 (9.5%)
Rain2 (9.5%)
Cloudy/Cloudy1 (4.8%)
Snow/Blowing sand, snow1 (4.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-01-01 to 2026-01-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight11 (52.4%)
-45.0%prior 20
Dark - lighted roadway4 (19.0%)
-33.3%prior 6
Dark - roadway not lighted4 (19.0%)
Dusk2 (9.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-01-01 to 2026-01-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry14 (66.7%)
-26.3%prior 19
Snow3 (14.3%)
-50.0%prior 6
Ice2 (9.5%)
Wet2 (9.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-01-01 to 2026-01-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (35 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA7 (20%)
-30.0%prior 10
2
HONDA4 (11.4%)
3
NISSAN3 (8.6%)
-50.0%prior 6
4
HYUNDAI3 (8.6%)
5
TESL2 (5.7%)
6
GMC1 (2.9%)
7
JEEP1 (2.9%)
8
LEXUS1 (2.9%)
9
MERCEDES-BENZ1 (2.9%)
10
OTRK1 (2.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-01-01 to 2026-01-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (38 persons with recorded sex)

Male26 (68.4%)
8.3%prior 24
Female12 (31.6%)
-40.0%prior 20

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-01-01 to 2026-01-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes occurring in 65 mph speed zones remained constant at 7 crashes in both January 2025 and January 2026. There was a notable decrease in crashes occurring in lower speed zones (under 30 mph), falling from 11 crashes in January 2025 to 5 crashes in January 2026. This indicates a shift in crash distribution away from lower speed limit areas.

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

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2026-01-01 through 2026-01-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: SHARON, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 21
  • Total persons involved: 41
  • Total vehicles involved: 35

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