Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

5 CRASHES IN
SHELBURNE, MA
JANUARY 2026

All metrics benchmarked againstJanuary 2025

In January 2026, Shelburne experienced 5 crashes, marking a significant 150% increase compared to the 2 crashes reported in January 2025. This rise in crash incidents was accompanied by a notable increase in total injuries, which quadrupled from 1 to 4 year-over-year. The emergence of serious injury crashes in the current period represents a concerning shift in crash outcomes.

5

150.0%was 2

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

4

300.0%was 1

Persons Injured

0

Fatal Crash Events

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

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates a substantial increase in crash activity in January 2026 compared to the prior year. Total crashes rose by 150%, from 2 crashes in January 2025 to 5 crashes in January 2026. Concurrently, the number of total injuries increased by 300%, from 1 injury to 4 injuries.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

4

Motorists Injured

Prior: 1300.0%

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 temporal distribution of crashes shifted year-over-year, with Friday becoming the peak day in January 2026 with 2 crashes, compared to Saturday with 1 crash in January 2025. Crash incidents in January 2026 were more spread throughout the week, occurring on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, whereas in January 2025, they occurred only on Wednesday and Saturday. The peak hour for crashes also shifted, with 9p recording 1 crash in January 2026, compared to 6p with 1 crash in January 2025.

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

Fatalities remained at zero in both January 2025 and January 2026. However, total injuries increased significantly from 1 in the prior period to 4 in the current period. The severity distribution changed, with January 2026 recording 1 serious injury crash and 1 possible injury crash, whereas January 2025 reported 1 minor injury crash.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes20%
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes20%
No Injury3no injury crashes60%
200.0%prior 1

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

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings1 (20%)
Distracted1 (20%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (20%)
Inattention1 (20%)
No improper driving1 (20%)

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

While weather condition data for January 2025 is unavailable for comparison, lighting and road surface conditions show shifts. In January 2026, 4 of 5 crashes occurred in Daylight, compared to an even split of 1 Daylight and 1 Dark - roadway not lighted crash in January 2025. Road surface conditions also changed, with Dry surfaces involved in 3 crashes in January 2026, alongside 1 crash each on Snow and Wet surfaces, while January 2025 saw 1 crash on Dry and 1 on Ice.

Weather

Clear2 (40.0%)
Clear/Clear2 (40.0%)
Fog, smog, smoke1 (20.0%)

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

Lighting

Daylight4 (80.0%)
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (20.0%)

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

Road Surface

Dry3 (60.0%)
Snow1 (20.0%)
Wet1 (20.0%)

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 (8 vehicles)

1
ACURA1 (12.5%)
2
FORD1 (12.5%)
3
HONDA1 (12.5%)
4
HYUNDAI1 (12.5%)
5
RAM1 (12.5%)
6
SUBARU1 (12.5%)
7
TOYOTA1 (12.5%)
8
VOLVO1 (12.5%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (8 persons with recorded sex)

Female5 (62.5%)
400.0%prior 1
Male3 (37.5%)
200.0%prior 1

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

The distribution of crashes across speed zones expanded in January 2026, with incidents recorded in 25, 30, 45, and 50 mph zones, compared to only 40 and 50 mph zones in January 2025. Crashes in the 50 mph zone increased from 1 in the prior period to 2 in the current period. No fatal crashes were recorded in any speed zone during either period.

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: SHELBURNE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 5
  • Total persons involved: 10
  • Total vehicles involved: 8

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). "SHELBURNE, 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/shelburne/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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Shelburne, MA Crash Report — January 2026 | ThatCarHitMe.com