Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

54 CRASHES IN
SHREWSBURY, MA
MARCH 2026

All metrics benchmarked againstMarch 2025

Total crashes in SHREWSBURY decreased slightly from 55 in March 2025 to 54 in March 2026, representing a 1.8% reduction. Despite this small decrease in overall incidents, a notable shift was observed in fatalities, which increased from 0 in March 2025 to 1 in March 2026. Conversely, total injuries saw a significant decline from 24 to 13, a 45.8% decrease year-over-year.

54

-1.8%was 55

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

13

-45.8%was 24

Persons Injured

2

-60.0%was 5

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (1) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (1) 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 · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, the number of crashes in SHREWSBURY remained relatively stable year-over-year, with a slight decrease of 1 crash from 55 to 54. However, this period saw an increase in fatalities from 0 to 1, while total injuries decreased by 45.8%, from 24 to 13. This indicates a mixed trend in crash outcomes, with fewer injuries but an emergence of a fatal crash.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — March 2026

-60.0% vs prior (5)

The number of hit-and-run crashes decreased from 5 in March 2025 to 2 in March 2026, representing a 60% reduction. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate decreased from 9.1% of total crashes in March 2025 to 3.7% in March 2026. This indicates a downward trend in hit-and-run incidents year-over-year.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

13

Motorists Injured

Prior: 23-43.5%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · 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 Monday in March 2025, which recorded 14 incidents, to Tuesday in March 2026, with 16 crashes. While the peak hour remained 4 p.m. in both periods, the number of crashes during this hour decreased from 10 in March 2025 to 8 in March 2026. This suggests a slight redistribution of crash occurrences across the week and a minor reduction during the previous peak hour.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes, which were absent in March 2025, accounted for 1 incident and 1.9% of all crashes in March 2026. The total number of injuries decreased from 24 in March 2025 to 13 in March 2026, a 45.8% reduction. While serious injuries (code A) were recorded in March 2025 (4 incidents), they were not present in March 2026, yet minor injuries (code B) increased from 3 to 7, and possible injuries (code C) increased from 3 to 4.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes1.9%
Minor Injury7minor injury crashes13%
133.3%prior 3
Possible Injury4possible injury crashes7.4%
33.3%prior 3
No Injury41no injury crashes75.9%
-8.9%prior 45

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The top contributing factor, 'No improper driving', increased from 10 incidents in March 2025 to 14 in March 2026, a 40% increase in count. 'Followed too closely' also saw a substantial increase, rising from 4 to 7 incidents, a 75% increase. Conversely, 'Failed to yield right of way' decreased significantly from 6 incidents to 1, an 83.3% reduction, and 'Inattention' decreased from 8 to 7 incidents, a 12.5% reduction.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving14 (25.9%)40.0%prior 10
Followed too closely7 (13%)
Inattention7 (13%)-12.5%prior 8
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings4 (7.4%)
Other improper action2 (3.7%)
Over-correcting/over-steering2 (3.7%)
Made an improper turn2 (3.7%)
Glare2 (3.7%)
Physical impairment1 (1.9%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (1.9%)-80.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions decreased from 40 incidents in March 2025 to 20 in March 2026. Conversely, crashes during 'Cloudy' weather increased from 2 to 5 incidents, and 'Rain' conditions saw an increase from 2 to 3 incidents. There was a notable shift in road surface conditions, with crashes on 'Dry' surfaces decreasing from 49 to 32, while crashes on 'Wet' surfaces increased from 6 to 10, and new categories like 'Ice' (4 incidents) and 'Snow' (4 incidents) appeared in March 2026.

Weather

Clear20 (40.0%)
-50.0%prior 40
Clear/Clear10 (20.0%)
25.0%prior 8
Cloudy5 (10.0%)
Rain3 (6.0%)
Snow3 (6.0%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)2 (4.0%)
Rain/Rain2 (4.0%)
Cloudy/Clear1 (2.0%)
Cloudy/Other1 (2.0%)
Rain/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (2.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight40 (74.1%)
-11.1%prior 45
Dark - lighted roadway10 (18.5%)
66.7%prior 6
Dusk2 (3.7%)
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (1.9%)
Dawn1 (1.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry32 (64.0%)
-34.7%prior 49
Wet10 (20.0%)
66.7%prior 6
Ice4 (8.0%)
Snow4 (8.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased from 99 in March 2025 to 107 in March 2026, an 8.1% rise. Among top vehicle makes, TOYOTA increased its involvement from 13 to 19 incidents, and JEEP saw a significant rise from 3 to 10 incidents. In terms of person age distribution, individuals in the 26-34 age group experienced a substantial increase in involvement, from 11 to 30, while involvement for those aged 35-44 decreased from 28 to 19.

Top Vehicle Makes (107 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA19 (17.8%)
46.2%prior 13
2
FORD12 (11.2%)
33.3%prior 9
3
HONDA10 (9.3%)
-44.4%prior 18
4
JEEP10 (9.3%)
5
CHEVROLET9 (8.4%)
28.6%prior 7
6
SUBARU6 (5.6%)
7
HYUNDAI4 (3.7%)
-42.9%prior 7
8
BMW4 (3.7%)
9
KIA3 (2.8%)
10
MERCEDES-BENZ3 (2.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (116 persons with recorded sex)

Male63 (54.3%)
-13.7%prior 73
Female53 (45.7%)
3.9%prior 51

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

The total number of crashes with recorded speed limits increased from 31 in March 2025 to 34 in March 2026. A fatal crash occurred in a 45 mph zone in March 2026, where no fatalities were recorded in the prior year. Crashes in 35 mph zones saw a significant increase from 3 to 9 incidents, while crashes in 30 mph zones decreased from 9 to 6 incidents.

Fatal crashes by zone: 45 mph: 1 of 7 (14.286%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · 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: 2026-03-01 through 2026-03-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2026-03-01 through 2026-03-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: SHREWSBURY, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 54
  • Total persons involved: 125
  • Total vehicles involved: 107

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). "SHREWSBURY, MA Crash Intelligence Report: March 2026." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/shrewsbury/march-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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Shrewsbury, MA Crash Report — March 2026 | ThatCarHitMe.com