Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

39 CRASHES IN
SOMERSET, MA
MAY 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstMay 2023

In May 2024, Somerset experienced 39 crashes, a decrease from 58 crashes in May 2023, representing a 32.76% reduction. The most notable year-over-year shift was the increase in total fatalities from 0 in the prior period to 1 in the current period.

39

▼ -32.8%was 58

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

15

▲ 7.1%was 14

Persons Injured

1

▼ -50.0%was 2

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.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates a decrease in total crashes, falling by 32.76% from 58 to 39 crashes. Despite this reduction in total crashes, total fatalities increased from 0 to 1, while total injuries saw a slight increase from 14 to 15.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — May 2024

▼ -50.0% vs prior (2)

The number of hit-and-run crashes decreased from 2 in May 2023 to 1 in May 2024. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate also decreased from 3.4% of all crashes to 2.6%.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 0→0.0%

1

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0→%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 0→%

14

Motorists Injured

Prior: 14→0.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes remained Friday in both periods, with 11 crashes. However, the peak hour shifted from 4 p.m. with 11 crashes in May 2023 to 3 p.m. with 7 crashes in May 2024, indicating a change in the most frequent crash time.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

The fatal crash rate increased from 0% in May 2023 to 2.56% in May 2024, corresponding to an increase from 0 fatal crashes to 1. The proportion of minor injury crashes increased from 13.8% to 20.5%, while crashes resulting in no injury decreased from 77.6% to 69.2% of all crashes.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes2.6%
Minor Injury8minor injury crashes20.5%
→0.0%prior 8
Possible Injury3possible injury crashes7.7%
→0.0%prior 3
No Injury27no injury crashes69.2%
↓-40.0%prior 45

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Crashes attributed to 'Followed too closely' increased from 8 in May 2023 to 12 in May 2024, a 50% increase in count. Conversely, 'Inattention' crashes significantly decreased from 17 to 5, a 70.6% reduction in count, causing 'Followed too closely' to become the top contributing factor in the current period.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Followed too closely12 (30.8%)↑50.0%prior 8
Failed to yield right of way7 (17.9%)↓-36.4%prior 11
Inattention5 (12.8%)↓-70.6%prior 17
No improper driving4 (10.3%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner2 (5.1%)
Made an improper turn1 (2.6%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (2.6%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (2.6%)↓-80.0%prior 5
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings1 (2.6%)
Operating defective equipment1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in clear weather conditions decreased from 49 to 31, aligning with the overall reduction in crash numbers. Crashes on dry road surfaces also decreased from 52 to 32, while crashes on wet road surfaces increased from 5 to 7. There was a decrease in crashes during dark-lighted roadway conditions from 11 to 6.

Weather

Clear31 (79.5%)
↓-36.7%prior 49
Rain3 (7.7%)
Cloudy2 (5.1%)
Cloudy/Rain2 (5.1%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight33 (84.6%)
↓-21.4%prior 42
Dark - lighted roadway6 (15.4%)
↓-45.5%prior 11

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry32 (82.1%)
↓-38.5%prior 52
Wet7 (17.9%)
↑40.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of persons involved in crashes decreased across most age groups, consistent with the overall crash reduction. For example, persons in the 65+ age group decreased from 22 to 13, and those in the 16-20 age group decreased from 20 to 12. Toyota became the top vehicle make involved in crashes, with 13 vehicles, down from 17, while Honda vehicles involved decreased from 18 to 8.

Top Vehicle Makes (75 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA13 (17.3%)
↓-23.5%prior 17
2
HONDA8 (10.7%)
↓-55.6%prior 18
3
CHEVROLET8 (10.7%)
↑33.3%prior 6
4
FORD6 (8%)
↓-14.3%prior 7
5
NISSAN6 (8%)
6
HYUNDAI4 (5.3%)
↓-50.0%prior 8
7
VOLKSWAGEN4 (5.3%)
8
KIA4 (5.3%)
↓-33.3%prior 6
9
BMW3 (4%)
10
DODGE3 (4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (80 persons with recorded sex)

Male44 (55.0%)
↓-32.3%prior 65
Female36 (45.0%)
↓-28.0%prior 50

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 30 mph speed zone decreased from 24 in May 2023 to 16 in May 2024. Crashes in the 65 mph zone decreased from 5 to 1, but this single crash was the only fatal crash recorded in the current period, whereas no fatal crashes occurred in any speed zone in the prior period.

Fatal crashes by zone: 65 mph: 1 of 1 (100%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · 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: 2024-05-01 through 2024-05-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-05-01 through 2024-05-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: SOMERSET, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 39
  • Total persons involved: 90
  • Total vehicles involved: 75

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). "SOMERSET, MA Crash Intelligence Report: May 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/somerset/may-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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Somerset, MA Crash Report — May 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com