Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

48 CRASHES IN
SOMERSET, MA
OCTOBER 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstOctober 2022

In October 2023, Somerset experienced 48 total crashes, a notable increase from the 29 crashes recorded in October 2022. This represents a 65.5% rise in crash incidents year-over-year. While total fatalities remained at zero for both periods, total injuries increased from 7 to 11.

48

65.5%was 29

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

11

57.1%was 7

Persons Injured

1

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.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash incidents in Somerset increased significantly year-over-year, with total crashes rising by 65.5% from 29 in October 2022 to 48 in October 2023. Concurrently, the number of injured persons also saw an increase, from 7 to 11. There were no reported fatalities in either period.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — October 2023

0.0% vs prior (1)

The number of hit-and-run crashes remained constant at 1 for both October 2022 and October 2023. However, the hit-and-run rate decreased from 3.4% of total crashes in October 2022 to 2.1% in October 2023, reflecting the overall increase in total crashes.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 0%

10

Motorists Injured

Prior: 742.9%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · 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 Friday in October 2022, with 6 incidents, to Monday in October 2023, which recorded 10 crashes. The peak hour also changed, moving from 11 AM with 6 crashes in the prior period to 1 PM with 8 crashes in the current period. Crashes on Mondays doubled from 5 to 10, while Friday crashes decreased from 6 to 4.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Both October 2023 and October 2022 reported zero fatal crashes and zero fatalities. Minor injuries increased from 3 (10.3% of crashes) in the prior period to 7 (14.6% of crashes) in the current period. Possible injuries remained relatively stable, with 3 in October 2022 (10.3% of crashes) and 4 in October 2023 (8.3% of crashes).

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury7minor injury crashes14.6%
133.3%prior 3
Possible Injury4possible injury crashes8.3%
33.3%prior 3
No Injury37no injury crashes77.1%
60.9%prior 23

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The contributing factor 'Failed to yield right of way' saw a substantial increase in count, rising from 3 in October 2022 to 9 in October 2023. 'Followed too closely' also increased significantly, from 1 crash to 6 crashes year-over-year. Conversely, 'No improper driving' decreased in count from 9 to 5, and 'Driving too fast for conditions' decreased from 3 to 1.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Failed to yield right of way9 (18.8%)
Inattention8 (16.7%)60.0%prior 5
Followed too closely6 (12.5%)
No improper driving5 (10.4%)-44.4%prior 9
Visibility obstructed4 (8.3%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road3 (6.3%)
Made an improper turn2 (4.2%)
Other improper action1 (2.1%)
Over-correcting/over-steering1 (2.1%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (2.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions increased from 21 in October 2022 to 40 in October 2023. Similarly, crashes during 'Daylight' conditions rose from 21 to 40 over the same period. The number of crashes on 'Dry' road surfaces also increased from 22 to 41, while crashes on 'Wet' road surfaces remained consistent at 7 for both periods.

Weather

Clear40 (83.3%)
90.5%prior 21
Rain4 (8.3%)
Cloudy3 (6.3%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (2.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight40 (83.3%)
90.5%prior 21
Dark - lighted roadway6 (12.5%)
0.0%prior 6
Dawn2 (4.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry41 (85.4%)
86.4%prior 22
Wet7 (14.6%)
0.0%prior 7

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased from 51 in October 2022 to 86 in October 2023. Toyota remained the top make involved in crashes, increasing from 12 to 20 vehicles. Ford, Nissan, and Hyundai also saw increases in their involvement, while Chevrolet's involvement decreased from 7 to 5 vehicles.

Top Vehicle Makes (86 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA20 (23.3%)
66.7%prior 12
2
FORD9 (10.5%)
3
NISSAN7 (8.1%)
4
HYUNDAI6 (7%)
5
CHEVROLET5 (5.8%)
-28.6%prior 7
6
JEEP4 (4.7%)
7
HONDA4 (4.7%)
8
LEXUS3 (3.5%)
9
KIA3 (3.5%)
10
MERCEDES-BENZ3 (3.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (99 persons with recorded sex)

Male58 (58.6%)
81.3%prior 32
Female41 (41.4%)
51.9%prior 27

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 30 mph speed zones increased from 11 in October 2022 to 23 in October 2023. There was also an increase in crashes in 55 mph zones, rising from 2 to 4. Conversely, crashes in 35 mph zones decreased from 4 to 2, and in 45 mph zones from 4 to 3. No fatalities were reported across any speed zones in either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · 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: 2023-10-01 through 2023-10-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-10-01 through 2023-10-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: SOMERSET, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 48
  • Total persons involved: 106
  • Total vehicles involved: 86

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: October 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/somerset/october-2023-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 — October 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com