Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

41 CRASHES IN
SOMERVILLE, MA
JULY 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstJuly 2021

In July 2022, Somerville experienced 41 crashes, a decrease of 28.1% compared to the 57 crashes reported in July 2021. Total injuries also declined from 28 to 19, a 32.1% reduction year-over-year. A notable shift was the increase in DUI-related crashes from 0 in the prior period to 3 in the current period.

41

-28.1%was 57

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

19

-32.1%was 28

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 · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crashes in Somerville decreased year-over-year, with total crashes falling by 28.1% from 57 in July 2021 to 41 in July 2022. This reduction indicates a downward trend in crash incidents for the current period. Total injuries also decreased by 32.1%, from 28 to 19.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — July 2022

2.4% hit-and-run rate this period vs 0.0% prior. Prior period: 0.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 10.0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 5-80.0%

17

Motorists Injured

Prior: 22-22.7%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · 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 with 14 incidents in July 2021 to Wednesday with 12 incidents in July 2022. The peak hour remained 5 p.m. in both periods, though the count decreased from 6 crashes in the prior period to 5 crashes in the current period. Crashes on Mondays saw a significant decrease, falling from 10 to 3.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatal crashes in either July 2021 or July 2022. The proportion of crashes resulting in minor injuries (Severity B) increased from 22.8% to 29.3% year-over-year. Conversely, the share of crashes with no injuries decreased from 66.7% to 61% of total crashes.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury12minor injury crashes29.3%
-7.7%prior 13
Possible Injury4possible injury crashes9.8%
-33.3%prior 6
No Injury25no injury crashes61%
-34.2%prior 38

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Crashes attributed to 'Followed too closely' decreased by 5 incidents (a 50% reduction), falling from 10 to 5. Similarly, 'Failed to yield right of way' crashes also decreased by 5 incidents, from 10 to 5. 'Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings' crashes saw a 300% increase, rising from 1 incident to 4 incidents.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving8 (19.5%)0.0%prior 8
Followed too closely5 (12.2%)-50.0%prior 10
Failed to yield right of way5 (12.2%)-50.0%prior 10
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings4 (9.8%)
Inattention3 (7.3%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner3 (7.3%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (2.4%)
Made an improper turn1 (2.4%)
Fatigued/asleep1 (2.4%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (2.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in clear weather conditions, including 'Clear' and 'Clear/Clear', increased their share from 64.9% in July 2021 to 82.9% in July 2022. Conversely, crashes reported during rainy conditions decreased from 14 incidents in the prior period to 0 incidents in the current period. The road surface condition data for the current period is not available for comparison.

Weather

Clear31 (75.6%)
6.9%prior 29
Cloudy7 (17.1%)
40.0%prior 5
Clear/Clear3 (7.3%)
-62.5%prior 8

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight34 (82.9%)
-22.7%prior 44
Dark - lighted roadway5 (12.2%)
-37.5%prior 8
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (2.4%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (2.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Lighting condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The number of crashes involving Toyota vehicles decreased significantly, from 22 in July 2021 to 9 in July 2022. Honda vehicles were involved in 13 crashes in the current period, a slight decrease from 14 in the prior period. The top vehicle make involved in crashes shifted from Toyota in July 2021 to Honda in July 2022.

Top Vehicle Makes (77 vehicles)

1
HONDA13 (16.9%)
-7.1%prior 14
2
NISSAN9 (11.7%)
12.5%prior 8
3
TOYOTA9 (11.7%)
-59.1%prior 22
4
FORD9 (11.7%)
-10.0%prior 10
5
MAZDA4 (5.2%)
6
SUBARU4 (5.2%)
7
FRHT2 (2.6%)
8
MACK2 (2.6%)
9
BMW2 (2.6%)
10
CHEVROLET2 (2.6%)
-60.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (89 persons with recorded sex)

Male58 (65.2%)
-15.9%prior 69
Female31 (34.8%)
-38.0%prior 50

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 25 mph speed zones decreased by 13 incidents, from 30 to 17, representing a 43.3% reduction. Conversely, crashes in 55 mph speed zones doubled, increasing from 4 to 8 incidents. Crashes in 20 mph zones increased by 50%, from 4 to 6 incidents year-over-year.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · 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: 2022-07-01 through 2022-07-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-07-01 through 2022-07-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: SOMERVILLE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 41
  • Total persons involved: 97
  • Total vehicles involved: 77

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). "SOMERVILLE, MA Crash Intelligence Report: July 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/somerville/july-2022-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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Somerville, MA Crash Report — July 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com