Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

16 CRASHES IN
SOUTH HADLEY, MA
MARCH 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstMarch 2022

In March 2023, South Hadley experienced 16 crashes, an increase from the 15 crashes recorded in March 2022, representing a 6.7% rise. Total injuries also increased by 50%, from 4 to 6. A notable shift was the 300% increase in speeding-related crashes, which rose from 1 in the prior period to 4 in the current period.

16

6.7%was 15

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

6

50.0%was 4

Persons Injured

0

-100.0%was 2

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 · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash incidents in South Hadley saw a slight increase year-over-year, rising by 6.7% from 15 crashes in March 2022 to 16 crashes in March 2023. While fatalities remained stable at zero in both periods, the number of injuries increased significantly by 50%, from 4 to 6.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

6

Motorists Injured

Prior: 450.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes shifted between the two periods. In March 2022, the peak day for crashes was Sunday with 4 incidents, whereas in March 2023, Wednesday and Thursday shared the highest count with 4 crashes each. The peak crash hour also shifted from 1 PM with 2 crashes in the prior year to 2 PM with 3 crashes in the current year.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatalities remained at zero in both March 2022 and March 2023. However, total injuries increased by 50%, from 4 in the prior period to 6 in the current period. While serious injuries remained consistent at 1 incident in both years, minor injuries doubled from 1 to 2, and 2 possible injury crashes were reported in the current period, which were not present in the prior period's data.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes6.3%
0.0%prior 1
Minor Injury2minor injury crashes12.5%
100.0%prior 1
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes12.5%
No Injury11no injury crashes68.8%
10.0%prior 10

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The distribution of contributing factors shifted significantly year-over-year. Crashes attributed to 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' decreased sharply from 4 incidents in March 2022 to 1 in March 2023, a 75% reduction in count. Conversely, 'Inattention' increased by 50% in count, from 2 to 3 incidents, and 'Exceeded authorized speed limit' doubled from 1 to 2 incidents. Factors such as 'Driving too fast for conditions' and 'Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway' emerged with 2 incidents each in the current period, not being present in the prior year's top factors.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention3 (18.8%)
Driving too fast for conditions2 (12.5%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit2 (12.5%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway2 (12.5%)
Failed to yield right of way1 (6.3%)
No improper driving1 (6.3%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (6.3%)
Distracted1 (6.3%)
Followed too closely1 (6.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crash conditions saw notable shifts year-over-year. Crashes occurring on dry road surfaces increased from 8 incidents (53.3% of total) in March 2022 to 12 incidents (75% of total) in March 2023. Concurrently, crashes on wet road surfaces, which accounted for 5 incidents (33.3%) in the prior period, were not recorded in the current period. Crashes on snowy roads increased from 1 incident (6.7%) to 4 incidents (25%).

Weather

Clear10 (62.5%)
11.1%prior 9
Clear/Other2 (12.5%)
Snow2 (12.5%)
Cloudy1 (6.3%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (6.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight11 (68.8%)
37.5%prior 8
Dark - lighted roadway5 (31.3%)
0.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry12 (75.0%)
50.0%prior 8
Snow4 (25.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (24 vehicles)

1
HONDA5 (20.8%)
2
CHEVROLET4 (16.7%)
3
TOYOTA4 (16.7%)
4
NISSAN2 (8.3%)
5
FORD2 (8.3%)
6
SPNR1 (4.2%)
7
SUBARU1 (4.2%)
8
MAZDA1 (4.2%)
9
FRHT1 (4.2%)
10
JEEP1 (4.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (27 persons with recorded sex)

Male18 (66.7%)
28.6%prior 14
Female9 (33.3%)
0.0%prior 9

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

The distribution of crashes across speed limit zones changed, with a notable increase in crashes within 25 mph zones, rising from 1 incident in March 2022 to 5 incidents in March 2023. Crashes in 30 mph zones also saw a slight increase from 5 to 6 incidents. Conversely, zones with speed limits of 10 mph and 50 mph, each having 1 crash in the prior period, recorded no crashes in the current period. Fatalities remained at zero across all speed zones in both years.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · 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: 2023-03-01 through 2023-03-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-03-01 through 2023-03-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: SOUTH HADLEY, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 16
  • Total persons involved: 28
  • Total vehicles involved: 24

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). "SOUTH HADLEY, MA Crash Intelligence Report: March 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/south-hadley/march-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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South Hadley, MA Crash Report — March 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com