Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

36 CRASHES IN
SOUTHBOROUGH, MA
SEPTEMBER 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstSeptember 2022

SOUTHBOROUGH experienced a notable increase in crash incidents in September 2023 compared to September 2022, with total crashes rising from 25 to 36, a 44% increase. Total injuries also saw a significant rise, from 6 to 11, marking an 83.3% increase. The most substantial year-over-year shift was a 400% increase in hit-and-run crashes, rising from 1 to 5 incidents.

36

44.0%was 25

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

11

83.3%was 6

Persons Injured

5

400.0%was 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. 1 crash with unreported severity is not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash incidents in SOUTHBOROUGH showed an upward trend year-over-year, with total crashes increasing by 44%, from 25 in September 2022 to 36 in September 2023. This rise in crashes was accompanied by an 83.3% increase in total injuries, going from 6 to 11. Fatalities remained at zero in both periods.

5

Hit-and-Run Crashes — September 2023

400.0% vs prior (1)

Hit-and-run crashes increased significantly year-over-year, rising from 1 incident in September 2022 to 5 incidents in September 2023. This represents a 400% increase in the number of hit-and-run crashes. The hit-and-run rate also climbed from 4% of total crashes in the prior period to 13.9% in the current period.

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: 666.7%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · 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 Thursday in September 2022, with 6 incidents, to Tuesday in September 2023, with 13 incidents. The peak hour remained 8a in both periods, but the number of crashes at this hour increased from 3 in the prior period to 6 in the current period. Crashes on Monday also saw a notable increase, rising from 3 to 7 year-over-year.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

The distribution of crash severity changed year-over-year, with serious injury (A) crashes appearing in September 2023 with 2 incidents, compared to none in September 2022. Minor injury (B) crashes increased from 3 to 5, while possible injury (C) crashes decreased from 2 to 0. The proportion of no-injury crashes remained stable, at 80% in the prior period and 77.8% in the current period.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury2serious injury crashes5.6%
Minor Injury5minor injury crashes13.9%
66.7%prior 3
No Injury28no injury crashes77.8%
40.0%prior 20

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The most frequently cited contributing factor in September 2023 was 'No improper driving' with 14 incidents, a 600% increase from the 2 incidents in the prior year. 'Followed too closely' increased by 1 crash, from 5 to 6, while 'Inattention' decreased by 2 crashes, from 7 to 5. 'Failed to yield right of way' also saw a 200% increase, rising from 1 to 3 incidents.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving14 (38.9%)
Followed too closely6 (16.7%)20.0%prior 5
Inattention5 (13.9%)-28.6%prior 7
Failed to yield right of way3 (8.3%)
Driving too fast for conditions2 (5.6%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (2.8%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (2.8%)
Visibility obstructed1 (2.8%)
Fatigued/asleep1 (2.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in rainy conditions increased significantly, from 4 in September 2022 to 9 in September 2023, a 125% rise. Similarly, crashes on wet road surfaces increased by 142.8%, from 7 to 17. The number of crashes occurring in daylight conditions increased from 18 to 26, while those in dark-lighted roadway conditions rose from 2 to 6.

Weather

Clear16 (44.4%)
0.0%prior 16
Rain9 (25.0%)
Cloudy5 (13.9%)
Cloudy/Rain3 (8.3%)
Rain/Cloudy2 (5.6%)
Rain/Fog, smog, smoke1 (2.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight26 (72.2%)
44.4%prior 18
Dark - lighted roadway6 (16.7%)
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (5.6%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (2.8%)
Dawn1 (2.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry19 (52.8%)
11.8%prior 17
Wet17 (47.2%)
142.9%prior 7

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (69 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA9 (13%)
50.0%prior 6
2
HONDA9 (13%)
80.0%prior 5
3
FORD9 (13%)
0.0%prior 9
4
NISSAN7 (10.1%)
5
CHEVROLET4 (5.8%)
-20.0%prior 5
6
VOLKSWAGEN3 (4.3%)
7
GMC2 (2.9%)
8
AUDI2 (2.9%)
9
SUBARU2 (2.9%)
10
JEEP2 (2.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (74 persons with recorded sex)

Male42 (56.8%)
44.8%prior 29
Female32 (43.2%)
18.5%prior 27

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 50 mph speed zones saw a substantial increase, rising from 6 incidents in September 2022 to 14 in September 2023, a 133.3% change. Crashes in 40 mph zones also doubled, from 2 to 4 incidents. Conversely, crashes in 45 mph zones, which accounted for 2 incidents in the prior period, were not recorded in the current period. Fatal rates remained at zero across all speed zones in both periods.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · 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: 2023-09-01 through 2023-09-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-09-01 through 2023-09-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: SOUTHBOROUGH, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 36
  • Total persons involved: 84
  • Total vehicles involved: 69

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). "SOUTHBOROUGH, MA Crash Intelligence Report: September 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/southborough/september-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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Southborough, MA Crash Report — September 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com