Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

36 CRASHES IN
SOUTHBRIDGE, MA
MARCH 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstMarch 2023

In March 2024, SOUTHBRIDGE, MA experienced 36 total crashes, an increase from the 27 crashes reported in March 2023. This represents a 33.3% rise in total crash incidents year-over-year. The most notable shift was a 40% decrease in total injuries, from 10 in March 2023 to 6 in March 2024.

36

33.3%was 27

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

6

-40.0%was 10

Persons Injured

1

-50.0%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. 2 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-03-01 to 2024-03-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates an increase in total crashes year-over-year, rising by 33.3% from 27 crashes in March 2023 to 36 crashes in March 2024. Despite this increase in crash incidents, total injuries decreased by 40%, from 10 in March 2023 to 6 in March 2024. Fatalities remained at zero in both periods.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — March 2024

-50.0% vs prior (2)

Hit-and-run crashes decreased from 2 incidents in March 2023 to 1 incident in March 2024. Consequently, the hit-and-run crash rate decreased from 7.4% to 2.8% year-over-year.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 0%

5

Motorists Injured

Prior: 9-44.4%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-03-01 to 2024-03-31 · 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 Wednesday with 7 crashes in March 2023 to Saturday with 8 crashes in March 2024. The peak hour also changed, moving from 3 PM with 4 crashes in March 2023 to 1 PM with 6 crashes in March 2024. Crashes on Sundays increased from 0 to 4, and on Tuesdays from 2 to 6.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-03-01 to 2024-03-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-03-01 to 2024-03-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatal crashes in either March 2023 or March 2024. The total number of injuries decreased from 10 in March 2023 to 6 in March 2024, a 40% reduction. While serious injuries remained constant at 1 in both periods, minor injuries decreased from 3 to 2, and possible injuries increased from 1 to 3.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes2.8%
0.0%prior 1
Minor Injury2minor injury crashes5.6%
-33.3%prior 3
Possible Injury3possible injury crashes8.3%
200.0%prior 1
No Injury28no injury crashes77.8%
33.3%prior 21

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-03-01 to 2024-03-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-03-01 to 2024-03-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The top contributing factors, 'Inattention' and 'No improper driving', both saw increases in crash counts. 'Inattention' increased from 8 crashes in March 2023 to 9 crashes in March 2024, and 'No improper driving' rose from 6 to 9 crashes. 'Failed to yield right of way' also increased from 2 to 3 crashes, while 'Visibility obstructed' decreased from 2 crashes to 1 crash.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention9 (25%)12.5%prior 8
No improper driving9 (25%)50.0%prior 6
Failed to yield right of way3 (8.3%)
Distracted2 (5.6%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (5.6%)
Followed too closely2 (5.6%)
Over-correcting/over-steering2 (5.6%)
Operating defective equipment1 (2.8%)
Visibility obstructed1 (2.8%)
Wrong side or wrong way1 (2.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-03-01 to 2024-03-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions increased from 18 in March 2023 to 25 in March 2024. Crashes during 'Daylight' also rose from 16 to 26 year-over-year, while those in 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions decreased from 9 to 6. Crashes on 'Dry' road surfaces increased from 22 to 29, and on 'Wet' road surfaces from 3 to 5.

Weather

Clear25 (71.4%)
38.9%prior 18
Rain3 (8.6%)
Cloudy3 (8.6%)
Cloudy/Clear1 (2.9%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (2.9%)
Clear/Cloudy1 (2.9%)
Clear/Other1 (2.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-03-01 to 2024-03-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight26 (72.2%)
62.5%prior 16
Dark - lighted roadway6 (16.7%)
-33.3%prior 9
Dark - roadway not lighted3 (8.3%)
Dusk1 (2.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-03-01 to 2024-03-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry29 (82.9%)
31.8%prior 22
Wet5 (14.3%)
Ice1 (2.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-03-01 to 2024-03-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (66 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA16 (24.2%)
45.5%prior 11
2
HONDA9 (13.6%)
3
CHEVROLET8 (12.1%)
4
FORD4 (6.1%)
5
NISSAN4 (6.1%)
6
HYUNDAI3 (4.5%)
7
MAZDA3 (4.5%)
8
DODGE3 (4.5%)
9
JEEP2 (3%)
10
VOLKSWAGEN2 (3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-03-01 to 2024-03-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (70 persons with recorded sex)

Male40 (57.1%)
21.2%prior 33
Female30 (42.9%)
50.0%prior 20

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-03-01 to 2024-03-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 25 mph speed zone increased slightly from 16 in March 2023 to 17 in March 2024. Crashes in the 30 mph zone also rose from 5 to 6. There were no fatal crashes reported in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-03-01 to 2024-03-31 · 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: 2024-03-01 through 2024-03-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-03-01 through 2024-03-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: SOUTHBRIDGE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 36
  • Total persons involved: 83
  • Total vehicles involved: 66

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). "SOUTHBRIDGE, MA Crash Intelligence Report: March 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-03-01 to 2024-03-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/southbridge/march-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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Southbridge, MA Crash Report — March 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com