Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

4 CRASHES IN
SOUTHBRIDGE, MA
MAY 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstMay 2022

In May 2023, Southbridge experienced a substantial decrease in crash activity compared to May 2022, with total crashes falling from 25 to 4. This represents an 84% reduction in overall crash incidents. The most notable shift was the dramatic decline in the total number of crashes and associated injuries.

4

-84.0%was 25

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

2

-66.7%was 6

Persons Injured

0

-100.0%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.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash activity in Southbridge showed a significant downward trend year-over-year, with total crashes decreasing from 25 in May 2022 to 4 in May 2023. This represents an 84% reduction in crash count. Similarly, total injuries decreased by 66.67%, from 6 in May 2022 to 2 in May 2023.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

2

Motorists Injured

Prior: 4-50.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal distribution of crashes shifted year-over-year. The peak day for crashes moved from Tuesday with 10 incidents in May 2022 to Saturday with 2 incidents in May 2023. The peak hour also changed, moving from 3 PM with 5 crashes in May 2022 to 4 PM with 2 crashes in May 2023.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatal crashes reported in either May 2022 or May 2023. The total number of injured persons decreased from 6 in May 2022 to 2 in May 2023. In May 2022, severity included 1 serious injury, 4 minor injuries, and 1 possible injury, whereas in May 2023, only 2 minor injuries were recorded.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury2minor injury crashes50%
-50.0%prior 4
No Injury2no injury crashes50%
-89.5%prior 19

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Several contributing factors saw significant reductions in crash counts year-over-year. Crashes attributed to "Inattention" decreased from 4 in May 2022 to 1 in May 2023, and "Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner" also dropped from 4 crashes to 1. The factor "No improper driving," which accounted for 5 crashes in May 2022, was not present in May 2023, while "Exceeded authorized speed limit" appeared as a factor in 1 crash in May 2023, up from 0 as a primary factor in May 2022.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Exceeded authorized speed limit1 (25%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (25%)
Inattention1 (25%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (25%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Regarding lighting conditions, crashes occurring in "Daylight" decreased from 17 in May 2022 to 2 in May 2023. Incidents in "Dark - lighted roadway" also saw a reduction from 5 to 1, while "Dark - roadway not lighted" remained constant with 1 crash in both periods. Crashes occurring at "Dusk" were reported in May 2022 with 2 incidents but not in May 2023.

Lighting

Daylight2 (50.0%)
-88.2%prior 17
Dark - lighted roadway1 (25.0%)
-80.0%prior 5
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (25.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Lighting condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (6 vehicles)

1
FORD2 (33.3%)
2
DODGE1 (16.7%)
3
NISSAN1 (16.7%)
4
OTHE1 (16.7%)
5
TOYOTA1 (16.7%)
-91.7%prior 12

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (6 persons with recorded sex)

Female4 (66.7%)
-73.3%prior 15
Male2 (33.3%)
-93.8%prior 32

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes at the 5 mph speed limit remained constant with 1 incident in both May 2022 and May 2023. However, crashes at the 25 mph speed limit significantly decreased from 11 in May 2022 to 2 in May 2023. Speed zones of 20 mph, 30 mph, and 45 mph, which collectively accounted for 13 crashes in May 2022, had no recorded crashes in May 2023, while 1 crash occurred in a 35 mph zone in May 2023 that was not present in May 2022.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · 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: 2023-05-01 through 2023-05-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-05-01 through 2023-05-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: SOUTHBRIDGE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 4
  • Total persons involved: 9
  • Total vehicles involved: 6

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: May 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/southbridge/may-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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Southbridge, MA Crash Report — May 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com