Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

40 CRASHES IN
SOUTHBRIDGE, MA
MAY 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstMay 2023

In May 2024, Southbridge experienced 40 crashes, a substantial increase compared to the 4 crashes recorded in May 2023. This represents a 900% year-over-year increase in total crashes. The most notable shift was the significant rise in both total crashes and total injuries, which climbed from 2 to 6.

40

900.0%was 4

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

6

200.0%was 2

Persons Injured

5

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 · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash data for Southbridge indicates a significant upward trend year-over-year. Total crashes increased by 900%, from 4 in May 2023 to 40 in May 2024. Concurrently, total injuries rose by 200%, from 2 to 6, indicating a worsening safety trend.

5

Hit-and-Run Crashes — May 2024

12.5% hit-and-run rate this period vs 0.0% prior. Prior period: 0.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

6

Motorists Injured

Prior: 2200.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · 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, with the peak day moving from Friday and Saturday in May 2023 to Wednesday and Friday in May 2024, both recording 10 crashes. While 4 p.m. remained the peak hour for crashes, the count at this hour increased from 2 crashes in May 2023 to 6 crashes in May 2024. This indicates a concentration of crashes during specific weekdays and afternoon hours in the current period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatalities remained at zero in both May 2023 and May 2024. However, the total number of injured persons increased from 2 to 6 year-over-year. Despite this, the proportion of crashes resulting in any injury decreased from 50% (2 out of 4 crashes) in May 2023 to 12.5% (5 out of 40 crashes) in May 2024.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury3minor injury crashes7.5%
50.0%prior 2
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes5%
No Injury34no injury crashes85%
1600.0%prior 2

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Among common contributing factors, 'Inattention' increased from 1 crash in May 2023 to 8 crashes in May 2024. Similarly, 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' rose from 1 crash to 4 crashes, and 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' increased from 1 crash to 3 crashes. Additionally, 'No improper driving' was a factor in 10 crashes in May 2024, while 'Exceeded authorized speed limit' was noted in 1 crash in May 2023 but not prominently in the current period's top factors.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving10 (25%)
Inattention8 (20%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road4 (10%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner3 (7.5%)
Other improper action3 (7.5%)
Followed too closely2 (5%)
Failed to yield right of way1 (2.5%)
Visibility obstructed1 (2.5%)
Distracted1 (2.5%)
Made an improper turn1 (2.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Analysis of lighting conditions shows an increase in crashes during both daylight and dark periods. Crashes in daylight rose from 2 in May 2023 to 28 in May 2024, while crashes occurring in dark conditions (lighted or not lighted) increased from 2 to 10. Data for weather and road surface conditions were not available for comparison in the prior period.

Weather

Clear26 (68.4%)
Clear/Other5 (13.2%)
Cloudy3 (7.9%)
Rain3 (7.9%)
Severe crosswinds/Rain1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight28 (71.8%)
Dark - lighted roadway8 (20.5%)
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (5.1%)
Other1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry34 (89.5%)
Wet4 (10.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (76 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA12 (15.8%)
2
CHEVROLET10 (13.2%)
3
HONDA7 (9.2%)
4
FORD7 (9.2%)
5
JEEP4 (5.3%)
6
DODGE4 (5.3%)
7
CHRYSLER3 (3.9%)
8
NISSAN3 (3.9%)
9
HYUNDAI3 (3.9%)
10
VOLVO2 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (71 persons with recorded sex)

Male49 (69.0%)
2350.0%prior 2
Female22 (31.0%)
450.0%prior 4

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes within 25 mph speed zones saw a substantial increase, rising from 2 in May 2023 to 26 in May 2024. Crashes at 5 mph and 35 mph remained stable at 1 crash each across both periods. New crash occurrences were observed in the 10 mph zone with 1 crash and the 30 mph zone with 10 crashes in May 2024, which were not present in the prior period's data. Fatal crash rates remained at zero across all speed zones in both periods.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31 · 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: 2024-05-01 through 2024-05-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-05-01 through 2024-05-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: SOUTHBRIDGE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 40
  • Total persons involved: 92
  • Total vehicles involved: 76

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 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-05-01 to 2024-05-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/southbridge/may-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 — May 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com