Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

38 CRASHES IN
SOUTHBRIDGE, MA
SEPTEMBER 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstSeptember 2022

Total crashes in SOUTHBRIDGE increased by 8.6% year-over-year, rising from 35 crashes in September 2022 to 38 crashes in September 2023. The most notable shift was a doubling of hit-and-run crashes, which increased from 2 to 4, and their rate rose from 5.7% to 10.5%. Fatalities remained at 0 in both periods.

38

8.6%was 35

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

6

Persons Injured

4

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. 5 crashes with unreported severity are 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, crashes in SOUTHBRIDGE showed an upward trend, increasing by 8.6% from 35 total crashes in September 2022 to 38 total crashes in September 2023. Total injuries remained stable at 6 in both periods, indicating that while crash frequency increased, injury severity did not escalate proportionally.

4

Hit-and-Run Crashes — September 2023

100.0% vs prior (2)

Hit-and-run crashes doubled year-over-year, increasing from 2 in September 2022 to 4 in September 2023. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate also rose significantly from 5.7% to 10.5% of all crashes.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 0%

5

Motorists Injured

Prior: 6-16.7%

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 Friday with 10 crashes in September 2022 to Saturday with 8 crashes in September 2023. The peak hour also shifted, moving from 4 PM with 6 crashes in the prior period to 3 PM, which also recorded 6 crashes in the current period.

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

Both September 2022 and September 2023 recorded 0 fatalities and 0 fatal crashes. Total injuries remained consistent at 6 across both periods. Minor injury crashes increased from 4 (11.4% of total crashes) in the prior period to 6 (15.8% of total crashes) in the current period, while possible injury crashes decreased from 1 to 0.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury6minor injury crashes15.8%
50.0%prior 4
No Injury27no injury crashes71.1%
-6.9%prior 29

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

Crashes attributed to 'Inattention' increased from 6 in the prior period to 8 in the current period, representing a 33.3% increase in count. Conversely, crashes with 'No improper driving' decreased from 9 to 6, a 33.3% decrease in count. 'Followed too closely' crashes doubled from 2 to 4, a 100% increase in count, and 'Failed to yield right of way' crashes decreased from 5 to 3, a 40% decrease in count.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention8 (21.1%)33.3%prior 6
No improper driving6 (15.8%)-33.3%prior 9
Followed too closely4 (10.5%)
Failed to yield right of way3 (7.9%)-40.0%prior 5
Other improper action3 (7.9%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (5.3%)
Fatigued/asleep2 (5.3%)
Distracted1 (2.6%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (2.6%)
Visibility obstructed1 (2.6%)

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 clear weather conditions decreased slightly from 29 in September 2022 to 27 in September 2023. Crashes on dry road surfaces decreased from 31 to 28, while crashes on wet surfaces doubled from 4 to 8. Crashes during daylight decreased from 31 to 27, whereas crashes in dark-lighted conditions increased from 3 to 5.

Weather

Clear27 (73.0%)
-6.9%prior 29
Rain3 (8.1%)
Cloudy/Rain2 (5.4%)
Cloudy1 (2.7%)
Clear/Unknown1 (2.7%)
Cloudy/Unknown1 (2.7%)
Clear/Other1 (2.7%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (2.7%)

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

Lighting

Daylight27 (73.0%)
-12.9%prior 31
Dark - lighted roadway5 (13.5%)
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (5.4%)
Dawn1 (2.7%)
Dusk1 (2.7%)
Other1 (2.7%)

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

Road Surface

Dry28 (75.7%)
-9.7%prior 31
Wet8 (21.6%)
Sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel1 (2.7%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased from 66 in September 2022 to 68 in September 2023. Toyota and Ford remained prominent, with Toyota involved in 12 crashes in both periods and Ford increasing from 11 to 12. The 0-15 age group saw an increase in persons involved from 6 to 9, while the 26-34 age group decreased from 19 to 13.

Top Vehicle Makes (68 vehicles)

1
FORD12 (17.6%)
9.1%prior 11
2
TOYOTA12 (17.6%)
0.0%prior 12
3
HONDA11 (16.2%)
37.5%prior 8
4
JEEP4 (5.9%)
5
NISSAN4 (5.9%)
-50.0%prior 8
6
HYUNDAI3 (4.4%)
7
INFI2 (2.9%)
8
GMC2 (2.9%)
9
MERCEDES-BENZ2 (2.9%)
10
CHEVROLET2 (2.9%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (70 persons with recorded sex)

Female36 (51.4%)
0.0%prior 36
Male34 (48.6%)
-12.8%prior 39

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 occurring in 25 mph zones increased from 19 in the prior period to 22 in the current period. Crashes in 30 mph zones also saw an increase, rising from 7 to 11. No fatal crashes were recorded in any speed limit zone during either period.

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: SOUTHBRIDGE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 38
  • Total persons involved: 87
  • Total vehicles involved: 68

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: 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/southbridge/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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Southbridge, MA Crash Report — September 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com