Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

346 CRASHES IN
SPRINGFIELD, MA
JULY 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstJuly 2022

Total crashes in Springfield decreased by 3.89%, from 360 in July 2022 to 346 in July 2023. While overall crashes and injuries saw a decline, a notable shift was the increase in total fatalities from 0 to 2, marking a significant change in crash outcomes year-over-year. Hit-and-run crashes also saw a substantial decrease, falling from 46 to 24.

346

-3.9%was 360

Total Crash Events

2

Persons Killed

195

-12.6%was 223

Persons Injured

24

-47.8%was 46

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (2) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (2) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities. 14 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall crash incidents in Springfield showed a downward trend, decreasing by 3.89% from 360 crashes in July 2022 to 346 crashes in July 2023. Concurrently, total injuries declined by 12.56%, from 223 to 195. However, a concerning trend was observed in fatalities, which increased from 0 in the prior period to 2 in the current period.

24

Hit-and-Run Crashes — July 2023

-47.8% vs prior (46)

Hit-and-run crashes saw a significant decrease, falling from 46 in July 2022 to 24 in July 2023, representing a 47.8% reduction. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate declined from 12.8% of all crashes in the prior period to 6.9% in the current period. This indicates a positive trend in reducing the incidence of hit-and-run incidents.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

5

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 425.0%

4

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 40.0%

186

Motorists Injured

Prior: 215-13.5%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · 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 Friday (69 crashes) in July 2022 to Monday (56 crashes) in July 2023. Similarly, the peak hour changed from 4 p.m. (42 crashes) in the prior year to 8 a.m. (27 crashes) in the current year. This indicates a shift in when crashes are most concentrated, moving from late afternoon on a weekday to morning on a different weekday.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

The fatal crash rate increased from 0% in July 2022 to 0.58% in July 2023, with 2 fatal crashes occurring in the current period compared to none in the prior period. Serious injury crashes (severity 'A') decreased from 9 (2.5% share) to 5 (1.4% share), while minor injury crashes (severity 'B') increased from 70 (19.4% share) to 82 (23.7% share). Possible injury crashes (severity 'C') decreased from 72 (20% share) to 45 (13% share), and crashes with no injury ('O') saw an increase in their share from 52.5% to 57.2%.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal2fatal crashes0.6%
Serious Injury5serious injury crashes1.4%
-44.4%prior 9
Minor Injury82minor injury crashes23.7%
17.1%prior 70
Possible Injury45possible injury crashes13%
-37.5%prior 72
No Injury198no injury crashes57.2%
4.8%prior 189

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The count of crashes attributed to 'Inattention' decreased by 28, from 112 in July 2022 to 84 in July 2023. Conversely, 'No improper driving' as a factor increased by 29 crashes, from 20 to 49. 'Failed to yield right of way' also saw a reduction of 15 crashes, dropping from 70 to 55, while 'Distracted' driving increased by 7 crashes, from 6 to 13. 'Exceeded authorized speed limit' increased by 5 crashes, from 4 to 9.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention84 (24.3%)-25.0%prior 112
Failed to yield right of way55 (15.9%)-21.4%prior 70
No improper driving49 (14.2%)145.0%prior 20
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road15 (4.3%)-6.3%prior 16
Followed too closely14 (4%)-17.6%prior 17
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings13 (3.8%)-35.0%prior 20
Distracted13 (3.8%)116.7%prior 6
Made an improper turn12 (3.5%)100.0%prior 6
Other improper action11 (3.2%)83.3%prior 6
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway10 (2.9%)25.0%prior 8

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions decreased from 313 in July 2022 to 263 in July 2023, while crashes in 'Rain' conditions increased from 10 to 29. The number of crashes during 'Daylight' decreased from 275 to 264, but crashes in 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions increased from 64 to 66. Regarding road surface, crashes on 'Dry' roads decreased from 326 to 286, while those on 'Wet' roads increased from 30 to 60.

Weather

Clear263 (76.7%)
-16.0%prior 313
Rain29 (8.5%)
190.0%prior 10
Cloudy20 (5.8%)
-9.1%prior 22
Cloudy/Rain14 (4.1%)
180.0%prior 5
Clear/Cloudy6 (1.7%)
Clear/Other4 (1.2%)
Rain/Cloudy3 (0.9%)
Clear/Unknown2 (0.6%)
Rain/Clear2 (0.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight264 (76.7%)
-4.0%prior 275
Dark - lighted roadway66 (19.2%)
3.1%prior 64
Dusk7 (2.0%)
-12.5%prior 8
Dark - roadway not lighted4 (1.2%)
Dawn3 (0.9%)
-40.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry286 (82.7%)
-12.3%prior 326
Wet60 (17.3%)
100.0%prior 30

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of persons involved in crashes decreased from 940 to 867 year-over-year. While 'HONDA' remained the top vehicle make, its count decreased from 112 to 97. 'TOYOTA' maintained its second position with 89 vehicles in both periods. There was a notable decrease in persons aged 26-34, from 161 to 139, and a slight increase in the 35-44 age group, from 142 to 147.

Top Vehicle Makes (645 vehicles)

1
HONDA97 (15%)
-13.4%prior 112
2
TOYOTA89 (13.8%)
0.0%prior 89
3
FORD56 (8.7%)
3.7%prior 54
4
NISSAN51 (7.9%)
-10.5%prior 57
5
CHEVROLET44 (6.8%)
7.3%prior 41
6
HYUNDAI37 (5.7%)
-38.3%prior 60
7
JEEP32 (5%)
45.5%prior 22
8
MAZDA21 (3.3%)
75.0%prior 12
9
INFI18 (2.8%)
38.5%prior 13
10
DODGE16 (2.5%)
-23.8%prior 21

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (773 persons with recorded sex)

Male431 (55.8%)
-2.0%prior 440
Female342 (44.2%)
-9.3%prior 377

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 25 mph speed zone decreased from 102 to 97, and in the 30 mph zone, they decreased from 138 to 125. However, crashes in the 55 mph speed zone increased from 12 to 23. Notably, there were no fatalities reported in any speed zone in July 2022, but in July 2023, one fatal crash occurred in a 30 mph zone and another in a 55 mph zone, with the latter having a fatal rate of 4.348%.

Fatal crashes by zone: 30 mph: 1 of 125 (0.8%) · 55 mph: 1 of 23 (4.348%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · 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: 2023-07-01 through 2023-07-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-07-01 through 2023-07-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: SPRINGFIELD, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 346
  • Total persons involved: 867
  • Total vehicles involved: 645

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). "SPRINGFIELD, MA Crash Intelligence Report: July 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/springfield/july-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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Springfield, MA Crash Report — July 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com