Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

10,850 CRASHES IN
MASSACHUSETTS, MA
JULY 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstJuly 2021

In July 2022, there were 10,850 total crashes, a 1.4% decrease from the 11,009 crashes recorded in July 2021. Despite the overall reduction in collisions, the number of fatalities increased significantly. Total fatalities rose by 30% year-over-year, from 30 in July 2021 to 39 in July 2022.

10,850

-1.4%was 11,009

Total Crash Events

39

30.0%was 30

Persons Killed

3,752

1.3%was 3,704

Persons Injured

913

16.0%was 787

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (39) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (36) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities. 977 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall crash volume showed a slight decline of 1.4% in July 2022 compared to the same month in the prior year. However, this decrease in total crashes did not correspond with a reduction in harm. The number of total injuries remained stable with a 1.3% increase, while total fatalities rose by a notable 30% year-over-year.

913

Hit-and-Run Crashes — July 2022

16.0% vs prior (787)

The number of hit-and-run incidents increased from July 2021 to July 2022. The total count of hit-and-run crashes rose by 16.0%, from 787 to 913. This increase outpaced the overall crash trend, causing the hit-and-run rate as a percentage of all crashes to climb from 7.1% to 8.4%.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 6-100.0%

2

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 1100.0%

37

Motorists Killed

Prior: 2360.9%

0

Other Killed

Prior: 00.0%

118

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 8735.6%

145

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 10439.4%

3,475

Motorists Injured

Prior: 3,505-0.9%

14

Other Injured

Prior: 875.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes remained largely consistent year-over-year. Friday was the day with the most crashes in both July 2022 (2,042 crashes) and July 2021 (2,121 crashes), and the 4 PM hour was the peak time for collisions in both periods. While Friday remained the peak, the second-highest crash day shifted from Thursday in 2021 to Saturday in 2022.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

While total crashes decreased, the severity of those crashes increased in July 2022 compared to July 2021. The number of fatal crashes rose from 29 to 36, and serious injury crashes increased from 220 to 274, representing a 24.5% rise. Consequently, the proportion of crashes resulting in serious injury grew from 2.0% to 2.5% of all collisions.

Severity is per crash event (most severe injury). 36 fatal crash events resulted in 39 persons killed.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal36fatal crashes0.3%
24.1%prior 29
Serious Injury274serious injury crashes2.5%
24.5%prior 220
Minor Injury1,601minor injury crashes14.8%
2.6%prior 1,560
Possible Injury856possible injury crashes7.9%
-6.6%prior 916
No Injury7,106no injury crashes65.5%
-3.1%prior 7,334

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The primary contributing factors cited in crashes remained consistent, with 'Inattention' being the top factor in both July 2022 (1,632 crashes) and July 2021 (1,703 crashes). The number of crashes attributed to 'Failed to yield right of way' increased by 8.6% from 1,075 to 1,167. Notably, there was a significant reduction in crashes where 'Driving too fast for conditions' was a factor, with the count dropping by 66.5% from 340 to 114 year-over-year.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving2,276 (21%)-2.8%prior 2,342
Inattention1,632 (15%)-4.2%prior 1,703
Failed to yield right of way1,167 (10.8%)8.6%prior 1,075
Followed too closely972 (9%)-1.0%prior 982
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road440 (4.1%)-13.2%prior 507
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner393 (3.6%)-4.1%prior 410
Other improper action362 (3.3%)-10.6%prior 405
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings290 (2.7%)-1.7%prior 295
Distracted276 (2.5%)-1.4%prior 280
Fatigued/asleep150 (1.4%)15.4%prior 130

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Environmental conditions during crashes differed significantly between the two periods, suggesting different prevailing weather. In July 2022, 93.9% of crashes occurred on dry roads, compared to 73.9% in July 2021. Consequently, the number of crashes on wet roads decreased from 2,680 to 499. The proportion of crashes occurring in daylight increased slightly from 75.2% to 78.1%.

Weather

Clear8,505 (79.6%)
38.1%prior 6,157
Clear/Clear822 (7.7%)
47.3%prior 558
Cloudy517 (4.8%)
-62.1%prior 1,363
Rain226 (2.1%)
-81.6%prior 1,229
Clear/Cloudy179 (1.7%)
10.5%prior 162
Clear/Other107 (1.0%)
50.7%prior 71
Clear/Unknown100 (0.9%)
20.5%prior 83
Cloudy/Rain79 (0.7%)
-86.3%prior 577
Rain/Cloudy42 (0.4%)
-80.4%prior 214
Cloudy/Cloudy28 (0.3%)
-69.9%prior 93

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight8,476 (79.0%)
2.5%prior 8,273
Dark - lighted roadway1,454 (13.6%)
-14.7%prior 1,705
Dark - roadway not lighted383 (3.6%)
-14.3%prior 447
Dusk196 (1.8%)
-25.5%prior 263
Dawn129 (1.2%)
-6.5%prior 138
Dark - unknown roadway lighting80 (0.7%)
56.9%prior 51
Other11 (0.1%)
-31.3%prior 16

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry10,188 (95.1%)
25.3%prior 8,133
Wet499 (4.7%)
-81.4%prior 2,680
Sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel23 (0.2%)
35.3%prior 17
Other4 (0.0%)
Water (standing, moving)2 (0.0%)
-95.6%prior 45
Reported but invalid1 (0.0%)
Slush1 (0.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The top three vehicle makes involved in crashes were unchanged year-over-year, with Toyota, Honda, and Ford being the most common in both periods. Analysis of persons involved in crashes shows a demographic shift. The number of persons in the 65+ age group increased by 14.5% from 2,392 to 2,740, while the number of persons in the 16-20 and 21-25 age groups decreased by 14.7% and 10.1% respectively.

Top Vehicle Makes (20,280 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA3,163 (15.6%)
-2.7%prior 3,251
2
HONDA2,657 (13.1%)
1.7%prior 2,613
3
FORD2,087 (10.3%)
-0.9%prior 2,107
4
CHEVROLET1,376 (6.8%)
-7.3%prior 1,485
5
NISSAN1,357 (6.7%)
-2.8%prior 1,396
6
JEEP916 (4.5%)
3.2%prior 888
7
HYUNDAI771 (3.8%)
-2.9%prior 794
8
SUBARU744 (3.7%)
3.2%prior 721
9
DODGE448 (2.2%)
-12.5%prior 512
10
GMC443 (2.2%)
0.2%prior 442

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Vehicle unit records

3,181 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.

Sex Distribution (21,995 persons with recorded sex)

Male12,280 (55.8%)
-2.3%prior 12,573
Female9,704 (44.1%)
-2.8%prior 9,985
X / Unspecified8 (0.0%)
700.0%prior 1
R3 (0.0%)
200.0%prior 1

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in both periods were most frequent in zones with posted speed limits between 25 and 35 mph. Notably, the number of crashes in 25 mph zones increased by 19.4% from 1,726 to 2,060. While total fatal crashes increased, their distribution across speed zones shifted, with notable increases in 65 mph zones (from 3 to 5 fatal crashes) and 40 mph zones (from 2 to 4 fatal crashes).

Fatal crashes by zone: 15 mph: 1 of 190 (0.526%) · 20 mph: 1 of 300 (0.333%) · 25 mph: 6 of 2,060 (0.291%) · 30 mph: 7 of 2,974 (0.235%) · 35 mph: 1 of 1,385 (0.072%) · 40 mph: 4 of 760 (0.526%) · 45 mph: 1 of 386 (0.259%) · 50 mph: 3 of 216 (1.389%) · 55 mph: 2 of 495 (0.404%) · 65 mph: 5 of 668 (0.749%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31 · 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: 2022-07-01 through 2022-07-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-07-01 through 2022-07-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: massachusetts, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 10,850
  • Total persons involved: 25,544
  • Total vehicles involved: 20,280

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). "massachusetts, MA Crash Intelligence Report: July 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-07-01 to 2022-07-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/statewide/july-2022-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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Massachusetts (Statewide) Crash Report — July 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com