Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

74 CRASHES IN
STOW, MA
2023

All metrics benchmarked against2022

In 2023, Stow recorded 74 total traffic crashes, a 9.8% decrease from the 82 crashes reported in 2022. While total crashes and injuries saw a slight decline, the most significant change was the elimination of serious injury crashes, which dropped from 4 in the prior year to zero in the current period.

74

-9.8%was 82

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

24

-4.0%was 25

Persons Injured

2

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. 2 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall traffic safety trends in Stow showed a slight improvement from 2022 to 2023. Total crashes decreased by 9.8%, from 82 to 74, and the number of injuries fell slightly from 25 to 24. Fatalities remained at zero for both periods, indicating stable outcomes for the most severe crash types.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2023

100.0% vs prior (1)

Hit-and-run incidents in Stow increased from 2022 to 2023. The number of hit-and-run crashes doubled, rising from 1 to 2. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate as a percentage of total crashes also increased, moving from 1.2% in the prior year to 2.7% in the current year.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 0%

23

Motorists Injured

Prior: 25-8.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes shifted between 2022 and 2023. The peak day for crashes moved from Friday, which saw 21 incidents in 2022, to Thursday with 17 incidents in 2023. Similarly, the peak hour for incidents changed from the 5 PM evening commute, with 11 crashes in 2022, to midday at 12 PM with 7 crashes in 2023.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Crash severity saw a notable improvement from 2022 to 2023, with zero fatal or serious injury crashes recorded in 2023, down from 4 serious injury crashes in the prior year. The proportion of crashes resulting in 'Possible Injury' increased from 9.8% to 17.6% of all incidents. Conversely, the share of 'No Injury' crashes decreased from 75.6% in 2022 to 70.3% in 2023.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury7minor injury crashes9.5%
0.0%prior 7
Possible Injury13possible injury crashes17.6%
62.5%prior 8
No Injury52no injury crashes70.3%
-16.1%prior 62

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

In both 2022 and 2023, 'No improper driving' was the most cited factor, though its count decreased by 36% from 25 to 16 incidents. 'Inattention' remained a leading factor, increasing slightly from 10 to 11 crashes. Notably, crashes attributed to 'Followed too closely' increased from 1 to 4, and incidents involving fatigued or asleep drivers doubled from 2 to 4.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving16 (21.6%)-36.0%prior 25
Inattention11 (14.9%)10.0%prior 10
Failed to yield right of way8 (10.8%)0.0%prior 8
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway5 (6.8%)-16.7%prior 6
Followed too closely4 (5.4%)
Fatigued/asleep4 (5.4%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner3 (4.1%)-40.0%prior 5
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (2.7%)-60.0%prior 5
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings2 (2.7%)
Driving too fast for conditions2 (2.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

While crashes in both years predominantly occurred in clear, dry, daylight conditions, there was a shift toward more adverse conditions in 2023. The proportion of crashes on wet roads increased from 11.0% to 17.6% year-over-year. Similarly, crashes in darkness on lighted roadways rose from 11.0% of the total in 2022 to 20.3% in 2023.

Weather

Clear46 (63.0%)
-19.3%prior 57
Cloudy7 (9.6%)
Cloudy/Rain4 (5.5%)
Rain4 (5.5%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)3 (4.1%)
Rain/Cloudy2 (2.7%)
Clear/Unknown2 (2.7%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)2 (2.7%)
Snow2 (2.7%)
Snow/Cloudy1 (1.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight47 (64.4%)
-20.3%prior 59
Dark - lighted roadway15 (20.5%)
66.7%prior 9
Dark - roadway not lighted7 (9.6%)
40.0%prior 5
Dusk3 (4.1%)
-50.0%prior 6
Dawn1 (1.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry49 (67.1%)
-19.7%prior 61
Wet13 (17.8%)
44.4%prior 9
Snow5 (6.8%)
-16.7%prior 6
Slush3 (4.1%)
Ice2 (2.7%)
-60.0%prior 5
Water (standing, moving)1 (1.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The makes of vehicles involved in crashes saw a significant change, with Toyota's involvement decreasing by 53% from 30 vehicles in 2022 to 14 in 2023, and Ford's dropping by 52% from 21 to 10. In 2023, Honda tied Toyota as the most common make with 14 vehicles. Regarding persons involved, the 21-25 age group saw increased representation, growing from 13 to 20 individuals, while the 16-20 and 65+ age groups saw decreased involvement.

Top Vehicle Makes (115 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA14 (12.2%)
-53.3%prior 30
2
HONDA14 (12.2%)
16.7%prior 12
3
CHEVROLET13 (11.3%)
0.0%prior 13
4
FORD10 (8.7%)
-52.4%prior 21
5
NISSAN6 (5.2%)
-25.0%prior 8
6
VOLKSWAGEN6 (5.2%)
7
SUBARU5 (4.3%)
-16.7%prior 6
8
ACURA4 (3.5%)
9
KIA4 (3.5%)
10
VOLVO3 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (130 persons with recorded sex)

Male66 (50.8%)
-32.0%prior 97
Female64 (49.2%)
-1.5%prior 65

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

The distribution of crashes across speed zones remained broadly consistent, with the 35 mph zone accounting for the most incidents in 2023 at 21 crashes, up slightly from 20 in the prior year. A notable change occurred in 40 mph zones, where crashes decreased by 39% from 18 incidents in 2022 to 11 in 2023. There were no fatal crashes recorded in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · 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: 2023-01-01 through 2023-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-01-01 through 2023-12-31 (365 days)
  • Geographic scope: STOW, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 74
  • Total persons involved: 138
  • Total vehicles involved: 115

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). "STOW, MA Crash Intelligence Report: 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/stow/2023-annual-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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Stow, MA Crash Report — 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com