Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

40 CRASHES IN
SWANSEA, MA
AUGUST 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstAugust 2023

In August 2024, Swansea experienced 40 crashes, a decrease of 23.1% compared to the 52 crashes in August 2023. Despite fewer crashes overall, the total number of injuries increased by 31.8%, rising from 22 to 29.

40

▼ -23.1%was 52

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

29

▲ 31.8%was 22

Persons Injured

1

▼ -80.0%was 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.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Total crashes in Swansea decreased by 23.1%, from 52 incidents in August 2023 to 40 in August 2024. Fatalities remained at zero in both periods. However, the total number of injuries increased from 22 to 29, representing a 31.8% rise year-over-year.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — August 2024

▼ -80.0% vs prior (5)

Hit-and-run crashes decreased significantly, from 5 incidents in August 2023 to 1 incident in August 2024. This reduction led to the hit-and-run rate falling from 9.6% of total crashes to 2.5% of total crashes.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0→0.0%

29

Motorists Injured

Prior: 22↑31.8%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · 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 with 10 incidents in August 2023 to Thursday with 12 incidents in August 2024. Similarly, the peak hour for crashes changed from 12 PM with 7 crashes in August 2023 to 4 PM with 6 crashes in August 2024.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes remained at 0 in both August 2023 and August 2024. While August 2023 recorded 1 serious injury crash (1.9% of total), August 2024 had none. Total injuries, however, increased from 22 in August 2023 to 29 in August 2024, an increase of 31.8%.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury12minor injury crashes30%
↑33.3%prior 9
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes5%
↓-60.0%prior 5
No Injury26no injury crashes65%
↓-25.7%prior 35

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The contributing factor 'Failed to yield right of way' saw a significant decrease, from 16 crashes in August 2023 to 7 crashes in August 2024. Conversely, crashes attributed to 'Followed too closely' increased from 8 incidents to 11 incidents year-over-year. 'No improper driving' also decreased, from 9 crashes to 4 crashes.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Followed too closely11 (27.5%)↑37.5%prior 8
Failed to yield right of way7 (17.5%)↓-56.3%prior 16
Inattention5 (12.5%)→0.0%prior 5
No improper driving4 (10%)↓-55.6%prior 9
Made an improper turn2 (5%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings2 (5%)
Other improper action2 (5%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (2.5%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit1 (2.5%)
Wrong side or wrong way1 (2.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Clear weather conditions were associated with the majority of crashes in both periods, with 35 crashes in August 2024 compared to 37 in August 2023. The number of crashes occurring on wet road surfaces decreased from 7 in August 2023 to 4 in August 2024. Daylight remained the predominant lighting condition for crashes, accounting for 32 incidents in August 2024 and 42 in August 2023.

Weather

Clear35 (87.5%)
↓-5.4%prior 37
Cloudy2 (5.0%)
↓-66.7%prior 6
Clear/Cloudy1 (2.5%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (2.5%)
Rain1 (2.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight32 (80.0%)
↓-23.8%prior 42
Dark - lighted roadway6 (15.0%)
→0.0%prior 6
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (5.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry36 (90.0%)
↓-18.2%prior 44
Wet4 (10.0%)
↓-42.9%prior 7

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The number of persons aged 16-20 involved in crashes decreased from 21 in August 2023 to 17 in August 2024, while persons aged 65 and older decreased from 21 to 11. Among vehicle makes, Toyota remained a top make, though its involvement in crashes decreased from 19 to 10. Honda maintained a consistent involvement of 10 crashes in both years.

Top Vehicle Makes (82 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA10 (12.2%)
↓-47.4%prior 19
2
HONDA10 (12.2%)
→0.0%prior 10
3
NISSAN8 (9.8%)
↑60.0%prior 5
4
FORD8 (9.8%)
↓-11.1%prior 9
5
JEEP8 (9.8%)
6
VOLKSWAGEN6 (7.3%)
7
HYUNDAI5 (6.1%)
8
KIA4 (4.9%)
9
SUBARU3 (3.7%)
10
GMC3 (3.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (105 persons with recorded sex)

Male56 (53.3%)
→0.0%prior 56
Female49 (46.7%)
↓-9.3%prior 54

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

The 40 mph speed limit zone continued to have the highest number of crashes, decreasing from 17 in August 2023 to 13 in August 2024. Crashes in the 35 mph zone also decreased, from 11 to 8. No fatal crashes were recorded in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · 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: 2024-08-01 through 2024-08-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-08-01 through 2024-08-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: SWANSEA, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 40
  • Total persons involved: 113
  • Total vehicles involved: 82

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). "SWANSEA, MA Crash Intelligence Report: August 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/swansea/august-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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Swansea, MA Crash Report — August 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com