ThatCarHitMe.com
An Injuria.ai Company
YEAR-OVER-YEAR CRASH REPORT · TAUNTON, MA · AUGUST 2023
Purpose: Machine-readable JSON endpoint for AI agents, LLMs, researchers, and programmatic consumers. Returns all underlying crash data and AI-generated commentary without HTML.
Authentication: None required. Public endpoint.
GET: https://thatcarhitme.com/api/crash-data/reports/data/massachusetts/taunton/august-2023-report
Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis
173 CRASHES IN
TAUNTON, MA
AUGUST 2023
Total crashes in August 2023 were 173, an increase of 4.21% from the 166 crashes recorded in August 2022. While fatalities remained at zero in both periods, total injuries rose significantly by 96.43%, from 28 to 55.
173
▲ 4.2%was 166
Total Crash Events
0
Persons Killed
55
▲ 96.4%was 28
Persons Injured
24
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. 15 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records
Trend Summary
Overall crash activity in August 2023 increased compared to the prior year, with total crashes rising by 4.21% from 166 to 173. Fatalities remained unchanged at zero, but total injuries nearly doubled, increasing by 96.43% from 28 to 55. This indicates a notable increase in injury-involved crashes despite a smaller rise in overall crash volume.
24
Hit-and-Run Crashes — August 2023
▼ 0.0% vs prior (24)
The number of hit-and-run crashes remained stable at 24 incidents in both August 2022 and August 2023. However, due to an increase in total crashes, the hit-and-run rate slightly decreased from 14.5% in August 2022 to 13.9% in August 2023.
Vulnerable Road User Casualties
0
Cyclists Killed
0
Motorists Killed
2
Cyclists Injured
53
Motorists Injured
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · 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 Tuesday in August 2022 (33 crashes) to Thursday in August 2023 (38 crashes), representing an 90% increase in Thursday crashes from 20 to 38. The peak hour remained consistent at 4 PM in both periods, with crashes at this hour increasing from 19 in August 2022 to 22 in August 2023.
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)
Crash Severity Breakdown
While both periods reported zero fatal crashes, the severity distribution of injuries changed notably year-over-year. Serious injury crashes, coded 'A', were recorded in August 2023 with 3 incidents, whereas none were reported in August 2022. Minor injury crashes (code 'B') increased from 20 (12% share) to 28 (16.2% share), and possible injury crashes (code 'C') saw a substantial rise from 2 (1.2% share) to 9 (5.2% share).
Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · KABCO injury classification scale
Severity Distribution (Crash Events)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Most severe injury per crash record
Top Contributing Factors
Failed to yield right of way emerged as the top contributing factor in August 2023 with 30 crashes, a 130.77% increase from 13 crashes in August 2022. Conversely, Inattention significantly decreased, dropping from 36 crashes in August 2022 to 19 crashes in August 2023, and No improper driving also saw a reduction from 32 crashes to 26 crashes.
Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash
Road & Environmental Conditions
In August 2023, crashes occurring in Daylight conditions decreased by 9 incidents, from 136 to 127, while those in Dark - lighted roadway conditions increased by 8 incidents, from 21 to 29. Clear/Clear weather conditions saw a slight increase of 5 crashes, from 61 to 66. Crashes on Dry road surfaces increased by 8 incidents, from 143 to 151.
Weather
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Weather condition at time of crash
Lighting
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Lighting condition field
Road Surface
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Road surface condition field
Vehicles & Demographics
The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased from 301 in August 2022 to 320 in August 2023. Toyota remained the top vehicle make in both periods, with its involvement increasing from 51 to 55 vehicles, while Chevrolet saw a notable increase from 29 to 36 vehicles. The 35-44 age group experienced the largest increase in persons involved, rising from 65 to 84, and the 21-25 age group also saw a significant increase from 31 to 44.
Top Vehicle Makes (320 vehicles)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Vehicle unit records
50 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.
Sex Distribution (347 persons with recorded sex)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events
Speed Limit Zones
Crashes in 30 MPH speed zones increased by 13 incidents, from 48 in August 2022 to 61 in August 2023. Similarly, crashes in 35 MPH zones rose by 6 incidents, from 14 to 20, and those in 65 MPH zones increased by 3 incidents, from 11 to 14. No fatal crashes were reported in any speed zone during either period.
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31 · 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: 2023-08-01 through 2023-08-31
- Report generated: June 21, 2026
Data Coverage
- Reporting period: 2023-08-01 through 2023-08-31 (31 days)
- Geographic scope: TAUNTON, MA
- Total crash records analyzed: 173
- Total persons involved: 404
- Total vehicles involved: 320
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). "TAUNTON, MA Crash Intelligence Report: August 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-08-01 to 2023-08-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/taunton/august-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
ThatCarHitMe.com · An Injuria.ai Company
ThatCarHitMe.com
An Injuria.ai Company
Crash Data Intelligence
Data: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly
Period: 2023-08-01 – 2023-08-31
Generated: June 21, 2026 · All rights reserved