Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

25 CRASHES IN
WAKEFIELD, MA
MARCH 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstMarch 2021

In March 2022, Wakefield recorded 25 crashes, an increase from the 21 crashes reported in March 2021, representing a 19.05% rise year-over-year. The total number of injuries saw a substantial increase, doubling from 3 injuries in March 2021 to 6 injuries in March 2022. This period also saw the emergence of serious injury crashes, with 2 recorded in March 2022 compared to none in the prior year.

25

19.0%was 21

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

6

100.0%was 3

Persons Injured

2

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 · 2022-03-01 to 2022-03-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash incidents in Wakefield showed an upward trend, with total crashes increasing by 19.05% from 21 in March 2021 to 25 in March 2022. Concurrently, the total number of reported injuries rose significantly by 100%, from 3 to 6, indicating a worsening outcome for those involved in crashes.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — March 2022

8.0% hit-and-run rate this period vs 0.0% prior. Prior period: 0.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 10.0%

5

Motorists Injured

Prior: 2150.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-03-01 to 2022-03-31 · 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 Saturday with 5 crashes in March 2021 to Wednesday with 6 crashes in March 2022. The peak crash hour also changed, moving from 12p with 4 crashes in the prior period to 7p with 5 crashes in the current period, suggesting a shift in high-risk times for incidents.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-03-01 to 2022-03-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-03-01 to 2022-03-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatal crashes or fatalities in either period. However, the severity distribution of injuries changed notably, with serious injury crashes increasing from 0 in March 2021 to 2 in March 2022. Minor injury crashes decreased from 3 to 2, while possible injury crashes increased from 0 to 1 year-over-year.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury2serious injury crashes8%
Minor Injury2minor injury crashes8%
-33.3%prior 3
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes4%
No Injury18no injury crashes72%
5.9%prior 17

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-03-01 to 2022-03-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-03-01 to 2022-03-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Contributing factors saw shifts, with 'No improper driving' increasing by 1 crash, from 5 to 6, a 20% rise. Conversely, 'Failed to yield right of way' decreased by 3 crashes, from 4 to 1, a 75% reduction. 'Distracted' driving emerged as a factor in March 2022, accounting for 2 crashes, while 'Followed too closely' was absent in the current period after being linked to 2 crashes in the prior year.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving6 (24%)20.0%prior 5
Distracted2 (8%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (8%)
History heart/epilepsy/fainting1 (4%)
Inattention1 (4%)
Glare1 (4%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (4%)
Failed to yield right of way1 (4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-03-01 to 2022-03-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Clear weather remained the dominant condition for crashes, increasing from 18 in March 2021 to 19 in March 2022. Crashes during rain increased from 0 to 3, and incidents on wet road surfaces increased from 2 to 3. There was also a new occurrence of crashes during snow/sleet conditions and on snowy road surfaces in March 2022, each with 1 incident.

Weather

Clear19 (76.0%)
5.6%prior 18
Rain3 (12.0%)
Cloudy2 (8.0%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (4.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-03-01 to 2022-03-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight20 (83.3%)
17.6%prior 17
Dark - lighted roadway4 (16.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-03-01 to 2022-03-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry20 (80.0%)
5.3%prior 19
Wet3 (12.0%)
Other1 (4.0%)
Snow1 (4.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-03-01 to 2022-03-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (40 vehicles)

1
JEEP4 (10%)
2
TOYOTA4 (10%)
-33.3%prior 6
3
SUBARU4 (10%)
4
FORD4 (10%)
5
HYUNDAI3 (7.5%)
6
FRHT3 (7.5%)
7
HONDA3 (7.5%)
-40.0%prior 5
8
GMC2 (5%)
9
ACURA1 (2.5%)
10
INFI1 (2.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-03-01 to 2022-03-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (41 persons with recorded sex)

Male25 (61.0%)
0.0%prior 25
Female16 (39.0%)
6.7%prior 15

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-03-01 to 2022-03-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes at 20 mph speed limits appeared in March 2022 with 5 incidents, as this speed limit was not reported in the prior period. The number of crashes at 25 mph, 30 mph, and 55 mph speed limits remained consistent year-over-year, each reporting the same count of crashes in both periods. No fatal crashes were reported across any speed zones in either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-03-01 to 2022-03-31 · 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: 2022-03-01 through 2022-03-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-03-01 through 2022-03-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: WAKEFIELD, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 25
  • Total persons involved: 46
  • Total vehicles involved: 40

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). "WAKEFIELD, MA Crash Intelligence Report: March 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-03-01 to 2022-03-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/wakefield/march-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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Wakefield, MA Crash Report — March 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com