ThatCarHitMe.com
An Injuria.ai Company
YEAR-OVER-YEAR CRASH REPORT · WALPOLE, MA · 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/walpole/2023-annual-report
Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis
372 CRASHES IN
WALPOLE, MA
2023
In 2023, Walpole recorded 372 total crashes, a slight increase from the 371 crashes reported in 2022. While the overall crash volume remained stable, the most significant year-over-year change was the elimination of traffic fatalities, which dropped from two in 2022 to zero in 2023. Concurrently, the total number of injuries reported in crashes rose from 85 to 122.
372
▲ 0.3%was 371
Total Crash Events
0
▼ -100.0%was 2
Persons Killed
122
▲ 43.5%was 85
Persons Injured
19
▲ 72.7%was 11
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. 4 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
The total number of crashes in Walpole remained nearly unchanged year-over-year, with 372 incidents in 2023 compared to 371 in 2022. However, the outcomes of these crashes shifted, with a 43.5% increase in total injuries from 85 to 122. In contrast, traffic fatalities were eliminated, decreasing from two in the prior year to zero in the current year.
19
Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2023
▲ 72.7% vs prior (11)
Hit-and-run incidents increased significantly in 2023 compared to the previous year. The number of hit-and-run crashes rose from 11 in 2022 to 19 in 2023, representing a 72.7% increase in count. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate, or the percentage of total crashes that were hit-and-runs, also trended upward, increasing from 3.0% to 5.1%.
Vulnerable Road User Casualties
0
Pedestrians Killed
0
Cyclists Killed
0
Motorists Killed
7
Pedestrians Injured
4
Cyclists Injured
111
Motorists Injured
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 timing of crashes showed some changes between the two periods. While the 5 p.m. hour remained the peak time for collisions in both 2022 (38 crashes) and 2023 (39 crashes), the peak day of the week shifted. In 2023, Wednesday became the most frequent day for crashes with 74 incidents, a change from 2022 when Thursday was the peak day with 65 incidents.
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 outcomes improved significantly, with fatal crashes decreasing from two in 2022 to zero in 2023. Despite this, the overall proportion of crashes resulting in an injury increased. The share of crashes involving minor injuries grew from 8.9% (33 crashes) in 2022 to 14.0% (52 crashes) in 2023, and the count of serious injury crashes increased from 5 to 6.
Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)
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
The top contributing factors cited in crashes remained consistent, with 'No improper driving,' 'Failed to yield right of way,' and 'Inattention' being the most common in both years. However, the number of crashes attributed to specific factors shifted notably. Crashes involving failure to yield the right of way increased by 54% in count, from 39 incidents in 2022 to 60 in 2023. The count of crashes involving erratic or reckless driving more than tripled, rising from 8 to 25.
Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause
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
The majority of crashes in both periods occurred in clear weather and during daylight on dry roads. In 2023, 77.2% of crashes happened on dry surfaces, compared to 78.2% in 2022. There was a noticeable increase in the proportion of crashes occurring on wet roads, which accounted for 18.5% of all incidents in 2023, up from 12.7% in the prior year.
Weather
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash
Lighting
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Lighting condition field
Road Surface
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 remained consistent year-over-year, with Toyota, Ford, and Honda being the top three most frequent makes in both 2022 and 2023. Analysis of persons involved shows a shift in age demographics. The number of individuals aged 0-15 involved in crashes increased from 57 in 2022 to 90 in 2023. Conversely, the number of persons in the 16-20 age group decreased from 108 to 91.
Top Vehicle Makes (675 vehicles)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records
39 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.
Sex Distribution (837 persons with recorded sex)
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
In 2023, there were no fatal crashes recorded in any speed zone, a significant improvement from 2022, which saw one fatality in a 35 mph zone and another in a 65 mph zone. The distribution of crashes across speed zones was largely stable, with the 30 mph zone having the highest number of incidents in both years (153 in 2023 vs. 151 in 2022). However, there was a notable increase in crashes within 25 mph zones, which rose from 12 incidents in 2022 to 22 in 2023.
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: WALPOLE, MA
- Total crash records analyzed: 372
- Total persons involved: 875
- Total vehicles involved: 675
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). "WALPOLE, 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/walpole/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
ThatCarHitMe.com · An Injuria.ai Company
ThatCarHitMe.com
An Injuria.ai Company
Crash Data Intelligence
Data: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly
Period: 2023-01-01 – 2023-12-31
Generated: June 21, 2026 · All rights reserved