Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

38 CRASHES IN
WALPOLE, MA
APRIL 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstApril 2023

In April 2024, Walpole experienced 38 total crashes, an 18.8% increase compared to the 32 crashes recorded in April 2023. Total injuries also rose by 33.3%, from 12 to 16. A notable shift was the complete elimination of DUI-related crashes, decreasing from 2 in April 2023 to 0 in April 2024.

38

18.8%was 32

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

16

33.3%was 12

Persons Injured

1

-66.7%was 3

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 · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash data for April 2024 indicates an upward trend in crash incidents in Walpole compared to the previous year. Total crashes increased by 18.8%, rising from 32 in April 2023 to 38 in April 2024. This increase was accompanied by a 33.3% rise in total injuries, from 12 to 16.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — April 2024

-66.7% vs prior (3)

Hit-and-run incidents saw a decrease in April 2024 compared to the prior year. The number of hit-and-run crashes decreased by 66.7%, from 3 in April 2023 to 1 in April 2024. This resulted in the hit-and-run rate decreasing from 9.4% to 2.6% year-over-year.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 2-50.0%

15

Motorists Injured

Prior: 966.7%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes showed some shifts year-over-year. While Thursday remained the peak day for crashes in both periods, with 8 crashes in April 2024 and 7 in April 2023, the peak hour changed. In April 2024, the peak hour was 1 p.m. with 8 crashes, shifting from 4 p.m. with 5 crashes in April 2023.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes remained at zero in both April 2023 and April 2024. Total injuries increased by 33.3%, from 12 in April 2023 to 16 in April 2024. The proportion of crashes resulting in minor injuries decreased from 25% (8 crashes) in April 2023 to 15.8% (6 crashes) in April 2024, while crashes with possible injuries increased from 9.4% (3 crashes) to 13.2% (5 crashes).

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury6minor injury crashes15.8%
-25.0%prior 8
Possible Injury5possible injury crashes13.2%
66.7%prior 3
No Injury27no injury crashes71.1%
28.6%prior 21

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Analysis of contributing factors reveals significant changes year-over-year. Crashes attributed to 'Inattention' increased by 200%, rising from 3 in April 2023 to 9 in April 2024, making it the top factor in the current period. Conversely, crashes with 'No improper driving' as a factor decreased by 58.3%, from 12 to 5, and 'Failed to yield right of way' crashes increased by 40%, from 5 to 7.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention9 (23.7%)
Failed to yield right of way7 (18.4%)40.0%prior 5
No improper driving5 (13.2%)-58.3%prior 12
Distracted2 (5.3%)
Other improper action2 (5.3%)
Followed too closely2 (5.3%)
Made an improper turn1 (2.6%)
Over-correcting/over-steering1 (2.6%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (2.6%)
Visibility obstructed1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crash conditions saw a notable shift towards adverse weather and road surfaces. The proportion of crashes occurring in clear weather decreased significantly from 90.6% (29 crashes) in April 2023 to 57.9% (22 crashes) in April 2024. Correspondingly, crashes on wet road surfaces increased from 6.3% (2 crashes) to 23.7% (9 crashes), and crashes on slushy surfaces appeared in April 2024 with 2 incidents, compared to none in the prior year.

Weather

Clear22 (57.9%)
-24.1%prior 29
Rain4 (10.5%)
Rain/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)4 (10.5%)
Clear/Cloudy2 (5.3%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)2 (5.3%)
Cloudy2 (5.3%)
Cloudy/Clear1 (2.6%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight31 (81.6%)
29.2%prior 24
Dark - lighted roadway4 (10.5%)
-20.0%prior 5
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (2.6%)
Dawn1 (2.6%)
Dusk1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry27 (71.1%)
-10.0%prior 30
Wet9 (23.7%)
Slush2 (5.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased by 21.4%, from 56 in April 2023 to 68 in April 2024. Toyota remained a top make, though its count decreased slightly from 12 to 11, while Honda vehicles involved in crashes increased from 5 to 9. The age distribution of persons involved showed an increase in the 26-34 age group (from 5 to 16) and the 65+ age group (from 9 to 16), while the 16-20 age group decreased from 12 to 8.

Top Vehicle Makes (68 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA11 (16.2%)
-8.3%prior 12
2
HONDA9 (13.2%)
80.0%prior 5
3
FORD8 (11.8%)
60.0%prior 5
4
NISSAN5 (7.4%)
-16.7%prior 6
5
HYUNDAI5 (7.4%)
6
CHEVROLET3 (4.4%)
7
JEEP3 (4.4%)
8
LEXUS3 (4.4%)
9
TESL2 (2.9%)
10
MERCEDES-BENZ2 (2.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (88 persons with recorded sex)

Female48 (54.5%)
65.5%prior 29
Male40 (45.5%)
5.3%prior 38

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes occurring in 30 mph zones increased from 15 in April 2023 to 18 in April 2024. Conversely, crashes in 35 mph zones decreased from 7 to 4, and those in 65 mph zones decreased from 4 to 1. New crash occurrences were noted in 40 mph (7 crashes) and 50 mph (2 crashes) zones in April 2024, which had no recorded crashes in the prior period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · 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: 2024-04-01 through 2024-04-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-04-01 through 2024-04-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: WALPOLE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 38
  • Total persons involved: 89
  • Total vehicles involved: 68

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: April 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/walpole/april-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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Walpole, MA Crash Report — April 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com