Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

125 CRASHES IN
WALTHAM, MA
JANUARY 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstJanuary 2021

In January 2022, Waltham experienced 125 crashes, a 38.9% increase from the 90 crashes recorded in January 2021. This period also saw a notable shift with 1 fatality, compared to 0 fatalities in the prior year.

125

38.9%was 90

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

23

9.5%was 21

Persons Injured

22

10.0%was 20

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (1) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (1) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities. 12 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crashes in Waltham are trending upwards year-over-year, with a substantial increase from 90 crashes in January 2021 to 125 crashes in January 2022. This represents a 38.9% rise in total crash incidents.

22

Hit-and-Run Crashes — January 2022

10.0% vs prior (20)

The number of hit-and-run crashes increased from 20 in January 2021 to 22 in January 2022. Despite this increase in raw count, the hit-and-run rate decreased from 22.2% of all crashes in the prior period to 17.6% in the current period.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

2

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 3-33.3%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 0%

20

Motorists Injured

Prior: 1811.1%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes remained Friday in both periods, with crashes on this day increasing from 18 in January 2021 to 27 in January 2022. The peak hour for crashes shifted from 5 PM with 8 crashes in the prior period to 2 PM with 11 crashes in the current period.

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

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

Crash Severity Breakdown

The number of fatal crashes increased from 0 in January 2021 to 1 in January 2022. Total injuries rose slightly from 21 to 23 year-over-year. While serious injury crashes remained constant at 9 in both periods, possible injury crashes decreased from 11 to 8.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes0.8%
Serious Injury9serious injury crashes7.2%
0.0%prior 9
Minor Injury2minor injury crashes1.6%
Possible Injury8possible injury crashes6.4%
-27.3%prior 11
No Injury93no injury crashes74.4%
55.0%prior 60

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

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

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

Top Contributing Factors

Crashes where 'No improper driving' was cited increased from 15 in January 2021 to 25 in January 2022. 'Inattention' as a contributing factor more than doubled, rising from 11 crashes to 22 crashes year-over-year. 'Failed to yield right of way' also saw a notable increase, from 7 crashes to 13 crashes.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving25 (20%)66.7%prior 15
Inattention22 (17.6%)100.0%prior 11
Failed to yield right of way13 (10.4%)85.7%prior 7
Driving too fast for conditions8 (6.4%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner8 (6.4%)33.3%prior 6
Followed too closely6 (4.8%)20.0%prior 5
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings4 (3.2%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (1.6%)-66.7%prior 6
Over-correcting/over-steering2 (1.6%)
Wrong side or wrong way2 (1.6%)

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

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in clear weather conditions increased from 63 to 83, while those on dry road surfaces rose from 70 to 90. Crashes during daylight hours significantly increased from 37 to 82, contrasting with a decrease in crashes on dark, lighted roadways from 45 to 38. Notably, crashes on snowy road surfaces increased from 8 to 17, and on icy surfaces from 1 to 5.

Weather

Clear83 (68.0%)
31.7%prior 63
Cloudy18 (14.8%)
63.6%prior 11
Snow7 (5.7%)
-12.5%prior 8
Snow/Cloudy3 (2.5%)
Rain2 (1.6%)
Cloudy/Rain2 (1.6%)
Snow/Snow1 (0.8%)
Clear/Clear1 (0.8%)
Clear/Cloudy1 (0.8%)
Cloudy/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (0.8%)

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

Lighting

Daylight82 (65.6%)
121.6%prior 37
Dark - lighted roadway38 (30.4%)
-15.6%prior 45
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (1.6%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (0.8%)
Dawn1 (0.8%)
Dusk1 (0.8%)

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

Road Surface

Dry90 (72.0%)
28.6%prior 70
Snow17 (13.6%)
112.5%prior 8
Wet12 (9.6%)
50.0%prior 8
Ice5 (4.0%)
Slush1 (0.8%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

The top three vehicle makes involved in crashes remained Toyota, Honda, and Ford, all experiencing increased involvement year-over-year. Toyota increased from 33 to 44 vehicles, Honda from 19 to 22, and Ford from 11 to 21. The 26-34 age group saw a rise in persons involved from 34 to 49, and the 65+ age group increased from 16 to 29 persons.

Top Vehicle Makes (237 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA44 (18.6%)
33.3%prior 33
2
HONDA22 (9.3%)
15.8%prior 19
3
FORD21 (8.9%)
90.9%prior 11
4
NISSAN10 (4.2%)
5
CHEVROLET9 (3.8%)
0.0%prior 9
6
JEEP7 (3%)
7
BMW5 (2.1%)
8
AUDI5 (2.1%)
9
DODGE5 (2.1%)
10
HYUNDAI4 (1.7%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (219 persons with recorded sex)

Male138 (63.0%)
58.6%prior 87
Female81 (37.0%)
28.6%prior 63

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

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 30 mph speed zones increased from 68 in January 2021 to 91 in January 2022. Crashes in 55 mph speed zones also rose, from 6 to 15 year-over-year. Notably, the current period recorded 1 fatal crash in a 55 mph zone, whereas no fatal crashes occurred in this speed zone during the prior period.

Fatal crashes by zone: 55 mph: 1 of 15 (6.667%)

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

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-01-01 through 2022-01-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: WALTHAM, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 125
  • Total persons involved: 270
  • Total vehicles involved: 237

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). "WALTHAM, MA Crash Intelligence Report: January 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/waltham/january-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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Waltham, MA Crash Report — January 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com