Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

549 CRASHES IN
WAREHAM, MA
2024

All metrics benchmarked against2023

In 2024, Wareham recorded 549 total traffic crashes, a 2.8% decrease from the 565 crashes reported in 2023. While overall crashes saw a slight decline, the most significant year-over-year change was a reduction in traffic-related fatalities, which fell from 5 in 2023 to 2 in 2024.

549

-2.8%was 565

Total Crash Events

2

-60.0%was 5

Persons Killed

213

-0.5%was 214

Persons Injured

7

-22.2%was 9

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (2) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (2) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities. 7 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Traffic crashes in Wareham showed a slight downward trend, decreasing by 2.8% from 565 in 2023 to 549 in 2024. This overall stability was also reflected in the number of injuries, which remained nearly unchanged at 213 compared to 214 in the prior year. However, the number of fatalities saw a more substantial decrease, dropping from 5 to 2.

7

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2024

-22.2% vs prior (9)

The number of hit-and-run incidents in Wareham decreased from 9 in 2023 to 7 in 2024. This decline was also reflected in the hit-and-run rate, which fell from 1.6% of all crashes in the prior year to 1.3% in the current year, indicating a slight downward trend for this crash type.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 1-100.0%

2

Motorists Killed

Prior: 4-50.0%

2

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 5-60.0%

4

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 40.0%

207

Motorists Injured

Prior: 2051.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes shifted slightly between the two periods. In 2024, the day with the most crashes was Friday with 96 incidents, a change from Wednesday (91 incidents) in 2023. The peak hour for crashes also moved slightly later in the afternoon, from the 3 p.m. hour in 2023 (48 crashes) to the 4 p.m. hour in 2024 (57 crashes).

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

The severity of crashes saw mixed changes year-over-year. The fatal crash rate decreased from 0.71% of all crashes in 2023 to 0.36% in 2024, corresponding to a drop from 4 fatal crashes to 2. Conversely, the number of crashes resulting in serious injuries increased from 18 to 24, raising their share of total crashes from 3.2% to 4.4%. The proportion of crashes with minor or no injuries remained relatively stable across both years.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal2fatal crashes0.4%
-50.0%prior 4
Serious Injury24serious injury crashes4.4%
33.3%prior 18
Minor Injury99minor injury crashes18%
-4.8%prior 104
Possible Injury35possible injury crashes6.4%
-16.7%prior 42
No Injury382no injury crashes69.6%
-3.3%prior 395

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The leading contributing factors for crashes remained consistent, with 'Inattention' and 'No improper driving' being the top two reported factors in both years. The count of crashes attributed to 'Inattention' increased from 102 in 2023 to 115 in 2024. In contrast, crashes involving 'Failed to yield right of way' decreased in count from 56 to 37. Notably, incidents where a driver 'Followed too closely' increased from 15 crashes in 2023 to 28 in 2024.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving195 (35.5%)-2.0%prior 199
Inattention115 (20.9%)12.7%prior 102
Failed to yield right of way37 (6.7%)-33.9%prior 56
Followed too closely28 (5.1%)86.7%prior 15
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner22 (4%)-15.4%prior 26
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway21 (3.8%)10.5%prior 19
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road18 (3.3%)-10.0%prior 20
Distracted11 (2%)57.1%prior 7
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings9 (1.6%)-30.8%prior 13
Other improper action8 (1.5%)-52.9%prior 17

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes in 2024 were more concentrated during daylight hours, accounting for 74.0% of all incidents (406 crashes), compared to 65.3% in 2023 (369 crashes). Correspondingly, crashes in dark conditions, both on lighted and unlighted roadways, saw a decrease in count. The proportion of crashes on dry road surfaces was the dominant condition and remained stable at 81.1% in 2024 versus 79.1% in 2023. Crashes during rainy conditions remained nearly unchanged, with 45 incidents in 2024 compared to 43 in the prior year.

Weather

Clear350 (64.3%)
-6.2%prior 373
Rain45 (8.3%)
4.7%prior 43
Cloudy39 (7.2%)
-20.4%prior 49
Clear/Unknown30 (5.5%)
-11.8%prior 34
Clear/Cloudy18 (3.3%)
Snow14 (2.6%)
0.0%prior 14
Clear/Other9 (1.7%)
Rain/Cloudy7 (1.3%)
40.0%prior 5
Cloudy/Unknown6 (1.1%)
20.0%prior 5
Clear/Clear6 (1.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight406 (74.1%)
10.0%prior 369
Dark - lighted roadway66 (12.0%)
-32.0%prior 97
Dark - roadway not lighted46 (8.4%)
-30.3%prior 66
Dusk14 (2.6%)
-12.5%prior 16
Dawn11 (2.0%)
-21.4%prior 14
Dark - unknown roadway lighting5 (0.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry445 (81.1%)
-0.4%prior 447
Wet79 (14.4%)
-15.1%prior 93
Snow12 (2.2%)
33.3%prior 9
Slush10 (1.8%)
Sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel2 (0.4%)
Ice1 (0.2%)
-92.9%prior 14

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The most common vehicle makes involved in crashes remained consistent year-over-year, with Toyota, Ford, Honda, and Chevrolet leading in both periods. The number of Toyotas involved in crashes increased from 136 in 2023 to 152 in 2024, while Nissans saw a decrease from 82 to 71. Analysis of persons involved in crashes shows a stable age distribution, with the 65+ and 26-34 age groups remaining the two largest cohorts in both years, with 193 and 188 individuals respectively in 2024.

Top Vehicle Makes (971 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA152 (15.7%)
11.8%prior 136
2
FORD124 (12.8%)
2.5%prior 121
3
CHEVROLET94 (9.7%)
1.1%prior 93
4
HONDA94 (9.7%)
6.8%prior 88
5
NISSAN71 (7.3%)
-13.4%prior 82
6
GMC49 (5%)
14.0%prior 43
7
JEEP46 (4.7%)
-14.8%prior 54
8
HYUNDAI36 (3.7%)
-5.3%prior 38
9
SUBARU33 (3.4%)
3.1%prior 32
10
KIA26 (2.7%)
0.0%prior 26

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (1,122 persons with recorded sex)

Male633 (56.4%)
-2.3%prior 648
Female489 (43.6%)
0.4%prior 487

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes remained most prevalent in the 35 mph speed zone in both years, though the count decreased from 219 in 2023 to 205 in 2024; each year recorded one fatal crash in this zone. A notable change occurred in the 25 mph zone, where crashes decreased from 65 to 56, and the number of fatal crashes dropped from two in 2023 to zero in 2024. Crashes in the 65 mph zone also saw a reduction from 86 to 76, with no fatalities in either period.

Fatal crashes by zone: 35 mph: 1 of 205 (0.488%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · 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: 2024-01-01 through 2024-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-01-01 through 2024-12-31 (366 days)
  • Geographic scope: WAREHAM, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 549
  • Total persons involved: 1,190
  • Total vehicles involved: 971

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). "WAREHAM, MA Crash Intelligence Report: 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/wareham/2024-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

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Wareham, MA Crash Report — 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com