Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

327 CRASHES IN
WEBSTER, MA
2023

All metrics benchmarked against2022

In 2023, Webster recorded 327 total crashes, a 10.7% decrease from the 366 crashes documented in 2022. While overall collisions declined, the most significant change was a reduction in fatalities, which fell from 5 in the prior year to 2 in the current year.

327

-10.7%was 366

Total Crash Events

2

-60.0%was 5

Persons Killed

123

-6.1%was 131

Persons Injured

14

27.3%was 11

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (2) 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. 8 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

Crash data for Webster indicates a downward trend year-over-year. Total collisions fell by 10.7%, from 366 in 2022 to 327 in 2023. This trend included a 6.1% decrease in total injuries (from 131 to 123) and a 60% decrease in fatalities (from 5 to 2).

14

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2023

27.3% vs prior (11)

Hit-and-run incidents increased in both absolute count and as a proportion of total crashes. The number of hit-and-run crashes rose from 11 in 2022 to 14 in 2023. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate increased from 3.0% to 4.3% of all crashes year-over-year.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 1-100.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 1-100.0%

2

Motorists Killed

Prior: 3-33.3%

4

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 7-42.9%

2

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 20.0%

117

Motorists Injured

Prior: 121-3.3%

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

Temporal patterns show some shifts between the two periods. While Friday remained the peak day for crashes in both 2022 (69 crashes) and 2023 (63 crashes), the peak hour moved later in the day. In 2023, the highest number of crashes occurred during the 5 PM hour (46 crashes), a shift from the 3 PM peak hour (36 crashes) observed in the prior year.

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

The severity of crashes decreased year-over-year. The number of fatal crashes dropped from 4 in 2022 to 1 in 2023, reducing the fatal crash rate from 1.1% to 0.3% of all collisions. The number of crashes involving serious injuries was unchanged at 5 for both years. The proportion of crashes resulting in any injury remained stable, accounting for 28.1% of crashes in 2023 compared to 27.6% in 2022.

Severity is per crash event (most severe injury). 1 fatal crash events resulted in 2 persons killed.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes0.3%
-75.0%prior 4
Serious Injury5serious injury crashes1.5%
0.0%prior 5
Minor Injury62minor injury crashes19%
3.3%prior 60
Possible Injury25possible injury crashes7.6%
-30.6%prior 36
No Injury226no injury crashes69.1%
-9.2%prior 249

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

While 'Inattention' remained a consistent leading factor with 71 crashes in both 2022 and 2023, there were notable shifts in other driver behaviors. Crashes attributed to 'Failed to yield right of way' increased in count by 40.9%, from 22 to 31. Similarly, crashes involving 'Followed too closely' rose by 72.7% in count, from 11 to 19. The count for 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' also grew from 22 to 27 crashes.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving78 (23.9%)-28.4%prior 109
Inattention71 (21.7%)0.0%prior 71
Failed to yield right of way31 (9.5%)40.9%prior 22
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner27 (8.3%)22.7%prior 22
Followed too closely19 (5.8%)72.7%prior 11
Driving too fast for conditions15 (4.6%)150.0%prior 6
Other improper action9 (2.8%)80.0%prior 5
Distracted7 (2.1%)-58.8%prior 17
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway6 (1.8%)20.0%prior 5
Visibility obstructed6 (1.8%)

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 daylight on dry roads. However, there was a shift in the proportion of crashes occurring in adverse weather. In 2023, 12.5% of crashes happened during rain (41 crashes), nearly double the 6.6% share observed in 2022 (24 crashes). Correspondingly, the share of crashes on wet roads increased from 16.1% to 17.7%.

Weather

Clear229 (70.2%)
-15.8%prior 272
Rain41 (12.6%)
70.8%prior 24
Cloudy24 (7.4%)
-33.3%prior 36
Snow7 (2.1%)
40.0%prior 5
Cloudy/Rain5 (1.5%)
0.0%prior 5
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)5 (1.5%)
Rain/Cloudy3 (0.9%)
-40.0%prior 5
Cloudy/Snow3 (0.9%)
Fog, smog, smoke3 (0.9%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)2 (0.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight224 (68.7%)
-11.5%prior 253
Dark - lighted roadway55 (16.9%)
-12.7%prior 63
Dark - roadway not lighted18 (5.5%)
-5.3%prior 19
Dusk14 (4.3%)
7.7%prior 13
Dark - unknown roadway lighting10 (3.1%)
42.9%prior 7
Dawn5 (1.5%)
-37.5%prior 8

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry248 (76.1%)
-14.5%prior 290
Wet58 (17.8%)
-1.7%prior 59
Snow13 (4.0%)
85.7%prior 7
Slush4 (1.2%)
Ice2 (0.6%)
Water (standing, moving)1 (0.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The top three vehicle makes involved in crashes remained Toyota, Ford, and Honda in both 2022 and 2023. In the current year, Ford (82 vehicles) surpassed Honda (69 vehicles) for the second-most common make, while Toyota remained number one despite its count decreasing from 110 to 94. The age distribution of persons involved in crashes was also consistent, with the 26-34 age group representing the largest share in both periods.

Top Vehicle Makes (589 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA94 (16%)
-14.5%prior 110
2
FORD82 (13.9%)
17.1%prior 70
3
HONDA69 (11.7%)
-4.2%prior 72
4
CHEVROLET43 (7.3%)
-24.6%prior 57
5
NISSAN34 (5.8%)
-10.5%prior 38
6
HYUNDAI29 (4.9%)
-3.3%prior 30
7
JEEP29 (4.9%)
3.6%prior 28
8
SUBARU27 (4.6%)
-27.0%prior 37
9
KIA18 (3.1%)
20.0%prior 15
10
GMC17 (2.9%)
6.3%prior 16

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (680 persons with recorded sex)

Male366 (53.8%)
-8.0%prior 398
Female314 (46.2%)
-3.4%prior 325

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

There was a noticeable shift in where crashes occurred by speed zone. Collisions in 30 MPH zones decreased from 186 to 154, while crashes in 65 MPH zones increased from 28 to 35. The single fatal crash in 2023 occurred in a 65 MPH zone. This contrasts with the prior year, where fatal crashes were recorded in 30 MPH and 55 MPH zones.

Fatal crashes by zone: 65 mph: 1 of 35 (2.857%)

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: WEBSTER, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 327
  • Total persons involved: 750
  • Total vehicles involved: 589

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). "WEBSTER, 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/webster/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

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Webster, MA Crash Report — 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com