Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

37 CRASHES IN
WELLESLEY, MA
FEBRUARY 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstFebruary 2022

In Wellesley, February 2023 saw a notable decrease in total crashes compared to February 2022, with 37 crashes recorded, down from 49, representing a 24.5% reduction. Despite this decrease, total injuries increased by 12.5%, rising from 8 to 9. A significant shift in primary contributing factors was observed, with 'No improper driving' decreasing substantially while 'Inattention' and 'Followed too closely' became the most frequent factors.

37

-24.5%was 49

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

9

12.5%was 8

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 · 2023-02-01 to 2023-02-28 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend for crashes in Wellesley was downward, with a 24.5% decrease in total crashes from 49 in February 2022 to 37 in February 2023. Conversely, total injuries experienced an upward trend, increasing by 12.5% from 8 to 9 over the same period.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — February 2023

-66.7% vs prior (3)

Hit-and-run crashes saw a significant decrease, falling from 3 incidents in February 2022 to 1 in February 2023. This resulted in the hit-and-run rate dropping from 6.1% to 2.7% year-over-year, indicating a downward trend in such incidents.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 0%

8

Motorists Injured

Prior: 80.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-02-01 to 2023-02-28 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes shifted from Wednesday in February 2022 (12 crashes) to Thursday and Friday in February 2023 (8 crashes each). Similarly, the peak hour changed from 5 PM (7 crashes) in the prior period to 2 PM (5 crashes) in the current period. Crashes on Sundays significantly decreased from 9 to 1 year-over-year.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-02-01 to 2023-02-28 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-02-01 to 2023-02-28 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatalities reported in either February 2022 or February 2023. While February 2022 recorded 1 serious injury, February 2023 reported none, though minor injuries increased from 3 to 6. The proportion of crashes resulting in 'No Injury' decreased slightly from 83.7% in the prior period to 78.4% in the current period.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury6minor injury crashes16.2%
100.0%prior 3
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes5.4%
-33.3%prior 3
No Injury29no injury crashes78.4%
-29.3%prior 41

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-02-01 to 2023-02-28 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-02-01 to 2023-02-28 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The count of crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' decreased significantly from 20 in February 2022 to 3 in February 2023, representing an 85% reduction. In contrast, 'Inattention' crashes doubled from 4 to 8, and 'Followed too closely' crashes increased from 7 to 8. 'Failed to yield right of way' also saw an increase in count from 2 to 4 crashes.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention8 (21.6%)
Followed too closely8 (21.6%)14.3%prior 7
Failed to yield right of way4 (10.8%)
No improper driving3 (8.1%)-85.0%prior 20
Over-correcting/over-steering2 (5.4%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (5.4%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner2 (5.4%)
Made an improper turn1 (2.7%)
Fatigued/asleep1 (2.7%)
Glare1 (2.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-02-01 to 2023-02-28 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes on dry road surfaces increased from 24 in February 2022 to 30 in February 2023, while crashes on wet surfaces decreased substantially from 13 to 2. Crashes during daylight hours decreased from 31 to 24, and those in 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions decreased from 14 to 12. Incidents on icy and snowy road surfaces also decreased year-over-year.

Weather

Clear24 (64.9%)
-4.0%prior 25
Cloudy4 (10.8%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)2 (5.4%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)2 (5.4%)
Clear/Unknown2 (5.4%)
Snow/Cloudy1 (2.7%)
Snow/Rain1 (2.7%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (2.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-02-01 to 2023-02-28 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight24 (64.9%)
-22.6%prior 31
Dark - lighted roadway12 (32.4%)
-14.3%prior 14
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (2.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-02-01 to 2023-02-28 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry30 (81.1%)
25.0%prior 24
Ice3 (8.1%)
-40.0%prior 5
Snow2 (5.4%)
-60.0%prior 5
Wet2 (5.4%)
-84.6%prior 13

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-02-01 to 2023-02-28 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes decreased by 22, from 92 in February 2022 to 70 in February 2023. Toyota remained the top make involved, though its count decreased from 16 to 13, and Honda's count decreased from 10 to 7. Notably, Mercedes-Benz vehicles involved increased from 1 to 6, while Jeep vehicles dropped out of the top makes list, decreasing from 8 to 1.

Top Vehicle Makes (70 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA13 (18.6%)
-18.8%prior 16
2
FORD8 (11.4%)
-20.0%prior 10
3
HONDA7 (10%)
-30.0%prior 10
4
MERCEDES-BENZ6 (8.6%)
5
VOLVO5 (7.1%)
6
BMW5 (7.1%)
7
NISSAN4 (5.7%)
8
LEXUS3 (4.3%)
9
HYUNDAI2 (2.9%)
10
SUBARU2 (2.9%)
-60.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-02-01 to 2023-02-28 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (71 persons with recorded sex)

Female36 (50.7%)
-14.3%prior 42
Male35 (49.3%)
-40.7%prior 59

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-02-01 to 2023-02-28 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 30 mph speed zone decreased by 10, from 21 in February 2022 to 11 in February 2023. Conversely, crashes in the 50 mph speed zone increased by 8, from 11 to 19. Crashes in 20 mph and 55 mph zones both decreased by 2 incidents each.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-02-01 to 2023-02-28 · 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: 2023-02-01 through 2023-02-28
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-02-01 through 2023-02-28 (28 days)
  • Geographic scope: WELLESLEY, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 37
  • Total persons involved: 78
  • Total vehicles involved: 70

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). "WELLESLEY, MA Crash Intelligence Report: February 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-02-01 to 2023-02-28. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/wellesley/february-2023-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

Wellesley, MA Crash Report — February 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com