Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

98 CRASHES IN
WELLFLEET, MA
2022

All metrics benchmarked against2021

In 2022, Wellfleet recorded 98 total traffic crashes, an 8.4% decrease from the 107 crashes documented in 2021. Despite the overall reduction in collisions and a 63% drop in injuries from 41 to 15, the most notable year-over-year shift was the occurrence of one fatal crash in 2022, whereas none were recorded in the prior year.

98

-8.4%was 107

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

15

-63.4%was 41

Persons Injured

5

400.0%was 1

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. 1 crash with unreported severity is not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall crash trend in Wellfleet shows a decrease in volume but an increase in severity. Total crashes fell by 8.4% from 107 to 98 year-over-year, and total injuries dropped significantly from 41 to 15. However, this downward trend in frequency is contrasted by an increase in fatalities, from zero in 2021 to one in 2022.

5

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2022

400.0% vs prior (1)

Hit-and-run crashes increased from 1 incident in 2021 to 5 in 2022. This represents a significant upward trend in the hit-and-run rate, which climbed from 0.9% of all crashes in the prior period to 5.1% in the current period.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

15

Motorists Injured

Prior: 41-63.4%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · 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 between the two periods. The peak day for crashes moved from Monday (18 crashes) in 2021 to Tuesday (22 crashes) in 2022. Similarly, the peak hour shifted earlier, from 3 PM in the prior year (13 crashes) to 1 PM in the current year (15 crashes).

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

While total crashes declined, severity worsened with the appearance of one fatal crash in 2022, compared to none in 2021. The proportion of crashes resulting in any injury (Serious, Minor, or Possible) decreased substantially, from accounting for 24.3% of all crashes in 2021 to 10.2% in 2022. Consequently, the share of no-injury crashes rose from 74.8% to 87.8% of the total.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes1%
Serious Injury2serious injury crashes2%
0.0%prior 2
Minor Injury4minor injury crashes4.1%
-75.0%prior 16
Possible Injury4possible injury crashes4.1%
-50.0%prior 8
No Injury86no injury crashes87.8%
7.5%prior 80

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The number of crashes attributed to 'Inattention' grew by 77%, from 13 incidents in 2021 to 23 in 2022, making it the most-cited improper driving factor in the current period. Crashes where drivers 'Failed to yield right of way' also increased in count from 4 to 7. Conversely, incidents involving 'Other improper action' decreased from 11 to 4, and 'Distracted' driving-related crashes fell from 8 to 2.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving26 (26.5%)-13.3%prior 30
Inattention23 (23.5%)76.9%prior 13
Failed to yield right of way7 (7.1%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner7 (7.1%)
Other improper action4 (4.1%)-63.6%prior 11
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road4 (4.1%)
Made an improper turn4 (4.1%)
Followed too closely3 (3.1%)-57.1%prior 7
Distracted2 (2%)-75.0%prior 8
Physical impairment2 (2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

In both 2021 and 2022, the vast majority of crashes occurred under favorable conditions. Crashes in daylight accounted for 82.2% of incidents in 2021 and 83.7% in 2022. Similarly, crashes on dry road surfaces made up 84.1% of the total in the prior year and 88.8% in the current year, showing no significant shift in the proportion of adverse-condition crashes.

Weather

Clear82 (84.5%)
-5.7%prior 87
Cloudy11 (11.3%)
0.0%prior 11
Fog, smog, smoke/Rain1 (1.0%)
Rain1 (1.0%)
Rain/Other1 (1.0%)
Snow/Severe crosswinds1 (1.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight82 (84.5%)
-6.8%prior 88
Dark - roadway not lighted6 (6.2%)
-25.0%prior 8
Dark - lighted roadway5 (5.2%)
0.0%prior 5
Dark - unknown roadway lighting2 (2.1%)
Dawn1 (1.0%)
Dusk1 (1.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry87 (90.6%)
-3.3%prior 90
Wet6 (6.3%)
-40.0%prior 10
Sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel2 (2.1%)
Snow1 (1.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Toyota was the most common vehicle make involved in crashes in both periods, though its count decreased from 44 in 2021 to 29 in 2022. The age demographics of persons involved in crashes also shifted; the 65+ age group's involvement fell from 56 individuals to 38, while the 55-64 age group became the largest cohort in 2022 with 41 individuals.

Top Vehicle Makes (172 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA29 (16.9%)
-34.1%prior 44
2
CHEVROLET19 (11%)
35.7%prior 14
3
HONDA18 (10.5%)
12.5%prior 16
4
FORD15 (8.7%)
-34.8%prior 23
5
SUBARU11 (6.4%)
57.1%prior 7
6
HYUNDAI7 (4.1%)
7
NISSAN6 (3.5%)
-33.3%prior 9
8
VOLKSWAGEN5 (2.9%)
9
KIA5 (2.9%)
10
CHRYSLER5 (2.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (219 persons with recorded sex)

Male110 (50.2%)
-19.1%prior 136
Female109 (49.8%)
5.8%prior 103

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

The distribution of crashes by speed zone remained consistent year-over-year, with 45 mph zones accounting for the highest number of incidents in both 2021 (47 crashes) and 2022 (49 crashes). The single fatal crash recorded in 2022 occurred within a 45 mph zone.

Fatal crashes by zone: 45 mph: 1 of 49 (2.041%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31 · 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: 2022-01-01 through 2022-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-01-01 through 2022-12-31 (365 days)
  • Geographic scope: WELLFLEET, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 98
  • Total persons involved: 231
  • Total vehicles involved: 172

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). "WELLFLEET, MA Crash Intelligence Report: 2022." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/wellfleet/2022-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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Wellfleet, MA Crash Report — 2022 | ThatCarHitMe.com