Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

11 CRASHES IN
WELLFLEET, MA
SEPTEMBER 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstSeptember 2022

In September 2023, WELLFLEET experienced 11 crashes, a substantial increase compared to the 4 crashes reported in September 2022, representing a 175% rise. This period saw a notable increase in total injuries, climbing from 3 in the prior year to 11 in the current period. The most significant shift was the overall increase in crash volume and associated injuries, with no fatalities recorded in either period.

11

175.0%was 4

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

11

266.7%was 3

Persons Injured

0

Fatal Crash Events

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 · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash data for WELLFLEET shows a significant upward trend year-over-year, with total crashes increasing from 4 in September 2022 to 11 in September 2023. This represents a 175% increase in the number of reported crashes. Concurrently, the number of injured persons also rose sharply from 3 to 11, indicating a worsening safety trend.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 0%

10

Motorists Injured

Prior: 3233.3%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · 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 Saturday in both periods, with 2 crashes recorded on this day in both September 2022 and September 2023. However, the peak hour shifted, with September 2023 seeing the highest crash count at 4 PM with 3 crashes, while September 2022's peak was 8 PM with 1 crash. Crash distribution across weekdays also became more even in the current period, with no days reporting zero crashes, unlike the prior period which had zero crashes on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes remained at 0 in both September 2022 and September 2023, indicating no change in the fatal crash rate. However, the distribution of injury severities shifted, with September 2023 reporting 2 serious injury crashes (18.2% of total crashes) which were not present in the prior year's data. Minor and possible injury crashes also increased in absolute count, from 1 minor and 1 possible injury crash in September 2022 to 3 minor and 1 possible injury crash in September 2023.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury2serious injury crashes18.2%
Minor Injury3minor injury crashes27.3%
200.0%prior 1
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes9.1%
0.0%prior 1
No Injury5no injury crashes45.5%
150.0%prior 2

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The contributing factor 'No improper driving' increased from 1 crash in September 2022 to 3 crashes in September 2023. 'Inattention' remained consistent, contributing to 1 crash in both periods. Factors such as 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' (2 crashes), 'Distracted' (1 crash), 'Exceeded authorized speed limit' (1 crash), and 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' (1 crash) appeared in September 2023 but were not present in September 2022. Conversely, 'Over-correcting/over-steering' and 'Physical impairment' each accounted for 1 crash in September 2022 but were not listed in September 2023.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving3 (27.3%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner2 (18.2%)
Distracted1 (9.1%)
Inattention1 (9.1%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit1 (9.1%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (9.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Data on weather conditions was only available for September 2023, where 9 crashes occurred in 'Clear' conditions and 1 crash occurred in 'Rain/Cloudy' conditions. Road surface condition data was also only available for September 2023, with 10 crashes on 'Dry' surfaces and 1 on a 'Wet' surface. In terms of lighting, 'Daylight' crashes increased from 3 in September 2022 to 8 in September 2023, while 'Dark - roadway not lighted' crashes remained at 1 in both periods.

Weather

Clear9 (81.8%)
Clear/Unknown1 (9.1%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (9.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight8 (72.7%)
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (9.1%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (9.1%)
Dusk1 (9.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry10 (90.9%)
Wet1 (9.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (16 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA4 (25%)
2
HONDA3 (18.8%)
3
FORD2 (12.5%)
4
JEEP2 (12.5%)
5
BMW1 (6.3%)
6
VOLKSWAGEN1 (6.3%)
7
CHEVROLET1 (6.3%)
8
KIA1 (6.3%)
9
MACK1 (6.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (28 persons with recorded sex)

Female14 (50.0%)
250.0%prior 4
Male14 (50.0%)
366.7%prior 3

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 25 mph speed zone increased from 1 in September 2022 to 4 in September 2023. Conversely, crashes in the 30 mph zone decreased from 3 in September 2022 to 1 in September 2023. Additionally, September 2023 saw crashes reported in the 35 mph (1 crash) and 45 mph (5 crashes) zones, which were not present in the September 2022 data. No fatal crashes were reported in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · 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: 2023-09-01 through 2023-09-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-09-01 through 2023-09-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: WELLFLEET, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 11
  • Total persons involved: 29
  • Total vehicles involved: 16

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: September 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/wellfleet/september-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

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Wellfleet, MA Crash Report — September 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com