Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

68 CRASHES IN
WESTFIELD, MA
JANUARY 2022

All metrics benchmarked againstJanuary 2021

In January 2022, WESTFIELD experienced 68 total crashes, an increase from 64 crashes in January 2021. This represents a 6.25% rise in total crashes year-over-year. The most notable shift was a significant decrease in hit-and-run crashes, which fell from 4 in January 2021 to 1 in January 2022.

68

6.3%was 64

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

22

15.8%was 19

Persons Injured

1

-75.0%was 4

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 · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, total crashes in WESTFIELD increased by 6.25%, rising from 64 in January 2021 to 68 in January 2022. Total injuries also increased by 15.79%, from 19 to 22. There were no traffic fatalities reported in either January 2021 or January 2022.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — January 2022

-75.0% vs prior (4)

Hit-and-run crashes decreased significantly year-over-year, falling from 4 in January 2021 to 1 in January 2022. This resulted in a substantial reduction of the hit-and-run rate, which decreased from 6.3% of all crashes to 1.5%.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 0%

21

Motorists Injured

Prior: 1910.5%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2022-01-01 to 2022-01-31 · 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 Tuesday with 14 crashes in January 2021 to Wednesday with 18 crashes in January 2022. The peak crash hour also changed, moving from 5 PM with 6 crashes in January 2021 to 7 AM and 8 AM, each with 10 crashes, in January 2022. Crashes on Wednesday saw a substantial increase from 4 to 18, while Saturday crashes decreased from 13 to 6.

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

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

Crash Severity Breakdown

The number of total injuries increased from 19 in January 2021 to 22 in January 2022. Notably, there was 1 serious injury (Severity A) reported in January 2022, compared to none in January 2021. Minor injuries (Severity B) decreased slightly from 10 to 9, while possible injuries (Severity C) increased from 7 to 10.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes1.5%
Minor Injury9minor injury crashes13.2%
-10.0%prior 10
Possible Injury10possible injury crashes14.7%
42.9%prior 7
No Injury48no injury crashes70.6%
11.6%prior 43

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

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

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

Top Contributing Factors

Crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' increased by 6 (66.7%), from 9 in January 2021 to 15 in January 2022, becoming the top contributing factor. 'Inattention' crashes decreased by 3 (30%), from 10 to 7, moving from the top factor to fourth. Crashes involving 'Driving too fast for conditions' increased by 3 (42.9%), from 7 to 10, and 'Distracted' driving crashes doubled from 2 to 4.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving15 (22.1%)66.7%prior 9
Driving too fast for conditions10 (14.7%)42.9%prior 7
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road8 (11.8%)33.3%prior 6
Inattention7 (10.3%)-30.0%prior 10
Followed too closely6 (8.8%)20.0%prior 5
Distracted4 (5.9%)
Failed to yield right of way4 (5.9%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings3 (4.4%)
Made an improper turn2 (2.9%)
Fatigued/asleep2 (2.9%)

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

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions increased by 8, from 31 in January 2021 to 39 in January 2022. A significant shift was observed in road surface conditions, with crashes on 'Ice' increasing by 12, from 3 in January 2021 to 15 in January 2022. Conversely, crashes on 'Wet' road surfaces decreased by 4, from 11 to 7.

Weather

Clear39 (57.4%)
25.8%prior 31
Cloudy9 (13.2%)
-40.0%prior 15
Rain/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)5 (7.4%)
Snow3 (4.4%)
-50.0%prior 6
Cloudy/Snow3 (4.4%)
Fog, smog, smoke2 (2.9%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)2 (2.9%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)/Rain2 (2.9%)
Clear/Severe crosswinds1 (1.5%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (1.5%)

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

Lighting

Daylight42 (61.8%)
44.8%prior 29
Dark - lighted roadway21 (30.9%)
-16.0%prior 25
Dawn2 (2.9%)
Dusk2 (2.9%)
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (1.5%)
-83.3%prior 6

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

Road Surface

Dry36 (52.9%)
0.0%prior 36
Ice15 (22.1%)
Snow9 (13.2%)
-10.0%prior 10
Wet7 (10.3%)
-36.4%prior 11
Slush1 (1.5%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased by 16.16%, from 99 in January 2021 to 115 in January 2022. The age groups '45-54' and '55-64' saw notable increases in person involvement, rising by 6 (85.7%) and 9 (81.8%) respectively. 'FORD' vehicles were involved in 16 crashes in January 2022, up from 9, while 'NISSAN' involvement decreased from 14 to 8.

Top Vehicle Makes (115 vehicles)

1
FORD16 (13.9%)
77.8%prior 9
2
HONDA13 (11.3%)
-13.3%prior 15
3
TOYOTA12 (10.4%)
33.3%prior 9
4
CHEVROLET11 (9.6%)
83.3%prior 6
5
NISSAN8 (7%)
-42.9%prior 14
6
SUBARU8 (7%)
60.0%prior 5
7
HYUNDAI8 (7%)
8
DODGE5 (4.3%)
9
JEEP5 (4.3%)
0.0%prior 5
10
KIA3 (2.6%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (116 persons with recorded sex)

Male70 (60.3%)
12.9%prior 62
Female46 (39.7%)
4.5%prior 44

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

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 25 mph zones increased by 4, from 8 in January 2021 to 12 in January 2022. Similarly, 30 mph zones saw an increase of 4 crashes, from 20 to 24. There were no reported fatalities in any speed limit zone during either period.

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

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2022-01-01 through 2022-01-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: WESTFIELD, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 68
  • Total persons involved: 129
  • Total vehicles involved: 115

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