Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

39 CRASHES IN
WESTWOOD, MA
JANUARY 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstJanuary 2023

In January 2024, Westwood recorded 39 total crashes, an increase of 14.7% compared to the 34 crashes reported in January 2023. Notably, fatalities decreased from 1 in the prior period to 0 in the current period, while total injuries also decreased from 12 to 8. This indicates a rise in overall crash incidents but a reduction in their most severe outcomes.

39

14.7%was 34

Total Crash Events

0

-100.0%was 1

Persons Killed

8

-33.3%was 12

Persons Injured

3

200.0%was 1

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-01-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crashes in Westwood increased by 14.7% year-over-year, rising from 34 incidents in January 2023 to 39 in January 2024. Despite this increase in total crashes, both total fatalities and total injuries saw a decline. Fatalities dropped from 1 to 0, and injuries decreased from 12 to 8.

3

Hit-and-Run Crashes — January 2024

200.0% vs prior (1)

Hit-and-run crashes increased significantly from 1 in January 2023 to 3 in January 2024. This change resulted in the hit-and-run rate rising from 2.9% in the prior period to 7.7% in the current period. The data indicates an upward trend in hit-and-run incidents.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 1-100.0%

8

Motorists Injured

Prior: 12-33.3%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-01-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes remained Wednesday in both periods, with 8 crashes each. However, the peak hour for crashes shifted from 4 PM, which had 4 crashes in the prior period, to 2 PM, which recorded 6 crashes in the current period. This suggests a change in the most crash-prone hour, moving earlier in the afternoon.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-01-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-01-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes decreased from 1 in January 2023 to 0 in January 2024, representing a 100% reduction. Serious injuries (code A) also decreased from 2 to 0, while minor injuries (code B) decreased from 4 to 2. Conversely, possible injuries (code C) increased from 3 to 4, but overall injuries still declined from 12 to 8.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury2minor injury crashes5.1%
-50.0%prior 4
Possible Injury4possible injury crashes10.3%
33.3%prior 3
No Injury32no injury crashes82.1%
33.3%prior 24

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-01-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-01-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The top contributing factor, 'Followed too closely,' increased from 10 crashes in the prior period to 12 crashes in the current period. 'Inattention' saw a substantial increase, rising from 2 crashes to 7 crashes, while 'No improper driving' also increased from 3 crashes to 7 crashes. Conversely, 'Failed to yield right of way' decreased from 4 crashes to 1, and 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' decreased from 5 crashes to 0.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Followed too closely12 (30.8%)20.0%prior 10
Inattention7 (17.9%)
No improper driving7 (17.9%)
Made an improper turn2 (5.1%)
Driving too fast for conditions2 (5.1%)
Distracted2 (5.1%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway2 (5.1%)
Failed to yield right of way1 (2.6%)
Other improper action1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-01-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in clear weather conditions increased from 18 (9 'Clear/Clear' and 9 'Clear') in the prior period to 25 (15 'Clear/Clear' and 10 'Clear') in the current period. Crashes on dry road surfaces also rose significantly, from 19 to 29. Conversely, crashes on wet road surfaces decreased from 13 to 5, and crashes during 'Dark - roadway not lighted' conditions decreased from 4 to 2.

Weather

Clear/Clear15 (38.5%)
66.7%prior 9
Clear10 (25.6%)
11.1%prior 9
Cloudy/Cloudy4 (10.3%)
Rain3 (7.7%)
Snow/Snow2 (5.1%)
Cloudy/Other1 (2.6%)
Cloudy1 (2.6%)
Rain/Rain1 (2.6%)
Snow1 (2.6%)
Clear/Blowing sand, snow1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-01-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight26 (66.7%)
44.4%prior 18
Dark - lighted roadway9 (23.1%)
0.0%prior 9
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (5.1%)
Dawn2 (5.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-01-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry29 (74.4%)
52.6%prior 19
Wet5 (12.8%)
-61.5%prior 13
Ice2 (5.1%)
Slush2 (5.1%)
Snow1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-01-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased from 61 to 71 year-over-year. Toyota remained a top make, increasing from 11 to 15 vehicles, while Ford also saw a notable increase from 4 to 9 vehicles. The age groups 0-15, 26-34, and 35-44 experienced increases in persons involved in crashes, with the 0-15 group rising from 1 to 8 persons. The number of females involved in crashes increased from 24 to 36, while males saw a slight increase from 42 to 44.

Top Vehicle Makes (71 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA15 (21.1%)
36.4%prior 11
2
FORD9 (12.7%)
3
HONDA7 (9.9%)
-36.4%prior 11
4
JEEP4 (5.6%)
-20.0%prior 5
5
CHEVROLET4 (5.6%)
6
SUBARU4 (5.6%)
7
NISSAN3 (4.2%)
-50.0%prior 6
8
ACURA2 (2.8%)
9
AUDI2 (2.8%)
10
BMW2 (2.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-01-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (80 persons with recorded sex)

Male44 (55.0%)
4.8%prior 42
Female36 (45.0%)
50.0%prior 24

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-01-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 30 mph speed zones increased from 14 in the prior period to 19 in the current period, and crashes in 35 mph zones increased from 3 to 6. Crashes in 1 mph speed zones decreased from 7 to 3. The single fatal crash reported in the prior period occurred in a 55 mph zone, while no fatal crashes were recorded in any speed zone in the current period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-01-31 · 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: 2024-01-01 through 2024-01-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-01-01 through 2024-01-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: WESTWOOD, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 39
  • Total persons involved: 84
  • Total vehicles involved: 71

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). "WESTWOOD, MA Crash Intelligence Report: January 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2024-01-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/westwood/january-2024-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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Westwood, MA Crash Report — January 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com