Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

44 CRASHES IN
WESTWOOD, MA
OCTOBER 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstOctober 2023

In October 2024, WESTWOOD experienced 44 total crashes, a 27.9% decrease compared to the 61 crashes in October 2023. The total number of injuries also saw a significant decline, falling from 13 to 7, a reduction of 46.2%. The most notable year-over-year shift was the 60% decrease in hit-and-run crashes, from 5 to 2.

44

-27.9%was 61

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

7

-46.2%was 13

Persons Injured

2

-60.0%was 5

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 · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash data for October 2024 indicates a downward trend in traffic incidents compared to October 2023. Total crashes decreased by 17, from 61 to 44, representing a 27.9% reduction. Similarly, total injuries fell from 13 to 7, marking a 46.2% decrease, while total fatalities remained at 0 for both periods.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — October 2024

-60.0% vs prior (5)

Hit-and-run crashes decreased by 3 incidents, from 5 in October 2023 to 2 in October 2024. This resulted in the hit-and-run rate falling from 8.2% in October 2023 to 4.5% in October 2024.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 0%

6

Motorists Injured

Prior: 12-50.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal distribution of crashes showed a shift in the peak day, with Monday recording the highest number of crashes (10) in October 2024, compared to Thursday (15 crashes) in October 2023. The peak crash hour remained 4 p.m. for both periods, though the count at this hour decreased from 10 crashes in October 2023 to 8 crashes in October 2024.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatal crashes or fatalities reported in either October 2023 or October 2024. The number of minor injuries (severity B) decreased substantially from 6 in October 2023 to 1 in October 2024. Conversely, possible injuries (severity C) saw a slight increase from 5 to 6 between the two periods.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury1minor injury crashes2.3%
-83.3%prior 6
Possible Injury6possible injury crashes13.6%
20.0%prior 5
No Injury36no injury crashes81.8%
-28.0%prior 50

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The contributing factor 'Followed too closely' remained constant at 16 crashes in both periods. 'No improper driving' decreased by 5 crashes, from 9 in October 2023 to 4 in October 2024. 'Failed to yield right of way' increased by 1 crash, from 6 to 7, while 'Inattention' decreased by 2 crashes, from 6 to 4.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Followed too closely16 (36.4%)0.0%prior 16
Failed to yield right of way7 (15.9%)16.7%prior 6
Inattention4 (9.1%)-33.3%prior 6
No improper driving4 (9.1%)-55.6%prior 9
Other improper action3 (6.8%)-50.0%prior 6
Distracted2 (4.5%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit2 (4.5%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (4.5%)
Glare1 (2.3%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (2.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions decreased from 26 in October 2023 to 14 in October 2024, while those in 'Clear/Clear' conditions increased from 26 to 29. The number of crashes on a 'Wet' road surface decreased from 5 in October 2023 to 1 in October 2024. Crashes occurring in 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions decreased from 12 to 5.

Weather

Clear/Clear29 (65.9%)
11.5%prior 26
Clear14 (31.8%)
-46.2%prior 26
Cloudy/Rain1 (2.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight38 (86.4%)
-11.6%prior 43
Dark - lighted roadway5 (11.4%)
-58.3%prior 12
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (2.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry43 (97.7%)
-23.2%prior 56
Wet1 (2.3%)
-80.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes decreased from 112 in October 2023 to 89 in October 2024. TOYOTA remained the top vehicle make involved, though its count decreased from 20 to 16. The 45-54 age group saw a significant decrease in persons involved, from 23 to 13, while the 0-15 and 65+ age groups both increased by 3 persons.

Top Vehicle Makes (89 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA16 (18%)
-20.0%prior 20
2
FORD9 (10.1%)
50.0%prior 6
3
CHEVROLET9 (10.1%)
28.6%prior 7
4
HONDA8 (9%)
0.0%prior 8
5
NISSAN7 (7.9%)
-12.5%prior 8
6
SUBARU7 (7.9%)
16.7%prior 6
7
LEXUS3 (3.4%)
8
GMC3 (3.4%)
9
MERCEDES-BENZ3 (3.4%)
10
KIA3 (3.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (107 persons with recorded sex)

Male60 (56.1%)
-14.3%prior 70
Female47 (43.9%)
-14.5%prior 55

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

No fatal crashes were recorded across any speed limit zones in either period. Crashes in the 30 mph speed limit zone decreased from 27 in October 2023 to 18 in October 2024, a reduction of 9 crashes. Conversely, crashes in the 35 mph speed limit zone increased from 5 to 9 between the two periods.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · 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: 2024-10-01 through 2024-10-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-10-01 through 2024-10-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: WESTWOOD, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 44
  • Total persons involved: 114
  • Total vehicles involved: 89

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: October 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/westwood/october-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

ThatCarHitMe.com · An Injuria.ai Company

Westwood, MA Crash Report — October 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com