Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

17 CRASHES IN
WINCHENDON, MA
MARCH 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstMarch 2022

In March 2023, Winchendon experienced 17 crashes, an increase of 6.25% compared to the 16 crashes recorded in March 2022. The most notable shift was a significant increase in total injuries, which rose from 1 in the prior period to 5 in the current period. Fatalities remained at zero in both periods.

17

6.3%was 16

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

5

400.0%was 1

Persons Injured

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. 2 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash activity in Winchendon saw a slight increase year-over-year, with total crashes rising by 6.25% from 16 to 17. More significantly, the number of total injuries increased by 400%, from 1 injury in March 2022 to 5 injuries in March 2023.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — March 2023

5.9% hit-and-run rate this period vs 0.0% prior. Prior period: 0.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

5

Motorists Injured

Prior: 1400.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · 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 year-over-year. The peak day for crashes moved from Saturday with 3 crashes in March 2022 to Thursday with 6 crashes in March 2023. The peak hour also shifted, from 2 p.m. with 3 crashes in March 2022 to 4 p.m. with 3 crashes in March 2023.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

The severity distribution of crashes changed notably, despite fatalities remaining at zero in both periods. Minor injury crashes increased from 1 (6.3% share) in March 2022 to 3 (17.6% share) in March 2023. Consequently, crashes with no injuries decreased in proportion, from 15 (93.8% share) to 12 (70.6% share) year-over-year.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury3minor injury crashes17.6%
200.0%prior 1
No Injury12no injury crashes70.6%
-20.0%prior 15

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Among contributing factors, 'Failed to yield right of way' saw an increase of 2 crashes, rising from 2 in March 2022 to 4 in March 2023. Conversely, 'Driving too fast for conditions' and 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' both decreased by 2 crashes, moving from 2 crashes each in March 2022 to 0 crashes each in March 2023. 'No improper driving' remained stable at 5 crashes in both periods.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving5 (29.4%)0.0%prior 5
Failed to yield right of way4 (23.5%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner2 (11.8%)
Over-correcting/over-steering1 (5.9%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (5.9%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings1 (5.9%)
Visibility obstructed1 (5.9%)
Distracted1 (5.9%)
Fatigued/asleep1 (5.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in clear weather conditions increased from 7 in March 2022 to 9 in March 2023, while cloudy conditions saw a rise from 1 to 5 crashes. Crashes on dry road surfaces increased from 8 to 11, and wet road crashes increased from 5 to 6. There was a decrease in crashes during snowy conditions, from 3 to 1, and during rain conditions, from 4 to 1.

Weather

Clear9 (56.3%)
28.6%prior 7
Cloudy5 (31.3%)
Cloudy/Snow1 (6.3%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (6.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight12 (70.6%)
9.1%prior 11
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (11.8%)
Dark - lighted roadway1 (5.9%)
Dawn1 (5.9%)
Dusk1 (5.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry11 (64.7%)
37.5%prior 8
Wet6 (35.3%)
20.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (26 vehicles)

1
FORD4 (15.4%)
2
HONDA4 (15.4%)
-20.0%prior 5
3
CHEVROLET3 (11.5%)
4
HYUNDAI2 (7.7%)
5
SUBARU2 (7.7%)
6
KIA2 (7.7%)
7
TOYOTA2 (7.7%)
8
VOLVO1 (3.8%)
9
BMW1 (3.8%)
10
CHRYSLER1 (3.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (27 persons with recorded sex)

Male16 (59.3%)
0.0%prior 16
Female11 (40.7%)
-35.3%prior 17

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 30 mph zone decreased from 6 in March 2022 to 3 in March 2023, and 35 mph zone crashes decreased from 3 to 2. There was an emergence of crashes in the 25 mph zone, with 5 reported in March 2023 compared to none in March 2022. Crashes in the 45 mph zone increased from 1 to 2, while the 50 mph zone remained stable with 2 crashes in both periods.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31 · 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: 2023-03-01 through 2023-03-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-03-01 through 2023-03-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: WINCHENDON, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 17
  • Total persons involved: 31
  • Total vehicles involved: 26

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). "WINCHENDON, MA Crash Intelligence Report: March 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-03-01 to 2023-03-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/winchendon/march-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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Winchendon, MA Crash Report — March 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com