Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

588 CRASHES IN
WORCESTER, MA
JANUARY 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstJanuary 2023

Total crashes in Worcester increased by 53.5% year-over-year, rising from 383 in January 2023 to 588 in January 2024. The most notable year-over-year shift was a 63.2% increase in total injuries, from 95 to 155. Fatalities decreased from 1 in the prior period to 0 in the current period.

588

53.5%was 383

Total Crash Events

0

-100.0%was 1

Persons Killed

155

63.2%was 95

Persons Injured

108

40.3%was 77

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. 101 crashes with unreported severity are 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

Total crashes in Worcester showed an upward trend, increasing by 53.5% from 383 in January 2023 to 588 in January 2024. Concurrently, total injuries also rose significantly, from 95 to 155, representing a 63.2% increase. This indicates a substantial rise in both crash incidents and associated injuries.

108

Hit-and-Run Crashes — January 2024

40.3% vs prior (77)

The number of hit-and-run crashes increased by 40.3% in count, from 77 in January 2023 to 108 in January 2024. Despite this increase in count, the hit-and-run crash rate decreased from 20.1% of total crashes in the prior period to 18.4% in the current period.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 1-100.0%

8

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 4100.0%

147

Motorists Injured

Prior: 9063.3%

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

Both January 2023 and January 2024 observed Monday as the peak day for crashes and 5 PM as the peak hour. Monday crashes increased from 68 in the prior period to 108 in the current period. Crashes occurring at 5 PM also rose, from 33 in January 2023 to 62 in January 2024, indicating consistent temporal patterns with increased volumes.

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. Total injuries increased by 63.2%, from 95 to 155 persons. Serious injuries (Severity A) rose from 6 to 10, minor injuries (Severity B) increased from 32 to 59, and possible injuries (Severity C) increased from 29 to 50.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury10serious injury crashes1.7%
66.7%prior 6
Minor Injury59minor injury crashes10%
84.4%prior 32
Possible Injury50possible injury crashes8.5%
72.4%prior 29
No Injury368no injury crashes62.6%
48.4%prior 248

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 most frequent contributing factor, 'No improper driving', increased by 72.5% in count, from 138 incidents in January 2023 to 238 in January 2024. Incidents of 'Failed to yield right of way' decreased from 27 to 21, a 22.2% reduction in count. 'Followed too closely' incidents doubled from 10 to 20, while 'Inattention' incidents increased from 15 to 17.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving238 (40.5%)72.5%prior 138
Failed to yield right of way21 (3.6%)-22.2%prior 27
Followed too closely20 (3.4%)100.0%prior 10
Inattention17 (2.9%)13.3%prior 15
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings15 (2.6%)36.4%prior 11
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway14 (2.4%)
Driving too fast for conditions13 (2.2%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road12 (2%)20.0%prior 10
Other improper action6 (1%)20.0%prior 5
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner6 (1%)

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 167 in January 2023 to 232 in January 2024. 'Snow' related crashes saw a significant rise from 12 to 61, and 'Ice' road surface crashes increased from 10 to 57. The number of crashes during 'Daylight' increased from 199 to 284, and those in 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions increased from 135 to 230.

Weather

Clear232 (40.7%)
38.9%prior 167
Snow61 (10.7%)
408.3%prior 12
Cloudy55 (9.6%)
37.5%prior 40
Clear/Clear43 (7.5%)
34.4%prior 32
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)29 (5.1%)
190.0%prior 10
Rain22 (3.9%)
-46.3%prior 41
Clear/Cloudy16 (2.8%)
Snow/Snow14 (2.5%)
Cloudy/Cloudy13 (2.3%)
116.7%prior 6
Cloudy/Snow9 (1.6%)
12.5%prior 8

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

Lighting

Daylight284 (49.8%)
42.7%prior 199
Dark - lighted roadway230 (40.4%)
70.4%prior 135
Dawn18 (3.2%)
157.1%prior 7
Dusk17 (3.0%)
30.8%prior 13
Dark - roadway not lighted11 (1.9%)
-26.7%prior 15
Dark - unknown roadway lighting10 (1.8%)

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

Road Surface

Dry231 (40.5%)
8.5%prior 213
Snow148 (26.0%)
543.5%prior 23
Wet111 (19.5%)
-5.1%prior 117
Ice57 (10.0%)
470.0%prior 10
Slush22 (3.9%)
Water (standing, moving)1 (0.2%)

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 by 56.2%, from 714 in January 2023 to 1115 in January 2024. Toyota remained the most common vehicle make, with its involvement rising from 139 to 226, and Honda's involvement increased from 93 to 126. Among persons involved, the 26-34 age group saw an increase from 145 to 236, and the 35-44 age group increased from 117 to 219.

Top Vehicle Makes (1,115 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA226 (20.3%)
62.6%prior 139
2
HONDA126 (11.3%)
35.5%prior 93
3
FORD105 (9.4%)
40.0%prior 75
4
CHEVROLET69 (6.2%)
53.3%prior 45
5
NISSAN68 (6.1%)
33.3%prior 51
6
JEEP50 (4.5%)
150.0%prior 20
7
SUBARU50 (4.5%)
108.3%prior 24
8
HYUNDAI42 (3.8%)
82.6%prior 23
9
MAZDA23 (2.1%)
187.5%prior 8
10
KIA22 (2%)
29.4%prior 17

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

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

Sex Distribution (1,063 persons with recorded sex)

Male637 (59.9%)
58.9%prior 401
Female426 (40.1%)
41.5%prior 301

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

No fatal crashes were recorded in any speed limit zone in January 2024, a decrease from one fatal crash at the 50 mph speed limit in January 2023. Crashes in the 30 mph zone increased from 72 to 113, and incidents in the 50 mph zone increased from 25 to 34. Crashes at 65 mph also rose from 4 to 9.

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: WORCESTER, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 588
  • Total persons involved: 1,325
  • Total vehicles involved: 1,115

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). "WORCESTER, 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/worcester/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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Worcester, MA Crash Report — January 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com