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TRAFFIC CRASHES

Roadway crash data are compiled by the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV). The Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS) then uses GIS to geocode the RMV data and subsequently identify the top crash locations, which are summarized in MassHighway’s statewide Top 1000 High Crash Locations Report (August 2002). MassHighway uses the report and the crash data to develop a list of possible safety improvement projects. A three-year crash history is used—a standard industry practice for analyzing crash locations.

Ranking Crash Locations
MassHighway uses a weighted scoring system to rank the crash locations. The following weights are assigned to crash incidents according to crash severity:

• Property Damage Only = 1
• Personal Injury = 5
• Fatality = 10

The weighted score highlights the locations that tend to have more serious crashes, rather than simply ranking by the number of crashes.

Top 60 Crash Locations
Click here for a list of the top 60 traffic-related crash locations on the region’s arterial roadways. The locations are sorted by number of crashes, and the weighted rating of each location is also provided. Most of the locations found at the top of the list are at intersections of high-volume roadways. The data presented here are for the years 1997 through 1999.

The region’s top 60 crash locations for limited-access highways are listed here. Most of the crash locations on this list are at major interchanges and other connections between high-volume roadways.


Top Crash Locations, by Subregion

Maps illustrating high-crash locations are provided in PDF via the links below.

Innercore (Boston and Inner suburbs)
Innercore (Upper Inner suburbs)
Innercore (Lower Inner suburbs)
MAGIC (Northwest suburbs)
Metrowest (West suburbs)
NSTF (North Shore suburbs)
NSPC (North suburbs)
SSC (South Shore suburbs)
SWAP (Southwest suburbs)
TRIC (South suburbs)

The crash-locations maps show the locations on the entire roadway network that experienced 15 or more crashes in the three-year period of 1997–1999. The 2,031 crash locations are grouped in four categories by the total number of crashes occurring at a given location: the top 5 percent (which have totals of between 106 and 678 crashes), the next 10 percent (55 to 105 crashes), the next 35 percent (25 to 54 crashes), and the final 50 percent (15 to 24 crashes).

For tables listing the Top 25 crash locations by subregion, click on one of the links below.
Innercore (Boston and Inner suburbs)
Innercore (Upper Inner suburbs)
Innercore (Lower Inner suburbs)
MAGIC (Northwest suburbs)
Metrowest (West suburbs)
NSTF (North Shore suburbs)
NSPC (North suburbs)
SSC (South Shore suburbs)
SWAP (Southwest suburbs)
TRIC (South suburbs)

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