New study names 10 most dangerous places to drive in Massachusetts

DEDHAM, Mass. — A new study has found the most dangerous places to drive in Massachusetts, with a Bristol County town taking the top spot.

Personal injury lawyers at Jason Stone Injury Lawyers analyzed data MassDOT data from 218 locations in Massachusetts where there have been at least 500 crashes between 2019 and 2023 to determine which areas witnessed the largest percentage of people killed in traffic accidents.

“Driving is usually the most convenient way for people to travel, but while we all try to be safe on the roads, accidents can still happen. Taking precautions is vital wherever you are driving, such as ensuring that your car is in full working order and your driving is distraction-free,” Jason Stone Injury Lawyers said in a statement. “And the data shows that fatal crashes aren’t an inevitability – 11 different towns that were included in the study didn’t have a single fatal road accident over the time period that was measured.”

A mark of 1.59% of people involved in traffic accidents in Berkley die from their injuries, information discovered in the study showed. Since 2019, 1,007 people have been involved in 562 accidents, 16 of whom suffered fatal injuries, resulting in the highest fatality rate in the state.

Next on the list and landing in second place is Sharon with 1.13% of people killed from road crashes. The town has also seen 1,649 crashes, which involved 3,466 people, 39 of whom died as a result.

Townsend ranked third, with 1% of people killed in car crashes over a five-year time frame. In the town, there have been 13 deaths from the 1,306 people involved in the 651 crashes.

Fourth place is a tie between Freetown and West Boylston, both recording 0.95% of people killed. While the towns have the same percentage of people killed, there are numerous differences. Freetown has seen 1,080 crashes, which is almost double what West Boylston has.

Dedham is in fifth place with 0.87% of people killed. The Norfolk County town has seen 1,983 crashes over the last five years, this figure is the largest number of crashes out of the top ten. A total of 4,610 people were involved in those crashes, and 40 of them were killed.

In sixth place is Salisbury with 0.77% of people being killed in traffic accidents, based on 22 deaths from 2,869 people in crashes.

Westport ranked seventh in terms of the percentage of fatal auto accidents with 0.76% of 3,022 people being killed. In the last five years, there have only been six fatal crashes in the town.

Moving down the list at the eighth spot, is Belchertown with 0.73% of people killed. The Hampshire County town has 24.67% of people being injured in various types of crashes.

Looking at the ninth place on the ranking, Sutton sits there with 0.72% of people being killed in car crashes. The town has had a total of 413 people injured in all types of traffic accidents.

Completing the top 10, 0.71% of people were killed in Newburyport. A coastal community nestled in Essex County and a short drive to Boston, the city has seen 1,156 total crashes involving 2,526 people, and out of that total figure, 18 were killed.

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