How Many Crashes Happen on Route 3 in Massachusetts?

From 2022 through 2024, MassDOT crash records place 3,007 crashes and 24 fatal crashes on the two expressway sections of Route 3: 2,154 crashes and 18 fatal on the South Shore stretch from Braintree to the Sagamore Bridge in Bourne, and 853 crashes and 6 fatal north of Route 128 from Burlington to the New Hampshire line in Tyngsborough. The South Shore figure works out to 8.36 fatal crashes for every 1,000 recorded crashes, more than twice the 3.78 for every crash on an Interstate-class road in Massachusetts and the 3.53 for every crash on roads in Route 3’s own federal road class. The deaths are concentrated in single vehicle crashes in the dark on stretches with no roadway lighting.

If you were hurt in a crash on Route 3 and want to talk through what comes next, call Jim Glaser Law at (617) JIM-WINS. The line is answered 24 hours a day. The first telephone consultation is free. This page is general information about Massachusetts law and public crash data, not legal advice about your situation.

Two Roads Called Route 3

Route 3 is really two separate expressways with a gap through Boston, and the crash records treat them that way.

1. The South Shore section, state Route 3, known as the Pilgrims Highway. It leaves Interstate 93 at the Braintree split and runs south through Weymouth, Hingham, Rockland, Norwell, Hanover, Pembroke, Marshfield, Duxbury, Kingston and Plymouth to the Sagamore Bridge in Bourne, where Route 6 carries traffic onto Cape Cod.
2. The northwest section, US Route 3, which leaves Route 128 and Interstate 95 in Burlington and runs through Bedford, Billerica and Chelmsford, past Lowell and Westford, to Tyngsborough and the New Hampshire line.

Inside the Route 128 beltway, US Route 3 runs on local roads, including Memorial Drive in Cambridge, which are not counted here. Cape Cod’s continuation is covered in our Route 6 crash data article.

How These Numbers Were Counted

Every MassDOT crash record carries a roadway description, the text the reporting officer types, and a road-inventory street name, the official name MassDOT attaches when it places the crash on its road map. From 2023, most State Police reports leave the typed description blank and record a mile marker instead, so a count built on the typed text falls in 2023 and 2024 for reasons that have nothing to do with crashes. This page uses the road-inventory name, which stays consistent.

The inventory calls the South Shore section “Pilgrim Highway,” and on some segments in Hingham, Rockland, Norwell and Weymouth “Southeast Expressway” (in Boston, Interstate 93 carries a different inventory name, so there is no overlap). It calls the northwest section “Route 3.” As a check, MassDOT also records the route number with each mile marker. Those three names hold about 94 percent of the Route 3 crashes located by mile marker in 2023 and 2024. Most of the rest are on ramps, which this page leaves out.

The South Shore: Braintree to the Sagamore Bridge

Community	Route 3 crashes 2022 / 2023 / 2024	Three-year total	Fatal	Injury	Share of the town’s crashes
Plymouth	156 / 126 / 149	431	3	114	15.8%
Weymouth	86 / 114 / 110	310	3	82	9.2%
Braintree	111 / 84 / 93	288	2	64	11.4%
Duxbury	85 / 69 / 78	232	3	62	33.3%
Norwell	85 / 63 / 68	216	1	73	35.2%
Hingham	47 / 54 / 42	143	1	27	11.6%
Kingston	36 / 44 / 43	123	2	24	15.8%
Rockland	33 / 29 / 47	109	0	33	13.5%
Pembroke	42 / 36 / 29	107	1	25	12.7%
Hanover	27 / 39 / 31	97	1	22	8.1%
Bourne	25 / 29 / 20	74	0	10	3.4%
Marshfield	5 / 6 / 7	18	1	4	2.0%
Quincy	1 / 3 / 2	6	0	0	0.1%
South Shore section	739 / 696 / 719	2,154	18	540	8.8%

The section is steady at roughly 700 to 740 crashes a year, and the deaths are steady too: 6 in 2022, 5 in 2023 and 7 in 2024. Across the 13 communities, Route 3 accounts for 8.8 percent of all crashes (2,154 of 24,369) but 31.0 percent of fatal crashes (18 of 58). The injury share is 25.07 percent, against 23.09 percent on Interstate-class roads and 22.89 percent for all Massachusetts crashes.

Duxbury and Norwell

In two towns the highway is a large part of the whole crash record. Route 3 carries 33.3 percent of Duxbury’s crashes, 232 of 697, and 3 of the town’s 5 fatal crashes. In Norwell it carries 35.2 percent, 216 of 614, and 1 of 2 fatal crashes. Norwell’s Route 3 crashes also have the highest injury share of any town on the section, 33.8 percent (73 of 216). Neither town’s figures describe its local streets; they describe a 60 mile per hour expressway that passes through.

Plymouth has the most Route 3 crashes, 431 over three years, which reflects how many miles of the road lie inside the town. Hingham is a useful contrast: its 7 fatal crashes give it the 8th highest fatal rate of the 116 communities with 1,000 or more crashes (5.7 per 1,000), but only 1 of those 7 was on Route 3, so the highway does not explain Hingham’s figure.

Town-level summaries are on the Plymouth crash report, the Weymouth crash report, the Braintree crash report and the Hingham crash report.

What kind of crashes, and when

Rear-end crashes are the largest group, 46.6 percent (1,003 of 2,154, combining the two codes MassDOT uses for them). Single vehicle crashes, where one vehicle leaves the road or strikes a guardrail, sign or tree, are 35.0 percent (753), and same-direction sideswipes 14.0 percent (302). For comparison, single vehicle crashes are 29.8 percent of all Interstate-class crashes and 22.6 percent of crashes in Route 3’s road class.

The fatal crashes look different from the rest. 9 of the 18 were single vehicle crashes, and 11 of the 18 happened in the dark on a stretch with no roadway lighting. That light condition accounts for 26.0 percent of all South Shore Route 3 crashes (560), against 15.0 percent of Interstate-class crashes and 9.1 percent of crashes in the same road class. Most of the section is posted at 60 miles per hour (74.1 percent of crashes).

The calendar is flatter than most Massachusetts roads. November had the most crashes over the three years (213), but July (210) and June (207) were close behind, and March was the quietest month (133). That summer strength fits the road’s role as the main route to Cape Cod and the South Shore beaches, though the records contain no traffic counts to prove it. The busiest hour was 5 p.m. (165 crashes).

North of Route 128: Burlington to Tyngsborough

Community	Route 3 crashes 2022 / 2023 / 2024	Three-year total	Fatal	Injury	Share of the town’s crashes
Chelmsford	110 / 106 / 88	304	1	78	14.4%
Billerica	80 / 91 / 89	260	2	56	15.0%
Tyngsborough	46 / 38 / 48	132	1	37	14.4%
Bedford	35 / 42 / 35	112	2	28	15.9%
Burlington	15 / 7 / 9	31	0	5	1.8%
Lowell	2 / 4 / 5	11	0	1	0.1%
Westford	1 / 0 / 2	3	0	0	0.2%
Northwest section	289 / 288 / 276	853	6	205	5.2%

The northwest section recorded 853 crashes and 6 fatal crashes, 7.03 per 1,000. That rate rests on very few deaths, 3 in 2022, none in 2023 and 3 in 2024, so a single crash moves it sharply. The injury share is 24.03 percent.

This is a commuter road in a way the South Shore section is less so. 20.2 percent of its crashes happened between 6 and 9 a.m., against 13.8 percent on the South Shore, and its quietest months are April (41) and the summer (July 54, August 52), the opposite of the South Shore pattern. Snow, ice and slush were recorded on 8.6 percent of its crashes (73), against 4.7 percent (102) on the South Shore section. Most of it is posted at 55 miles per hour.

Chelmsford has the most crashes on this section (304). Its 11 fatal crashes on all roads rank it 11th of the 116 large communities by fatal rate, but only 1 of the 11 was on Route 3; Interstate 495 also crosses the town, as our Interstate 495 article shows. See the Chelmsford crash report, the Billerica crash report and the Tyngsborough crash report. For the region around it, see Merrimack Valley crash data.

Comparing the Two Sections

Measure	South Shore (Braintree to Bourne)	Northwest (Burlington to Tyngsborough)	All Interstate-class crashes
Crashes, 2022 to 2024	2,154	853	41,260
Fatal crashes	18	6	156
Fatal per 1,000 crashes	8.36	7.03	3.78
Injury share	25.07%	24.03%	23.09%
Single vehicle share	35.0%	34.2%	29.8%
Dark, no roadway lighting	26.0%	22.4%	15.0%
Reported by State Police	97.6%	97.1%	not compared

The State Police wrote more than 97 percent of the reports on both sections. That matters for reading the town numbers: elsewhere on this site, differences between towns in fields such as distraction or hit-and-run often reflect how each local department fills in its forms. On Route 3, one agency writes nearly every report, so the town figures are more comparable than most. About 3 percent of crashes on each section involved a vehicle the federal rules treat as reportable, generally a large truck or bus; our truck accident claims article explains how those claims differ.

Answer Capsule

MassDOT crash records for 2022 through 2024 place 3,007 crashes and 24 fatal crashes on Route 3’s two expressway sections. The South Shore section, Braintree to the Sagamore Bridge, recorded 2,154 crashes and 18 fatal (8.36 per 1,000 crashes, against 3.78 for every Interstate-class crash in Massachusetts); the northwest section, Burlington to Tyngsborough, recorded 853 and 6 fatal (7.03). On the South Shore, 11 of the 18 fatal crashes happened in the dark on unlighted road and 9 were single vehicle crashes. Route 3 carries a third of all crashes in Duxbury (232 of 697) and Norwell (216 of 614). The State Police wrote more than 97 percent of these reports. Counts use MassDOT’s road-inventory street name, because the typed roadway field is blank on most State Police reports from 2023. The records have no traffic volume, so they show where crashes and deaths were recorded, not risk per mile driven.

The Law That Applies to a Route 3 Crash

The legal rules are the same as for any Massachusetts crash. Four of them come up often on Route 3.

The written report. Under M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 26, every driver in a crash in which anyone is killed or injured, or in which there is more than $1,000 of damage to any one vehicle or other property, must report it in writing to the Registrar within five days and send a copy to the police department with jurisdiction over the road. On Route 3 that is almost always the State Police. Our article on reporting a car accident in Massachusetts covers the form.

Where a case is filed. The town where the crash happened does not decide the county. Under c. 223, sec. 1, an injury case is brought in the county where one of the parties lives or has a usual place of business. A crash in Kingston between a driver from Worcester and a driver from Bourne is not a Plymouth County case for that reason. Route 3 runs through Norfolk, Plymouth, Barnstable and Middlesex Counties; the site’s venue articles for Plymouth County and Middlesex County explain the court options.

A defect in the road itself. Route 3 is a state highway. Under c. 81, sec. 18, the Commonwealth is liable for injuries caused by a defect within the constructed traveled roadway of a state highway, but not for the lack of a railing, not on a sidewalk, and not during construction, reconstruction or repair. The amount cannot exceed one fifth of one percent of the town’s valuation or $4,000, whichever is less. Under c. 84, sec. 18, written notice is due within thirty days of the injury, and any action must be brought within three years. A crash in a work zone usually leads to a claim against a driver or contractor instead; see our work zone crash data article.

Breakdowns and stops on the shoulder. On a 55 or 60 mile per hour road with long unlighted stretches, a disabled car or a police stop on the shoulder is a serious hazard. The duties of passing drivers are in our article on the Massachusetts move over law, and the night pattern statewide is in crashes at night in Massachusetts.

What to Do After a Crash on Route 3

1. Get to safety and call 911. On an unlighted stretch, stay out of the travel lanes; the State Police will respond.
2. Note the nearest exit or mile marker. The State Police record most highway crashes by mile marker, and that location is how the report will be found later.
3. Photograph the vehicles, the road, the lighting and any debris before they are cleared.
4. Get medical care the same day, even for pain that seems minor, and keep the records.
5. File the written report with the Registrar within five days if anyone was hurt or damage is over $1,000.
6. Open a personal injury protection claim with your own insurer; our PIP guide explains how no-fault benefits work.

What These Numbers Do Not Show

• They include no traffic volume, so they cannot say whether Route 3 is more dangerous per mile driven than another road, only where crashes and deaths were recorded. A per-crash fatal rate can also rise when a road has fewer minor crashes, not only when it has more severe ones.
• Rates built on 6 or 18 deaths move sharply with a single crash.
• Ramps are left out, and about 7.7 percent of South Shore records carry a posted limit of 35 miles per hour or less, which means ramp ends and crossings the mapping matched to the highway.
• The counts are crashes, not people; a crash with several injured occupants counts once.
• Fault is not recorded in this data. Who caused any particular crash is decided by the evidence in that case.

For the wider picture, see the Massachusetts crash report, South Shore crash data, Plymouth County crash data and our article on Interstate 95. Injury claims from highway crashes are explained on our auto accidents page and, for the largest Route 3 towns, on the Plymouth and Weymouth auto accident pages.

Key terms

• MassDOT IMPACT crash data: the state’s public database of police-reported crashes, the source of every number on this page.
• Road-inventory street name: the official name MassDOT attaches when it maps a crash, used here instead of the typed location.
• Interstate-class road: a road MassDOT classifies as part of the Interstate highway system, used as a benchmark.
• Single vehicle crash: a crash involving only one vehicle, such as leaving the road or striking a guardrail or tree.
• Fatal crashes per 1,000: the number of crashes with at least one death for every 1,000 recorded crashes.
• Transitory action: the legal term for an ordinary injury lawsuit, which c. 223, sec. 1 places in the county where a party lives or has a usual place of business.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How many crashes happen on Route 3 in Massachusetts?

A: MassDOT records 3,007 crashes on Route 3’s two expressway sections from 2022 through 2024: 2,154 on the South Shore section from Braintree to Bourne and 853 on the northwest section from Burlington to Tyngsborough. Ramps and the city streets US Route 3 uses inside Route 128 are not included.

Q: How many fatal crashes have there been on Route 3?

A: 24 in the three years: 18 on the South Shore section (6, 5 and 7 a year) and 6 on the northwest section (3, 0 and 3). The South Shore figure is 8.36 fatal crashes per 1,000, against 3.78 for every Interstate-class crash in Massachusetts.

Q: Why are Route 3 South Shore crashes so often fatal?

A: The records point to darkness and single vehicle crashes: 11 of the 18 fatal crashes happened on unlighted road at night and 9 were single vehicle crashes. The data has no traffic counts or speed measurements, so it shows the pattern, not its cause.

Q: Which town has the most Route 3 crashes?

A: Plymouth on the South Shore (431 over three years) and Chelmsford north of Boston (304). Relative to their size, Duxbury and Norwell are most affected: Route 3 carries a third of all their recorded crashes.

Q: Who investigates a crash on Route 3?

A: Almost always the State Police, who wrote 97.6 percent of the South Shore reports and 97.1 percent of the northwest reports. Each driver still has a separate duty under c. 90, sec. 26 to file a written report with the Registrar within five days when anyone is hurt or damage is over $1,000.

Q: Which court hears a Route 3 crash case?

A: Not the court for the town where the crash happened. Under c. 223, sec. 1, an injury case is brought in the county where one of the parties lives or has a usual place of business, so the parties’ addresses decide the county.

Q: Can I sue the state for a pothole on Route 3?

A: Possibly, within tight limits. Under c. 81, sec. 18, the Commonwealth is liable for a defect within the traveled roadway of a state highway, except during construction or repair, up to the lesser of one fifth of one percent of the town’s valuation or $4,000. Written notice is due within thirty days under c. 84, sec. 18.

Q: Is Jimmy Knows AI giving me legal advice?

A: No. This page is general information about Massachusetts law and public MassDOT crash data for educational purposes. It is not legal advice for your situation and does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your own crash, call Jim Glaser Law at (617) JIM-WINS.

Talking to a Lawyer

A Route 3 crash usually means a State Police report, highway speeds and, often, a stretch of road with no lighting. If you were hurt on Route 3, call Jim Glaser Law at (617) JIM-WINS. The line is answered 24 hours a day. The first telephone consultation is free.