Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

515 CRASHES IN
BELLINGHAM, MA
2025

All metrics benchmarked against2024

In Bellingham, total traffic crashes decreased from 583 in the prior year to 515 in the current period, representing an 11.7% reduction. Despite this overall decline in collisions, the number of fatalities doubled from one to two. The most notable year-over-year shift was a significant increase in crashes attributed to 'Followed too closely,' which rose from 26 to 61 incidents.

515

-11.7%was 583

Total Crash Events

2

100.0%was 1

Persons Killed

139

-2.1%was 142

Persons Injured

22

15.8%was 19

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (2) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (2) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities. 6 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Traffic crashes in Bellingham showed a downward trend, with total incidents falling by 11.7% from 583 to 515 year-over-year. While the number of total injuries remained nearly stable, decreasing from 142 to 139, the number of fatalities increased from one to two persons. This indicates that while crash frequency has decreased, the severity of some incidents has worsened.

22

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2025

15.8% vs prior (19)

The number of hit-and-run crashes increased from 19 in the prior year to 22 in the current year. This represents an upward trend in the hit-and-run rate, which rose from 3.3% of all crashes in the prior period to 4.3% in the current period.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 0%

1

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 1-100.0%

0

Other Killed

Prior: 00.0%

3

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 30.0%

3

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 1200.0%

132

Motorists Injured

Prior: 137-3.6%

1

Other Injured

Prior: 10.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes remained consistent, with Monday being the peak day and the 4 p.m. hour being the peak time for collisions in both periods. However, the volume of crashes during these peaks declined year-over-year. The number of crashes on Mondays fell from 108 to 88, and incidents during the 4 p.m. hour decreased from 59 to 46.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

While total crashes decreased, the number of fatal crashes doubled from one to two, increasing the fatal crash rate from 0.2% to 0.4% of all incidents. The proportion of crashes resulting in minor injuries was stable at 10.1% for both periods. Crashes involving possible injuries increased as a share of the total, rising from 5.3% to 7.0%, while the share of serious injury crashes saw a slight decrease from 1.9% to 1.7%.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal2fatal crashes0.4%
100.0%prior 1
Serious Injury9serious injury crashes1.7%
-18.2%prior 11
Minor Injury52minor injury crashes10.1%
-11.9%prior 59
Possible Injury36possible injury crashes7%
16.1%prior 31
No Injury410no injury crashes79.6%
-13.3%prior 473

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

While 'No improper driving' remained the most cited factor in both periods, there were significant shifts in the rankings of other contributing factors. The count of crashes attributed to 'Failed to yield right of way' increased from 46 to 73, a 58.7% rise, making it the second-ranked factor. 'Followed too closely' crashes more than doubled, increasing by 134.6% from 26 to 61 incidents. In contrast, crashes involving 'Inattention' decreased by 44.2% from 52 to 29 incidents.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving179 (34.8%)4.1%prior 172
Failed to yield right of way73 (14.2%)58.7%prior 46
Followed too closely61 (11.8%)134.6%prior 26
Inattention29 (5.6%)-44.2%prior 52
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner19 (3.7%)-9.5%prior 21
Other improper action19 (3.7%)58.3%prior 12
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road19 (3.7%)11.8%prior 17
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway9 (1.7%)-10.0%prior 10
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings9 (1.7%)-10.0%prior 10
Distracted8 (1.6%)-33.3%prior 12

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

The majority of crashes in both years occurred during daylight hours on dry roads. The proportion of crashes on dry surfaces remained steady at approximately 78%. There was a minor shift in lighting conditions, with the share of crashes occurring in daylight decreasing from 74.3% to 71.1%, while the proportion of crashes on dark, lighted roadways increased from 17.3% to 19.2%.

Weather

Clear363 (70.6%)
-16.6%prior 435
Rain47 (9.1%)
4.4%prior 45
Cloudy44 (8.6%)
-2.2%prior 45
Clear/Clear21 (4.1%)
Rain/Cloudy11 (2.1%)
83.3%prior 6
Snow8 (1.6%)
-50.0%prior 16
Cloudy/Rain6 (1.2%)
-53.8%prior 13
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)2 (0.4%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)2 (0.4%)
Rain/Snow1 (0.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight366 (71.3%)
-15.5%prior 433
Dark - lighted roadway99 (19.3%)
-2.0%prior 101
Dark - roadway not lighted24 (4.7%)
41.2%prior 17
Dusk13 (2.5%)
-35.0%prior 20
Dawn10 (1.9%)
25.0%prior 8
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (0.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry406 (79.0%)
-11.0%prior 456
Wet92 (17.9%)
-8.9%prior 101
Snow12 (2.3%)
-36.8%prior 19
Ice2 (0.4%)
-60.0%prior 5
Slush1 (0.2%)
Water (standing, moving)1 (0.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Toyota, Ford, and Honda were the top three vehicle makes involved in crashes during both periods, with their rankings unchanged. However, the number of Ford vehicles in crashes decreased from 157 to 102. A review of person demographics shows a decrease in the involvement of older individuals; the 65+ age group accounted for 12.5% of persons in the prior period but only 9.6% in the current period.

Top Vehicle Makes (974 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA166 (17%)
-4.0%prior 173
2
FORD102 (10.5%)
-35.0%prior 157
3
HONDA89 (9.1%)
-4.3%prior 93
4
CHEVROLET85 (8.7%)
-8.6%prior 93
5
NISSAN66 (6.8%)
4.8%prior 63
6
JEEP53 (5.4%)
3.9%prior 51
7
SUBARU51 (5.2%)
34.2%prior 38
8
HYUNDAI45 (4.6%)
-27.4%prior 62
9
KIA33 (3.4%)
3.1%prior 32
10
GMC29 (3%)
-38.3%prior 47

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (1,148 persons with recorded sex)

Male665 (57.9%)
-8.8%prior 729
Female483 (42.1%)
-4.9%prior 508

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes decreased in the most common speed zones, with incidents in 25 mph zones falling from 217 to 178 and in 35 mph zones from 176 to 141. The location of fatal crashes shifted; the prior year's single fatality occurred in a 35 mph zone, whereas the current year's two fatalities occurred in 25 mph and 45 mph zones.

Fatal crashes by zone: 25 mph: 1 of 178 (0.562%) · 45 mph: 1 of 27 (3.704%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · 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: 2025-01-01 through 2025-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2025-01-01 through 2025-12-31 (365 days)
  • Geographic scope: BELLINGHAM, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 515
  • Total persons involved: 1,213
  • Total vehicles involved: 974

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). "BELLINGHAM, MA Crash Intelligence Report: 2025." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/bellingham/2025-annual-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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Bellingham, MA Crash Report — 2025 | ThatCarHitMe.com