Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

83 CRASHES IN
CAMBRIDGE, MA
SEPTEMBER 2025

All metrics benchmarked againstSeptember 2024

In September 2025, CAMBRIDGE experienced 83 total crashes, a significant decrease from the 132 crashes reported in September 2024, representing a 37.1% reduction year-over-year. This period also saw a notable decline in total injuries, falling from 45 to 25, and no fatalities compared to one in the prior year. The most striking shift was the overall reduction in crash incidents and related harm.

83

-37.1%was 132

Total Crash Events

0

-100.0%was 1

Persons Killed

25

-44.4%was 45

Persons Injured

22

-50.0%was 44

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. 10 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Total crashes in CAMBRIDGE decreased by 37.1% from 132 in September 2024 to 83 in September 2025. This downward trend is also reflected in a 44.4% reduction in total injuries, from 45 to 25, and a decrease from one fatality to zero fatalities year-over-year. Overall, crash activity and associated harm showed a significant decline.

22

Hit-and-Run Crashes — September 2025

-50.0% vs prior (44)

Hit-and-run crashes decreased from 44 incidents in September 2024 to 22 incidents in September 2025. The hit-and-run rate also declined from 33.3% of all crashes to 26.5% year-over-year. This indicates a downward trend in both the absolute number and the proportion of hit-and-run incidents.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 1-100.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

3

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 6-50.0%

6

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 10-40.0%

16

Motorists Injured

Prior: 23-30.4%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes shifted from Monday in September 2024, with 30 incidents, to Tuesday in September 2025, with 22 incidents. Similarly, the peak crash hour moved from 1 PM (14 crashes) in the prior period to 8 AM (12 crashes) in the current period. This indicates a shift in high-incident times from early afternoon to morning commutes.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes decreased from one in September 2024 to zero in September 2025. The number of serious injury (A) crashes decreased from 3 to 2, and minor injury (B) crashes decreased from 23 to 12. Overall, the total number of injuries declined by 44.4%, from 45 to 25 year-over-year.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury2serious injury crashes2.4%
-33.3%prior 3
Minor Injury12minor injury crashes14.5%
-47.8%prior 23
Possible Injury4possible injury crashes4.8%
-55.6%prior 9
No Injury55no injury crashes66.3%
-19.1%prior 68

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The leading contributing factor, 'No improper driving', decreased by 8 incidents, from 32 in the prior period to 24 in the current period. 'Failed to yield right of way' incidents decreased by 4, from 9 to 5, while 'Other improper action' also saw a reduction of 4 incidents, from 10 to 6. Conversely, 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' increased by 3 incidents, from 4 to 7.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving24 (28.9%)-25.0%prior 32
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road7 (8.4%)
Other improper action6 (7.2%)-40.0%prior 10
Followed too closely5 (6%)
Failed to yield right of way5 (6%)-44.4%prior 9
Inattention4 (4.8%)-42.9%prior 7
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (1.2%)
Made an improper turn1 (1.2%)
Over-correcting/over-steering1 (1.2%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (1.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions remained the majority, accounting for 67.5% (56 crashes) in the current period compared to 68.2% (90 crashes) in the prior period. Crashes on 'Dry' road surfaces increased in proportion, representing 92.8% (77 crashes) versus 85.6% (113 crashes) year-over-year. The number of crashes during 'Daylight' conditions decreased from 93 to 64, while crashes in 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions decreased from 22 to 10.

Weather

Clear56 (70.0%)
-37.8%prior 90
Clear/Clear16 (20.0%)
6.7%prior 15
Cloudy3 (3.8%)
-50.0%prior 6
Cloudy/Clear2 (2.5%)
Cloudy/Cloudy2 (2.5%)
Rain1 (1.3%)
-80.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight64 (80.0%)
-31.2%prior 93
Dark - lighted roadway10 (12.5%)
-54.5%prior 22
Dusk4 (5.0%)
-20.0%prior 5
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (1.3%)
Other1 (1.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry77 (96.3%)
-31.9%prior 113
Wet3 (3.8%)
-66.7%prior 9

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes decreased from 221 in September 2024 to 150 in September 2025. Among top makes, TOYOTA saw a decrease of 15 vehicles (from 40 to 25), while HONDA increased by 6 vehicles (from 20 to 26). The number of persons involved in crashes decreased across all reported age groups, with the 21-25 age group seeing a reduction of 16 persons (from 34 to 18) and the 26-34 age group a reduction of 15 persons (from 55 to 40).

Top Vehicle Makes (150 vehicles)

1
HONDA26 (17.3%)
30.0%prior 20
2
TOYOTA25 (16.7%)
-37.5%prior 40
3
FORD12 (8%)
-40.0%prior 20
4
SUBARU10 (6.7%)
-9.1%prior 11
5
NISSAN8 (5.3%)
-20.0%prior 10
6
CHEVROLET8 (5.3%)
33.3%prior 6
7
KIA4 (2.7%)
-33.3%prior 6
8
JEEP4 (2.7%)
-55.6%prior 9
9
VOLVO3 (2%)
10
MAZDA3 (2%)
-57.1%prior 7

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (149 persons with recorded sex)

Male88 (59.1%)
-33.8%prior 133
Female61 (40.9%)
-11.6%prior 69

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 20 mph speed zone decreased from 35 in the prior period to 14 in the current period, and those in the 25 mph zone decreased from 86 to 58. Conversely, crashes in the 30 mph zone increased from 2 to 5, and in the 35 mph zone from 3 to 4. There were no fatalities in any speed zone in the current period, compared to one fatality in the 20 mph zone in the prior period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · 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: 2025-09-01 through 2025-09-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2025-09-01 through 2025-09-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: CAMBRIDGE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 83
  • Total persons involved: 181
  • Total vehicles involved: 150

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). "CAMBRIDGE, MA Crash Intelligence Report: September 2025." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/cambridge/september-2025-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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Cambridge, MA Crash Report — September 2025 | ThatCarHitMe.com