Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

254 CRASHES IN
FALL RIVER, MA
JANUARY 2025

All metrics benchmarked againstJanuary 2024

In January 2025, Fall River experienced 254 total crashes, a decrease of 5.58% from the 269 crashes recorded in January 2024. The most significant year-over-year change was the increase in total fatalities, rising from zero in the prior year to one in the current period.

254

-5.6%was 269

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

52

-36.6%was 82

Persons Injured

36

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (1) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (1) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities. 14 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 2025-01-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall crash trends in Fall River show a slight decrease year-over-year. Total crashes declined by 5.58%, from 269 in January 2024 to 254 in January 2025.

36

Hit-and-Run Crashes — January 2025

0.0% vs prior (36)

The number of hit-and-run crashes remained constant at 36 in both January 2024 and January 2025. However, the hit-and-run rate increased from 13.4% in the prior period to 14.2% in the current period, reflecting a higher proportion of hit-and-run incidents relative to the total number of crashes.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

2

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 5-60.0%

50

Motorists Injured

Prior: 75-33.3%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-01-31 · 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 Wednesday with 45 crashes in January 2024 to Friday with 53 crashes in January 2025. Similarly, the peak crash hour changed from 6 PM with 22 crashes in the prior period to 2 PM with 25 crashes in the current period.

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

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

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatalities increased from 0 in January 2024 to 1 in January 2025, representing a fatal crash rate of 0.39% in the current period compared to 0% previously. Total injuries decreased significantly by 36.59%, from 82 injured persons in January 2024 to 52 in January 2025.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes0.4%
Minor Injury36minor injury crashes14.2%
-20.0%prior 45
Possible Injury9possible injury crashes3.5%
-47.1%prior 17
No Injury194no injury crashes76.4%
0.0%prior 194

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

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

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

Top Contributing Factors

The count of crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' remained relatively stable, decreasing slightly from 95 to 94. 'Inattention' as a contributing factor saw a decrease of 6 crashes, from 29 in January 2024 to 23 in January 2025. Conversely, crashes where 'Failed to yield right of way' was a factor increased by 2, from 19 to 21.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving94 (37%)-1.1%prior 95
Inattention23 (9.1%)-20.7%prior 29
Failed to yield right of way21 (8.3%)10.5%prior 19
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road17 (6.7%)13.3%prior 15
Followed too closely16 (6.3%)33.3%prior 12
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings13 (5.1%)18.2%prior 11
Other improper action9 (3.5%)-43.8%prior 16
Glare6 (2.4%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner5 (2%)0.0%prior 5
Distracted4 (1.6%)

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

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Dry' road surface conditions increased by 27, from 182 in January 2024 to 209 in January 2025. Conversely, crashes on 'Wet' road surfaces decreased by 36, from 54 to 18. There was a notable decrease of 10 crashes occurring in 'Rain' conditions, from 18 to 8.

Weather

Clear157 (63.1%)
-3.1%prior 162
Clear/Cloudy29 (11.6%)
7.4%prior 27
Clear/Clear14 (5.6%)
Snow9 (3.6%)
12.5%prior 8
Clear/Unknown9 (3.6%)
80.0%prior 5
Rain8 (3.2%)
-55.6%prior 18
Clear/Other7 (2.8%)
40.0%prior 5
Cloudy5 (2.0%)
-58.3%prior 12
Rain/Rain2 (0.8%)
Rain/Cloudy2 (0.8%)

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

Lighting

Daylight161 (64.9%)
-0.6%prior 162
Dark - lighted roadway57 (23.0%)
-18.6%prior 70
Dusk17 (6.9%)
54.5%prior 11
Dawn5 (2.0%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting4 (1.6%)
-50.0%prior 8
Dark - roadway not lighted4 (1.6%)
-66.7%prior 12

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

Road Surface

Dry209 (83.3%)
14.8%prior 182
Snow18 (7.2%)
28.6%prior 14
Wet18 (7.2%)
-66.7%prior 54
Ice6 (2.4%)
-45.5%prior 11

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

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased slightly from 504 in January 2024 to 515 in January 2025. Toyota remained the top make involved, increasing from 68 to 70 vehicles. Honda saw a decrease from 62 to 54 vehicles, while Nissan increased from 48 to 54 vehicles.

Top Vehicle Makes (515 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA70 (13.6%)
2.9%prior 68
2
NISSAN54 (10.5%)
12.5%prior 48
3
HONDA54 (10.5%)
-12.9%prior 62
4
FORD53 (10.3%)
-7.0%prior 57
5
HYUNDAI41 (8%)
57.7%prior 26
6
CHEVROLET28 (5.4%)
-37.8%prior 45
7
KIA27 (5.2%)
22.7%prior 22
8
GMC20 (3.9%)
53.8%prior 13
9
JEEP18 (3.5%)
12.5%prior 16
10
MERCEDES-BENZ11 (2.1%)
37.5%prior 8

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

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

Sex Distribution (497 persons with recorded sex)

Male284 (57.1%)
6.4%prior 267
Female213 (42.9%)
4.9%prior 203

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

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 25 mph speed zones increased from 77 in January 2024 to 116 in January 2025, while crashes in 30 mph zones decreased from 114 to 83. A fatal crash occurred in a 25 mph speed zone in the current period, whereas no fatal crashes were reported in any speed zone in the prior period.

Fatal crashes by zone: 25 mph: 1 of 116 (0.862%)

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

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2025-01-01 through 2025-01-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: FALL RIVER, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 254
  • Total persons involved: 622
  • Total vehicles involved: 515

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). "FALL RIVER, MA Crash Intelligence Report: January 2025." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2025-01-01 to 2025-01-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/fall-river/january-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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Fall River, MA Crash Report — January 2025 | ThatCarHitMe.com