Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

60 CRASHES IN
GARDNER, MA
FEBRUARY 2025

All metrics benchmarked againstFebruary 2024

Total crashes in Gardner for February 2025 were 60, an increase from 47 crashes reported in February 2024, representing a 27.66% rise. A notable positive shift was the absence of fatalities in February 2025, down from 1 fatality in the prior year. Injuries, however, increased by 83.33%, from 6 to 11.

60

27.7%was 47

Total Crash Events

0

-100.0%was 1

Persons Killed

11

83.3%was 6

Persons Injured

5

150.0%was 2

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash incidents in Gardner show an upward trend year-over-year, with total crashes increasing by 27.66% from 47 to 60. While total injuries rose significantly from 6 to 11, representing an 83.33% increase, fatalities decreased from 1 in February 2024 to 0 in February 2025.

5

Hit-and-Run Crashes — February 2025

150.0% vs prior (2)

Hit-and-run crashes increased from 2 incidents in February 2024 to 5 incidents in February 2025. This resulted in the hit-and-run crash rate rising from 4.3% to 8.3% of all crashes, an increase of 4.0 percentage points.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 1-100.0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 0%

10

Motorists Injured

Prior: 666.7%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · 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 Friday with 11 incidents in February 2024 to Wednesday with 13 incidents in February 2025. Monday saw a substantial increase in crashes, rising from 4 to 10. The peak crash hour remained consistent at 3 p.m. in both periods, with 8 crashes in February 2024 and 10 crashes in February 2025.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes were eliminated in February 2025, dropping from 1 in the prior year to 0. Minor injury crashes increased from 4 to 7, and possible injury crashes rose from 1 to 2. Consequently, the share of crashes resulting in no injury decreased from 83% in February 2024 to 78.3% in February 2025.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury7minor injury crashes11.7%
75.0%prior 4
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes3.3%
100.0%prior 1
No Injury47no injury crashes78.3%
20.5%prior 39

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Contributing factor 'No improper driving' saw a significant increase, rising from 6 incidents in February 2024 to 16 in February 2025, a 166.67% rise in count. Conversely, 'Inattention' decreased by 8 incidents, from 20 to 12. 'Followed too closely' crashes quadrupled, increasing from 1 to 4 incidents, a 300% rise in count.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving16 (26.7%)166.7%prior 6
Inattention12 (20%)-40.0%prior 20
Failed to yield right of way9 (15%)12.5%prior 8
Driving too fast for conditions4 (6.7%)
Followed too closely4 (6.7%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway2 (3.3%)
Visibility obstructed2 (3.3%)-60.0%prior 5
Made an improper turn2 (3.3%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (1.7%)
Other improper action1 (1.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in clear weather conditions decreased from 35 to 27, while those in cloudy conditions more than tripled, rising from 5 to 16 incidents. Crashes on snow-covered road surfaces increased from 1 to 10. The number of crashes occurring in daylight increased from 33 to 43, and those in unlit dark conditions increased from 1 to 6.

Weather

Clear27 (45.0%)
-22.9%prior 35
Cloudy16 (26.7%)
220.0%prior 5
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)6 (10.0%)
Snow4 (6.7%)
Clear/Cloudy1 (1.7%)
Rain1 (1.7%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)/Cloudy1 (1.7%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)/Snow1 (1.7%)
Snow/Rain1 (1.7%)
Clear/Snow1 (1.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight43 (71.7%)
30.3%prior 33
Dark - lighted roadway10 (16.7%)
11.1%prior 9
Dark - roadway not lighted6 (10.0%)
Dusk1 (1.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry29 (49.2%)
-17.1%prior 35
Snow10 (16.9%)
Ice8 (13.6%)
Wet8 (13.6%)
-27.3%prior 11
Slush4 (6.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased from 89 to 104, a 16.85% rise. Toyota remained the top vehicle make involved in crashes, though its count decreased from 18 to 13. Honda vehicles involved in crashes doubled from 6 to 12, moving from the eighth most frequent make to the second. In terms of persons involved, the 16-20 age group saw a significant increase from 4 to 15 individuals, while the 0-15 age group decreased from 14 to 6.

Top Vehicle Makes (104 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA13 (12.5%)
-27.8%prior 18
2
HONDA12 (11.5%)
100.0%prior 6
3
FORD9 (8.7%)
0.0%prior 9
4
JEEP8 (7.7%)
0.0%prior 8
5
SUBARU7 (6.7%)
16.7%prior 6
6
NISSAN7 (6.7%)
0.0%prior 7
7
CHEVROLET7 (6.7%)
0.0%prior 7
8
INTL3 (2.9%)
9
GMC3 (2.9%)
-40.0%prior 5
10
KIA3 (2.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (105 persons with recorded sex)

Male65 (61.9%)
8.3%prior 60
Female40 (38.1%)
-7.0%prior 43

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes occurring in 30 mph speed zones saw the largest increase, rising from 16 incidents in February 2024 to 26 in February 2025. Crashes in 50 mph zones increased from 1 to 3, with the prior period recording 1 fatal crash in this zone, while the current period had none. Crashes in 5 mph zones decreased from 4 to 1.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · 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: 2025-02-01 through 2025-02-28
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2025-02-01 through 2025-02-28 (28 days)
  • Geographic scope: GARDNER, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 60
  • Total persons involved: 124
  • Total vehicles involved: 104

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). "GARDNER, MA Crash Intelligence Report: February 2025." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/gardner/february-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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Gardner, MA Crash Report — February 2025 | ThatCarHitMe.com