Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

49 CRASHES IN
GARDNER, MA
FEBRUARY 2026

All metrics benchmarked againstFebruary 2025

Total crashes in Gardner, MA decreased by 18.3% year-over-year, from 60 crashes in February 2025 to 49 crashes in February 2026. The most notable shift was a significant 72.7% reduction in total injuries, decreasing from 11 in the prior period to 3 in the current period.

49

-18.3%was 60

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

3

-72.7%was 11

Persons Injured

4

-20.0%was 5

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates a decrease in crash incidents, with total crashes falling from 60 in February 2025 to 49 in February 2026, representing an 18.3% reduction. This decline was accompanied by a substantial 72.7% decrease in total injuries, dropping from 11 to 3 year-over-year.

4

Hit-and-Run Crashes — February 2026

-20.0% vs prior (5)

Hit-and-run crashes decreased from 5 in February 2025 to 4 in February 2026. The hit-and-run rate remained relatively stable, with a slight decrease from 8.3% in the prior period to 8.2% in the current period.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

3

Motorists Injured

Prior: 10-70.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · 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 Wednesday, which had 13 crashes in February 2025, to Thursday, with 11 crashes in February 2026. The peak crash hour also changed, moving from 3 PM (10 crashes) in the prior period to 7 AM (7 crashes) in the current period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatal crashes or fatalities recorded in either February 2025 or February 2026. Total injuries decreased from 11 in February 2025 to 3 in February 2026. The proportion of crashes resulting in minor injuries decreased from 11.7% (7 crashes) to 4.1% (2 crashes), while possible injury crashes decreased from 3.3% (2 crashes) to 2% (1 crash).

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury2minor injury crashes4.1%
-71.4%prior 7
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes2%
-50.0%prior 2
No Injury43no injury crashes87.8%
-8.5%prior 47

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' decreased slightly from 16 in February 2025 to 15 in February 2026. 'Inattention' as a contributing factor saw a 66.7% reduction, decreasing from 12 crashes to 4 crashes. 'Failed to yield right of way' crashes also decreased from 9 to 6, a 33.3% reduction, while 'Driving too fast for conditions' decreased from 4 to 1 crash.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving15 (30.6%)-6.3%prior 16
Failed to yield right of way6 (12.2%)-33.3%prior 9
Inattention4 (8.2%)-66.7%prior 12
Other improper action3 (6.1%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner2 (4.1%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (4.1%)
Distracted2 (4.1%)
Over-correcting/over-steering2 (4.1%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (2%)
Physical impairment1 (2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions remained stable, with 27 in February 2025 and 28 in February 2026. Crashes in 'Cloudy' conditions decreased from 16 to 10, while crashes on 'Dry' road surfaces remained constant at 29 for both periods. Crashes during 'Daylight' decreased from 43 to 37, and those in 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions decreased from 10 to 5.

Weather

Clear28 (57.1%)
3.7%prior 27
Cloudy10 (20.4%)
-37.5%prior 16
Snow8 (16.3%)
Clear/Clear1 (2.0%)
Rain1 (2.0%)
Snow/Blowing sand, snow1 (2.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight37 (75.5%)
-14.0%prior 43
Dark - lighted roadway5 (10.2%)
-50.0%prior 10
Dark - roadway not lighted5 (10.2%)
-16.7%prior 6
Dawn1 (2.0%)
Dusk1 (2.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry29 (59.2%)
0.0%prior 29
Snow11 (22.4%)
10.0%prior 10
Wet7 (14.3%)
-12.5%prior 8
Other1 (2.0%)
Slush1 (2.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes decreased from 104 in February 2025 to 94 in February 2026. Toyota and Honda remained the top two vehicle makes involved, with Toyota increasing from 13 to 14 and Honda from 12 to 13. The 26-34 age group saw a decrease from 20 persons involved in crashes in February 2025 to 13 in February 2026, while the 21-25 age group increased from 11 to 14.

Top Vehicle Makes (94 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA14 (14.9%)
7.7%prior 13
2
HONDA13 (13.8%)
8.3%prior 12
3
CHEVROLET10 (10.6%)
42.9%prior 7
4
SUBARU9 (9.6%)
28.6%prior 7
5
FORD7 (7.4%)
-22.2%prior 9
6
JEEP6 (6.4%)
-25.0%prior 8
7
NISSAN5 (5.3%)
-28.6%prior 7
8
VOLKSWAGEN4 (4.3%)
9
MAZDA4 (4.3%)
10
HYUNDAI3 (3.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (93 persons with recorded sex)

Male52 (55.9%)
-20.0%prior 65
Female41 (44.1%)
2.5%prior 40

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 30 MPH speed zones decreased from 26 in February 2025 to 17 in February 2026. Crashes in 20 MPH zones remained constant at 10 for both periods, while crashes in 10 MPH zones decreased from 6 to 1. Conversely, crashes in 15 MPH zones increased from 0 to 6. There were no fatal crashes recorded in any speed limit zone for either period.

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

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2026-02-01 through 2026-02-28 (28 days)
  • Geographic scope: GARDNER, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 49
  • Total persons involved: 110
  • Total vehicles involved: 94

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