Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

39 CRASHES IN
GARDNER, MA
SEPTEMBER 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstSeptember 2022

In September 2023, Gardner experienced 39 crashes, an 8.3% increase compared to the 36 crashes reported in September 2022. A significant year-over-year shift was observed in total injuries, which rose by 66.7% from 6 injuries in the prior period to 10 injuries in the current period.

39

8.3%was 36

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

10

66.7%was 6

Persons Injured

1

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash data for Gardner indicates an upward trend year-over-year. Total crashes increased by 8.3%, from 36 in September 2022 to 39 in September 2023. This increase was accompanied by a substantial 66.7% rise in total injuries, from 6 to 10.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — September 2023

2.6% hit-and-run rate this period vs 0.0% prior. Prior period: 0.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 0%

9

Motorists Injured

Prior: 580.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · 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 Wednesday in September 2022, which saw 9 crashes, to Friday in September 2023, also with 9 crashes. The peak hour for crashes moved from 9 PM with 5 crashes in the prior period to 3 PM with 6 crashes in the current period. Notably, crashes on Saturday decreased from 8 to 3, while crashes on Monday increased from 4 to 7.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes remained at zero in both September 2022 and September 2023. The number of total injuries increased from 6 to 10 year-over-year. While minor injuries (code B) remained constant at 4 in both periods, serious injuries (code A) decreased from 1 in the prior period to 0 in the current period, and possible injuries (code C) remained at 1 in both periods.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury4minor injury crashes10.3%
0.0%prior 4
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes2.6%
0.0%prior 1
No Injury32no injury crashes82.1%
10.3%prior 29

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Inattention remained the leading contributing factor, increasing by 5 crashes from 8 in September 2022 to 13 in September 2023, representing a 33.3% share of crashes in the current period compared to 22.2% previously. 'Failed to yield right of way' also increased by 2 crashes, from 6 to 8. Conversely, 'Operating vehicle in an erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' decreased by 1 crash, from 4 to 3.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention13 (33.3%)62.5%prior 8
Failed to yield right of way8 (20.5%)33.3%prior 6
No improper driving5 (12.8%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner3 (7.7%)
Visibility obstructed2 (5.1%)
Other improper action1 (2.6%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (2.6%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings1 (2.6%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (2.6%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

The number of crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions decreased by 3, from 32 in the prior period to 29 in the current period. Conversely, crashes during 'Rain' increased by 2, from 2 to 4. In terms of lighting, crashes during 'Daylight' increased by 5, from 25 to 30, while those in 'Dark - lighted roadway' decreased by 3, from 7 to 4.

Weather

Clear29 (74.4%)
-9.4%prior 32
Rain4 (10.3%)
Clear/Cloudy3 (7.7%)
Cloudy2 (5.1%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight30 (76.9%)
20.0%prior 25
Dark - lighted roadway4 (10.3%)
-42.9%prior 7
Dark - roadway not lighted3 (7.7%)
Dawn1 (2.6%)
Dusk1 (2.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry34 (87.2%)
6.3%prior 32
Wet5 (12.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased from 69 to 74 year-over-year. CHEVROLET became the most frequently involved vehicle make in the current period with 14 vehicles, an increase of 5 from 9 in the prior period, surpassing TOYOTA which saw a slight decrease from 14 to 13. The 0-15 age group saw a notable increase in persons involved, rising from 1 to 13.

Top Vehicle Makes (74 vehicles)

1
CHEVROLET14 (18.9%)
55.6%prior 9
2
TOYOTA13 (17.6%)
-7.1%prior 14
3
FORD9 (12.2%)
12.5%prior 8
4
HONDA8 (10.8%)
33.3%prior 6
5
RAM5 (6.8%)
6
HYUNDAI5 (6.8%)
0.0%prior 5
7
SUBARU4 (5.4%)
-33.3%prior 6
8
MACK2 (2.7%)
9
NISSAN2 (2.7%)
10
DODGE1 (1.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (91 persons with recorded sex)

Male51 (56.0%)
27.5%prior 40
Female40 (44.0%)
48.1%prior 27

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 30 mph speed zone increased by 1, from 19 in September 2022 to 20 in September 2023. There was an increase of 2 crashes in the 25 mph zone, rising from 1 to 3. Notably, the 5 mph speed zone, which had 4 crashes in the prior period, reported zero crashes in the current period, while the 50 mph and 55 mph zones each reported 3 crashes in the current period after having zero in the prior period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · 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: 2023-09-01 through 2023-09-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-09-01 through 2023-09-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: GARDNER, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 39
  • Total persons involved: 100
  • Total vehicles involved: 74

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: September 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/gardner/september-2023-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

ThatCarHitMe.com · An Injuria.ai Company

Gardner, MA Crash Report — September 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com