Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

30 CRASHES IN
HARVARD, MA
JANUARY 2025

All metrics benchmarked againstJanuary 2024

Total crashes in HARVARD increased from 20 in January 2024 to 30 in January 2025, representing a 50% rise year-over-year. The most notable shift was the 80% increase in crashes where "No improper driving" was cited as a contributing factor, rising from 5 to 9 incidents.

30

50.0%was 20

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

7

Persons Injured

0

Fatal Crash Events

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. 1 crash with unreported severity is 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 incidents in HARVARD increased significantly year-over-year, with total crashes rising by 50% from 20 in January 2024 to 30 in January 2025. Despite this increase in total crashes, the number of injuries remained stable at 7 in both periods, and no fatalities were recorded in either January.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

7

Motorists Injured

Prior: 70.0%

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 7 incidents in January 2024 to Saturday with 8 incidents in January 2025. Similarly, the peak hour for crashes moved from 2 PM with 3 incidents in the prior year to 5 PM with 4 incidents in the current year, indicating a shift in high-crash periods.

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

While total crashes increased, the number of total injuries remained constant at 7 for both January 2024 and January 2025. The proportion of crashes resulting in "No Injury" rose from 65% (13 crashes) in the prior period to 80% (24 crashes) in the current period, while "Minor Injury" crashes decreased from 20% (4 crashes) to 10% (3 crashes). No fatal crashes or fatalities were reported in either period.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury3minor injury crashes10%
-25.0%prior 4
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes6.7%
-33.3%prior 3
No Injury24no injury crashes80%
84.6%prior 13

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

"No improper driving" saw an 80% increase in count, rising from 5 incidents in January 2024 to 9 in January 2025, becoming the most frequently cited factor. Conversely, "Driving too fast for conditions" decreased by 40% from 5 to 3 incidents, and "Followed too closely" decreased by 25% from 4 to 3 incidents year-over-year. Both "Distracted" and "Exceeded authorized speed limit" factors remained stable at 1 incident each across both periods.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving9 (30%)80.0%prior 5
Followed too closely3 (10%)
Driving too fast for conditions3 (10%)-40.0%prior 5
Distracted1 (3.3%)
Failed to yield right of way1 (3.3%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (3.3%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (3.3%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit1 (3.3%)

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 7 incidents, from 7 in January 2024 to 14 in January 2025. Crashes in "Clear" weather conditions rose from 9 to 13 incidents, while those in "Snow" conditions increased from 6 to 7 incidents. Crashes during "Dark - roadway not lighted" conditions saw a 67% increase, rising from 6 to 10 incidents year-over-year.

Weather

Clear13 (46.4%)
44.4%prior 9
Snow7 (25.0%)
16.7%prior 6
Clear/Clear2 (7.1%)
Snow/Snow2 (7.1%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (3.6%)
Snow/Cloudy1 (3.6%)
Cloudy1 (3.6%)
Snow/Other1 (3.6%)

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

Lighting

Daylight14 (50.0%)
27.3%prior 11
Dark - roadway not lighted10 (35.7%)
66.7%prior 6
Dark - lighted roadway2 (7.1%)
Dawn1 (3.6%)
Dusk1 (3.6%)

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

Road Surface

Dry14 (50.0%)
100.0%prior 7
Snow13 (46.4%)
62.5%prior 8
Ice1 (3.6%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (55 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA11 (20%)
57.1%prior 7
2
FORD8 (14.5%)
3
CHEVROLET6 (10.9%)
4
SUBARU4 (7.3%)
5
DODGE3 (5.5%)
6
HONDA3 (5.5%)
-40.0%prior 5
7
NISSAN3 (5.5%)
8
HYUNDAI2 (3.6%)
9
MAZDA2 (3.6%)
10
KIA1 (1.8%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (59 persons with recorded sex)

Male40 (67.8%)
110.5%prior 19
Female19 (32.2%)
26.7%prior 15

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 occurring in 30 mph zones increased significantly, rising from 1 incident in January 2024 to 7 incidents in January 2025. Conversely, crashes in 55 mph zones decreased from 10 incidents to 7 incidents year-over-year. Additionally, 65 mph zones, which had no crashes in the prior period, recorded 4 crashes in the current period.

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: HARVARD, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 30
  • Total persons involved: 61
  • Total vehicles involved: 55

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). "HARVARD, 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/harvard/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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Harvard, MA Crash Report — January 2025 | ThatCarHitMe.com