Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

4,006 CRASHES IN
NEW BEDFORD, MA
2025

All metrics benchmarked against2024

In 2025, New Bedford recorded 4,006 total crashes, a 16.5% increase from the 3,438 crashes documented in 2024. This rise in incidents was accompanied by a 3.8% increase in total injuries, from 991 to 1,029, and a slight increase in fatalities from 6 to 7. The most notable shift was the overall growth in crash volume, with hit-and-run incidents in particular increasing by over 27% year-over-year.

4,006

16.5%was 3,438

Total Crash Events

7

16.7%was 6

Persons Killed

1,029

3.8%was 991

Persons Injured

652

27.6%was 511

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (7) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (6) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities. 275 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 2025-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Crash trends in New Bedford show a significant increase year-over-year. Total crashes rose by 16.5%, from 3,438 in 2024 to 4,006 in 2025. While total injuries increased by a more modest 3.8% to 1,029, fatalities also saw a slight rise from 6 to 7 people.

652

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2025

27.6% vs prior (511)

Hit-and-run incidents increased significantly year-over-year in both absolute numbers and as a proportion of total crashes. The count of hit-and-run crashes rose by 27.6%, from 511 in 2024 to 652 in 2025. This corresponds to an increase in the hit-and-run rate, which climbed from 14.9% of all crashes in the prior year to 16.3% in the current year.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 10.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 1-100.0%

6

Motorists Killed

Prior: 450.0%

0

Other Killed

Prior: 00.0%

54

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 531.9%

34

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 2917.2%

926

Motorists Injured

Prior: 9032.5%

15

Other Injured

Prior: 6150.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

Temporal patterns show a general intensification of crash activity year-over-year. While Friday remained the peak day for crashes in both 2024 (541 crashes) and 2025 (642 crashes), the peak hour shifted slightly later from 2 p.m. in the prior year to 3 p.m. in the current year. Crash counts increased across all days of the week, with the afternoon hours from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. experiencing a notable rise in incidents.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

The severity of crashes shifted slightly towards less severe outcomes despite an increase in total incidents. The fatal crash rate remained stable at 0.15% in both 2024 and 2025, though the absolute number of fatal crashes rose from 5 to 6. The proportion of crashes resulting in any level of injury decreased from 21.1% in 2024 to 18.5% in 2025, while the share of non-injury crashes increased from 71.1% to 74.5%.

Severity is per crash event (most severe injury). 6 fatal crash events resulted in 7 persons killed.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal6fatal crashes0.1%
20.0%prior 5
Serious Injury57serious injury crashes1.4%
5.6%prior 54
Minor Injury513minor injury crashes12.8%
12.3%prior 457
Possible Injury172possible injury crashes4.3%
-19.6%prior 214
No Injury2,983no injury crashes74.5%
22.0%prior 2,445

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The leading contributing factors remained consistent year-over-year, though their counts varied. 'No improper driving' was the most cited factor in both periods, with its count increasing by 36.4% from 1,309 in 2024 to 1,785 in 2025. Conversely, crashes attributed to 'Inattention' decreased in count by 7.3% (from 301 to 279), and those involving 'Failed to yield right of way' dropped by 9.6% (from 240 to 217). Crashes involving 'Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings' saw a 23.5% increase in count, rising from 85 to 105.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving1,785 (44.6%)36.4%prior 1,309
Inattention279 (7%)-7.3%prior 301
Failed to yield right of way217 (5.4%)-9.6%prior 240
Other improper action200 (5%)7.0%prior 187
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner136 (3.4%)7.9%prior 126
Followed too closely121 (3%)-0.8%prior 122
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings105 (2.6%)23.5%prior 85
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road68 (1.7%)1.5%prior 67
Distracted65 (1.6%)-5.8%prior 69
Over-correcting/over-steering54 (1.3%)-1.8%prior 55

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

The majority of crashes in both periods occurred in clear weather and on dry roads. In 2025, 84.0% of crashes happened on dry surfaces, a slight increase from 83.0% in 2024, while the proportion of crashes on wet surfaces decreased from 14.2% to 11.5%. Crashes during daylight hours accounted for a slightly larger share of the total, rising from 65.7% in 2024 to 67.9% in 2025. The proportion of crashes occurring in clear weather remained stable at approximately 70% for both years.

Weather

Clear2,815 (71.4%)
16.9%prior 2,409
Cloudy286 (7.3%)
10.9%prior 258
Rain203 (5.1%)
-8.6%prior 222
Clear/Cloudy129 (3.3%)
53.6%prior 84
Clear/Clear119 (3.0%)
271.9%prior 32
Clear/Other78 (2.0%)
14.7%prior 68
Cloudy/Rain64 (1.6%)
-31.2%prior 93
Clear/Unknown58 (1.5%)
-28.4%prior 81
Snow47 (1.2%)
51.6%prior 31
Rain/Cloudy36 (0.9%)
50.0%prior 24

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight2,721 (69.5%)
20.4%prior 2,260
Dark - lighted roadway905 (23.1%)
0.3%prior 902
Dusk129 (3.3%)
63.3%prior 79
Dark - roadway not lighted75 (1.9%)
10.3%prior 68
Dawn55 (1.4%)
57.1%prior 35
Dark - unknown roadway lighting26 (0.7%)
-7.1%prior 28
Other6 (0.2%)
-14.3%prior 7

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry3,364 (85.3%)
18.0%prior 2,852
Wet462 (11.7%)
-5.1%prior 487
Snow77 (2.0%)
165.5%prior 29
Ice27 (0.7%)
68.8%prior 16
Slush10 (0.3%)
25.0%prior 8
Sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel5 (0.1%)
Other1 (0.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The top three vehicle makes involved in crashes remained Toyota, Honda, and Ford in both 2024 and 2025, with all three seeing an increase in total incidents. Toyota-involved crashes increased from 1,069 to 1,195, and Ford-involved crashes rose from 658 to 804. An analysis of persons involved shows a shift in age demographics, with the proportion of individuals in the 35-44 age group increasing from 13.2% to 14.4% and the 55-64 age group increasing from 7.8% to 8.9% year-over-year.

Top Vehicle Makes (7,996 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA1,195 (14.9%)
11.8%prior 1,069
2
HONDA1,070 (13.4%)
12.5%prior 951
3
FORD804 (10.1%)
22.2%prior 658
4
CHEVROLET637 (8%)
35.2%prior 471
5
NISSAN547 (6.8%)
4.4%prior 524
6
HYUNDAI379 (4.7%)
18.8%prior 319
7
KIA354 (4.4%)
16.8%prior 303
8
JEEP278 (3.5%)
-3.1%prior 287
9
GMC182 (2.3%)
28.2%prior 142
10
DODGE153 (1.9%)
19.5%prior 128

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

2,115 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.

Sex Distribution (7,255 persons with recorded sex)

Male4,119 (56.8%)
18.7%prior 3,471
Female3,134 (43.2%)
10.7%prior 2,831
X / Unspecified2 (0.0%)
0.0%prior 2

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes predominantly occurred in 30 mph speed zones in both years, and this concentration increased in 2025. The number of crashes in 30 mph zones rose from 1,963 to 2,420, and their share of all recorded crashes grew from 57.1% to 60.4%. Fatal crashes also shifted within zones; four occurred in 30 mph zones in 2025 compared to three in 2024, while a new fatal crash was recorded in a 65 mph zone.

Fatal crashes by zone: 30 mph: 4 of 2,420 (0.165%) · 35 mph: 1 of 174 (0.575%) · 65 mph: 1 of 96 (1.042%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · 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 2025-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2025-01-01 through 2025-12-31 (365 days)
  • Geographic scope: NEW BEDFORD, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 4,006
  • Total persons involved: 9,610
  • Total vehicles involved: 7,996

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). "NEW BEDFORD, MA Crash Intelligence Report: 2025." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/new-bedford/2025-annual-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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New Bedford, MA Crash Report — 2025 | ThatCarHitMe.com