Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

326 CRASHES IN
NEW BEDFORD, MA
APRIL 2026

All metrics benchmarked againstApril 2025

In April 2026, New Bedford experienced 326 total crashes, marking a 9.03% increase compared to the 299 crashes recorded in April 2025. While total fatalities remained at zero for both periods, DUI-related crashes saw a significant increase from 5 in April 2025 to 13 in April 2026.

326

9.0%was 299

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

84

-25.0%was 112

Persons Injured

63

37.0%was 46

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, the trend in New Bedford for April 2026 shows an increase in total crashes, rising by 27 incidents or 9.03% year-over-year. Despite this rise in total crashes, the number of total injuries decreased by 28, from 112 in April 2025 to 84 in April 2026, representing a 25% reduction. Fatalities remained stable at zero for both periods.

63

Hit-and-Run Crashes — April 2026

37.0% vs prior (46)

Hit-and-run crashes increased by 17 incidents, rising from 46 in April 2025 to 63 in April 2026, representing a 36.96% increase in count. The hit-and-run rate also increased by 3.9 percentage points, from 15.4% of total crashes in April 2025 to 19.3% in April 2026.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

5

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 366.7%

5

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 6-16.7%

74

Motorists Injured

Prior: 103-28.2%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · 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 with 53 crashes in April 2025 to Thursday with 64 crashes in April 2026. The peak hour also changed, moving from 7 AM with 24 crashes in April 2025 to 5 PM with 32 crashes in April 2026. Notably, crashes on Thursdays increased by 25 incidents, from 39 to 64, while crashes on Saturdays decreased by 10 incidents, from 38 to 28.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatal crashes remained at zero in both April 2025 and April 2026. Serious injuries (Code A) decreased by 3 incidents, from 5 in April 2025 to 2 in April 2026, a 60% reduction. Crashes resulting in no injury (Code O) increased by 39, from 212 to 251, and their share of total crashes rose from 70.9% to 77%.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury2serious injury crashes0.6%
-60.0%prior 5
Minor Injury45minor injury crashes13.8%
-6.3%prior 48
Possible Injury12possible injury crashes3.7%
-29.4%prior 17
No Injury251no injury crashes77%
18.4%prior 212

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The top contributing factor, 'No improper driving,' increased by 36 counts from 135 in April 2025 to 171 in April 2026. 'Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings' saw an 80% increase in count, rising from 5 to 9 incidents. 'Glare' also significantly increased by 150% in count, from 2 to 5 incidents, while 'Inattention' decreased slightly by 1 count, from 23 to 22.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving171 (52.5%)26.7%prior 135
Inattention22 (6.7%)-4.3%prior 23
Failed to yield right of way21 (6.4%)-8.7%prior 23
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner14 (4.3%)27.3%prior 11
Other improper action14 (4.3%)-17.6%prior 17
Followed too closely10 (3.1%)-9.1%prior 11
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings9 (2.8%)80.0%prior 5
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway5 (1.5%)
Glare5 (1.5%)
Physical impairment4 (1.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions increased by 50, from 194 in April 2025 to 244 in April 2026. Conversely, crashes in 'Rain' conditions decreased by 23, from 38 to 15 incidents year-over-year. The number of crashes on 'Dry' road surfaces increased by 62, from 224 to 286, while those on 'Wet' road surfaces decreased by 34, from 70 to 36.

Weather

Clear244 (75.8%)
25.8%prior 194
Cloudy27 (8.4%)
22.7%prior 22
Rain15 (4.7%)
-60.5%prior 38
Clear/Clear8 (2.5%)
33.3%prior 6
Clear/Cloudy7 (2.2%)
-36.4%prior 11
Cloudy/Rain5 (1.6%)
Rain/Cloudy5 (1.6%)
0.0%prior 5
Cloudy/Unknown2 (0.6%)
Cloudy/Other2 (0.6%)
Cloudy/Clear2 (0.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight244 (76.5%)
10.4%prior 221
Dark - lighted roadway54 (16.9%)
0.0%prior 54
Dark - roadway not lighted7 (2.2%)
16.7%prior 6
Dusk7 (2.2%)
0.0%prior 7
Dawn5 (1.6%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (0.3%)
Other1 (0.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry286 (88.5%)
27.7%prior 224
Wet36 (11.1%)
-48.6%prior 70
Other1 (0.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased by 54, from 604 in April 2025 to 658 in April 2026. Among top makes, TOYOTA saw a slight decrease from 96 to 92 vehicles, while NISSAN increased from 34 to 42 vehicles involved. The 35-44 age group saw an increase of 17 persons involved in crashes, from 102 to 119, and the 45-54 age group increased by 27 persons, from 66 to 93.

Top Vehicle Makes (658 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA92 (14%)
-4.2%prior 96
2
HONDA81 (12.3%)
2.5%prior 79
3
FORD60 (9.1%)
-1.6%prior 61
4
CHEVROLET43 (6.5%)
-21.8%prior 55
5
NISSAN42 (6.4%)
23.5%prior 34
6
KIA40 (6.1%)
42.9%prior 28
7
HYUNDAI32 (4.9%)
39.1%prior 23
8
JEEP26 (4%)
23.8%prior 21
9
ACURA12 (1.8%)
10
GMC12 (1.8%)
-7.7%prior 13

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (590 persons with recorded sex)

Male319 (54.1%)
-4.8%prior 335
Female271 (45.9%)
12.4%prior 241

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 30 mph speed limit zone increased by 36, from 176 in April 2025 to 212 in April 2026. Crashes in the 25 mph zone also increased by 9, from 44 to 53. Conversely, crashes in the 5 mph zone decreased by 6, from 9 to 3, and in the 15 mph zone by 6, from 9 to 3. No fatal crashes were recorded in any speed zone for either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · 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: 2026-04-01 through 2026-04-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2026-04-01 through 2026-04-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: NEW BEDFORD, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 326
  • Total persons involved: 794
  • Total vehicles involved: 658

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: April 2026." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/new-bedford/april-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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New Bedford, MA Crash Report — April 2026 | ThatCarHitMe.com