Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

25 CRASHES IN
PALMER, MA
JULY 2025

All metrics benchmarked againstJuly 2024

In July 2025, PALMER experienced 25 crashes, which is unchanged from the 25 crashes reported in July 2024. Despite the stable overall crash count, there was a notable 40% decrease in crashes involving DUI, falling from 5 in the prior year to 3 in the current period. Total injuries also decreased by 27.27%, from 11 to 8. Crashes attributed to 'Failed to yield right of way' saw a 300% increase, rising from 1 to 4.

25

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

8

-27.3%was 11

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.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-07-01 to 2025-07-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The total number of crashes in PALMER remained stable year-over-year, with 25 crashes reported in July 2025, the same number as in July 2024. This indicates no overall change in the frequency of crash incidents between the two periods.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — July 2025

0.0% vs prior (1)

The number of hit-and-run crashes remained stable year-over-year, with 1 crash reported in both July 2025 and July 2024. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate also remained unchanged at 4% of all crashes for both periods.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

8

Motorists Injured

Prior: 11-27.3%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-07-01 to 2025-07-31 · 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 Tuesday in July 2024 (8 crashes) to Thursday in July 2025 (9 crashes). The peak hour also changed, moving from 1p with 3 crashes in the prior period to 9a with 4 crashes in the current period. Notably, Saturday recorded 0 crashes in July 2025, compared to 2 crashes on Saturday in July 2024.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-07-01 to 2025-07-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-07-01 to 2025-07-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Both July 2025 and July 2024 reported 0 fatalities and 0 fatal crashes. Total injuries decreased from 11 in July 2024 to 8 in July 2025. The proportion of crashes resulting in Minor Injury (B) decreased from 24% (6 crashes) in the prior period to 12% (3 crashes) in the current period, while crashes with Possible Injury (C) increased from 4% (1 crash) to 8% (2 crashes).

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes4%
0.0%prior 1
Minor Injury3minor injury crashes12%
-50.0%prior 6
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes8%
100.0%prior 1
No Injury19no injury crashes76%
11.8%prior 17

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-07-01 to 2025-07-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-07-01 to 2025-07-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

'No improper driving' increased by 1 crash, from 6 in July 2024 to 7 in July 2025, with its share rising from 24% to 28%. Crashes due to 'Failed to yield right of way' saw a notable increase from 1 in the prior period to 4 in the current period, representing a 300% increase in count. Conversely, crashes attributed to 'Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings' decreased from 3 in July 2024 to 0 in July 2025, and 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' decreased by 1 crash, from 4 to 3.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving7 (28%)16.7%prior 6
Failed to yield right of way4 (16%)
Inattention3 (12%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner3 (12%)
Followed too closely2 (8%)
History heart/epilepsy/fainting2 (8%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (4%)
Other improper action1 (4%)
Over-correcting/over-steering1 (4%)
Visibility obstructed1 (4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-07-01 to 2025-07-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions remained stable at 21 for both periods. There was an increase in crashes during 'Daylight' conditions, rising from 20 in July 2024 to 23 in July 2025. Road surface conditions remained identical year-over-year, with 22 crashes on 'Dry' surfaces and 3 crashes on 'Wet' surfaces in both periods.

Weather

Clear21 (84.0%)
0.0%prior 21
Rain/Rain3 (12.0%)
Clear/Cloudy1 (4.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-07-01 to 2025-07-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight23 (92.0%)
15.0%prior 20
Dark - lighted roadway1 (4.0%)
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (4.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-07-01 to 2025-07-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry22 (88.0%)
0.0%prior 22
Wet3 (12.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-07-01 to 2025-07-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (44 vehicles)

1
CHEVROLET7 (15.9%)
40.0%prior 5
2
TOYOTA6 (13.6%)
3
GMC3 (6.8%)
4
HONDA3 (6.8%)
-57.1%prior 7
5
CHRYSLER2 (4.5%)
6
AUDI2 (4.5%)
7
DODGE2 (4.5%)
8
FORD2 (4.5%)
-75.0%prior 8
9
MACK1 (2.3%)
10
MNNI1 (2.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-07-01 to 2025-07-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (45 persons with recorded sex)

Male27 (60.0%)
-12.9%prior 31
Female18 (40.0%)
50.0%prior 12

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-07-01 to 2025-07-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes occurring in 30 mph zones decreased significantly from 12 in July 2024 to 4 in July 2025, representing a 66.67% reduction. Conversely, crashes in 35 mph zones increased from 2 in the prior period to 6 in the current period, a 200% increase. The number of crashes at 65 mph remained stable at 4 for both periods.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-07-01 to 2025-07-31 · 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: 2025-07-01 through 2025-07-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2025-07-01 through 2025-07-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: PALMER, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 25
  • Total persons involved: 49
  • Total vehicles involved: 44

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). "PALMER, MA Crash Intelligence Report: July 2025." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2025-07-01 to 2025-07-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/palmer/july-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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Palmer, MA Crash Report — July 2025 | ThatCarHitMe.com