Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

45 CRASHES IN
SALEM, MA
AUGUST 2025

All metrics benchmarked againstAugust 2024

Total crashes in Salem, MA remained stable year-over-year, with 45 crashes recorded in both August 2025 and August 2024. Total injuries, however, decreased significantly by 52.6%, falling from 19 in August 2024 to 9 in August 2025. Concurrently, hit-and-run crashes increased by 300%, rising from 1 to 4 crashes year-over-year.

45

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

9

-52.6%was 19

Persons Injured

4

300.0%was 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. 3 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-08-01 to 2025-08-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Total crashes in Salem, MA remained stable year-over-year, with 45 crashes recorded in both August 2025 and August 2024. However, total injuries decreased by 52.6%, falling from 19 in August 2024 to 9 in August 2025. Fatalities remained at zero for both periods.

4

Hit-and-Run Crashes — August 2025

300.0% vs prior (1)

Hit-and-run crashes increased significantly by 300%, rising from 1 crash in August 2024 to 4 crashes in August 2025. The hit-and-run rate also saw a substantial increase, climbing from 2.2% of total crashes in August 2024 to 8.9% in August 2025.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Other Killed

Prior: 00.0%

2

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 4-50.0%

6

Motorists Injured

Prior: 15-60.0%

1

Other Injured

Prior: 0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-08-01 to 2025-08-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes remained Thursday in both periods, with 11 crashes in August 2025 and 10 crashes in August 2024. The peak hour shifted from 4 PM with 10 crashes in August 2024 to 5 PM with 5 crashes in August 2025. Overall, crash counts during the peak hours appear to have decreased year-over-year.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-08-01 to 2025-08-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-08-01 to 2025-08-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatal crashes or fatalities in either August 2025 or August 2024. The number of minor injuries (severity B) decreased by 25%, from 8 in August 2024 to 6 in August 2025. Possible injuries (severity C) saw a substantial decrease of 71.4%, falling from 7 in August 2024 to 2 in August 2025. Crashes with no reported injuries (severity O) increased by 36%, from 25 in August 2024 to 34 in August 2025.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury6minor injury crashes13.3%
-25.0%prior 8
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes4.4%
-71.4%prior 7
No Injury34no injury crashes75.6%
36.0%prior 25

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-08-01 to 2025-08-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-08-01 to 2025-08-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The contributing factor "No improper driving" doubled, increasing by 4 crashes from 4 in August 2024 to 8 in August 2025. "Failed to yield right of way" decreased by 1 crash, from 8 to 7, while "Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road" increased by 2 crashes, from 4 to 6. "Illness" emerged as a factor in 2 crashes in August 2025, compared to none in August 2024, and "Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings" decreased by 2 crashes, from 3 to 1.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving8 (17.8%)
Failed to yield right of way7 (15.6%)-12.5%prior 8
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road6 (13.3%)
Inattention4 (8.9%)
Illness2 (4.4%)
Driving too fast for conditions2 (4.4%)
Followed too closely2 (4.4%)
Glare2 (4.4%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner2 (4.4%)
Other improper action2 (4.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-08-01 to 2025-08-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in "Clear/Clear" weather conditions increased by 6, from 32 in August 2024 to 38 in August 2025. The number of crashes in "Daylight" conditions decreased by 4, from 39 to 35, while those in "Dark - lighted roadway" conditions increased by 2, from 6 to 8. Road surface conditions remained predominantly dry, with 42 crashes on dry roads in August 2025 compared to 44 in August 2024.

Weather

Clear/Clear38 (84.4%)
18.8%prior 32
Clear3 (6.7%)
-62.5%prior 8
Rain/Rain2 (4.4%)
Cloudy/Clear1 (2.2%)
Cloudy/Cloudy1 (2.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-08-01 to 2025-08-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight35 (77.8%)
-10.3%prior 39
Dark - lighted roadway8 (17.8%)
33.3%prior 6
Dusk2 (4.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-08-01 to 2025-08-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry42 (93.3%)
-4.5%prior 44
Other1 (2.2%)
Sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel1 (2.2%)
Wet1 (2.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-08-01 to 2025-08-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes decreased from 85 in August 2024 to 78 in August 2025. Toyota remained the top vehicle make involved, though its count decreased by 6, from 23 to 17. Honda also remained a prominent make, decreasing by 3 vehicles from 12 to 9, while Hyundai saw a significant decrease from 8 to 1 vehicle involved.

Top Vehicle Makes (78 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA17 (21.8%)
-26.1%prior 23
2
HONDA9 (11.5%)
-25.0%prior 12
3
FORD7 (9%)
-12.5%prior 8
4
JEEP5 (6.4%)
5
CHEVROLET5 (6.4%)
6
MAZDA4 (5.1%)
7
ACURA3 (3.8%)
8
LEXUS3 (3.8%)
9
NISSAN3 (3.8%)
-40.0%prior 5
10
SUBARU3 (3.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-08-01 to 2025-08-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (94 persons with recorded sex)

Male56 (59.6%)
9.8%prior 51
Female38 (40.4%)
-33.3%prior 57

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-08-01 to 2025-08-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

The most common speed limit for crashes remained 25 mph, with 21 crashes in August 2025 compared to 22 in August 2024. Crashes in 30 mph zones increased by 2, from 2 in August 2024 to 4 in August 2025. Several lower speed limits (1, 5, 10, 15 mph) appeared in August 2025 crash data, accounting for 6 crashes, while 40 mph zones, which had 1 crash in August 2024, did not appear in August 2025.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-08-01 to 2025-08-31 · 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: 2025-08-01 through 2025-08-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2025-08-01 through 2025-08-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: SALEM, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 45
  • Total persons involved: 110
  • Total vehicles involved: 78

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). "SALEM, MA Crash Intelligence Report: August 2025." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2025-08-01 to 2025-08-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/salem/august-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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Salem, MA Crash Report — August 2025 | ThatCarHitMe.com