Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

51 CRASHES IN
SALEM, MA
DECEMBER 2025

All metrics benchmarked againstDecember 2024

Total crashes in Salem, MA decreased by 10.5% year-over-year, from 57 crashes in December 2024 to 51 crashes in December 2025. Despite the overall decrease in crashes, total injuries increased by 52.6%, rising from 19 to 29 injured persons. The number of hit-and-run crashes also saw a significant increase, rising from 1 to 4.

51

-10.5%was 57

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

29

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-12-01 to 2025-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, total crashes in Salem, MA showed a downward trend, decreasing by 10.5% from 57 crashes in December 2024 to 51 crashes in December 2025. Conversely, total injuries increased by 52.6%, from 19 to 29, indicating that crashes in December 2025 were more likely to result in injuries.

4

Hit-and-Run Crashes — December 2025

300.0% vs prior (1)

Hit-and-run crashes increased substantially year-over-year, rising from 1 crash in December 2024 to 4 crashes in December 2025, a 300% increase in count. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate also increased from 1.8% to 7.8% of all crashes.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

7

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 475.0%

22

Motorists Injured

Prior: 11100.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-12-01 to 2025-12-31 · 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 Friday in December 2024 to Wednesday in December 2025, though both days recorded 10 crashes. The peak hour also changed, moving from 3p with 6 crashes in December 2024 to 10a with 6 crashes in December 2025.

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

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

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatalities reported in either December 2024 or December 2025. While serious injuries (A) decreased from 3 to 2, minor injuries (B) significantly increased from 6 to 13. Possible injuries (C) decreased from 8 to 6, contributing to an overall 52.6% increase in total injuries.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury2serious injury crashes3.9%
-33.3%prior 3
Minor Injury13minor injury crashes25.5%
116.7%prior 6
Possible Injury6possible injury crashes11.8%
-25.0%prior 8
No Injury21no injury crashes41.2%
-43.2%prior 37

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

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

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

Top Contributing Factors

The top contributing factor, 'Failed to yield right of way,' decreased in count from 11 in December 2024 to 9 in December 2025, an 18.2% reduction. 'Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings' saw a substantial increase, rising from 1 crash in December 2024 to 5 crashes in December 2025, a 400% increase in count. Factors such as 'Distracted' and 'Driving too fast for conditions' both decreased by 50% in count, from 4 to 2 crashes each.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Failed to yield right of way9 (17.6%)-18.2%prior 11
No improper driving7 (13.7%)-22.2%prior 9
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings5 (9.8%)
Followed too closely4 (7.8%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road3 (5.9%)
Glare2 (3.9%)
Driving too fast for conditions2 (3.9%)
Distracted2 (3.9%)
Inattention2 (3.9%)
Other improper action2 (3.9%)

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

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes on dry road surfaces decreased from 38 in December 2024 to 31 in December 2025, while wet road crashes slightly decreased from 11 to 10. Crashes on icy road surfaces increased from 0 in December 2024 to 5 in December 2025. Under clear weather conditions, crashes increased from 31 to 34, whereas crashes during rain decreased from 8 to 5.

Weather

Clear/Clear30 (58.8%)
3.4%prior 29
Rain/Rain4 (7.8%)
-42.9%prior 7
Cloudy/Cloudy4 (7.8%)
Clear4 (7.8%)
Rain/Cloudy2 (3.9%)
Snow2 (3.9%)
Snow/Snow1 (2.0%)
Clear/Cloudy1 (2.0%)
Cloudy/Clear1 (2.0%)
Rain1 (2.0%)

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

Lighting

Daylight28 (54.9%)
-6.7%prior 30
Dark - lighted roadway18 (35.3%)
-28.0%prior 25
Dark - roadway not lighted3 (5.9%)
Dawn2 (3.9%)

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

Road Surface

Dry31 (62.0%)
-18.4%prior 38
Wet10 (20.0%)
-9.1%prior 11
Ice5 (10.0%)
Snow4 (8.0%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

Toyota remained the most frequently involved vehicle make, with its count increasing from 22 in December 2024 to 25 in December 2025. Ford moved from the third most frequent make to the second, with its count rising from 10 to 14, while Honda's count decreased from 15 to 12. Significant shifts in age distribution were observed, with crashes involving persons aged 21-25 increasing from 9 to 19, and those aged 26-34 decreasing from 29 to 20.

Top Vehicle Makes (96 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA25 (26%)
13.6%prior 22
2
FORD14 (14.6%)
40.0%prior 10
3
HONDA12 (12.5%)
-20.0%prior 15
4
JEEP10 (10.4%)
66.7%prior 6
5
CHEVROLET4 (4.2%)
-33.3%prior 6
6
ACURA3 (3.1%)
7
AUDI3 (3.1%)
8
KIA3 (3.1%)
9
MERCEDES-BENZ3 (3.1%)
10
NISSAN3 (3.1%)
-50.0%prior 6

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

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

Sex Distribution (114 persons with recorded sex)

Male62 (54.4%)
-12.7%prior 71
Female52 (45.6%)
-3.7%prior 54

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

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes occurring in 25 mph speed zones increased from 15 in December 2024 to 26 in December 2025. Crashes in 30 mph zones also increased from 6 to 8. There were no crashes reported in 35 mph zones in December 2025, down from 4 in December 2024, and new crashes were recorded in 40 mph (1) and 45 mph (1) zones in December 2025.

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

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2025-12-01 through 2025-12-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: SALEM, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 51
  • Total persons involved: 130
  • Total vehicles involved: 96

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: December 2025." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2025-12-01 to 2025-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/salem/december-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 — December 2025 | ThatCarHitMe.com