Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

40 CRASHES IN
SUNDERLAND, MA
2025

All metrics benchmarked against2024

In Sunderland, total traffic crashes decreased by 11.1% from 45 incidents in 2024 to 40 in 2025. The most notable year-over-year shift was a significant improvement in crash severity. Fatalities were eliminated, dropping from one in the prior year to zero in the current year, and total injuries fell by 60% from 20 to 8.

40

-11.1%was 45

Total Crash Events

0

-100.0%was 1

Persons Killed

8

-60.0%was 20

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. 1 crash with unreported severity is 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

The overall crash trend in Sunderland shows improvement year-over-year. Total collisions declined from 45 to 40, representing an 11.1% decrease. More significantly, incidents resulting in injury or death saw a substantial reduction, with total injuries dropping from 20 to 8 and fatalities falling from one to zero.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2025

2.5% hit-and-run rate this period vs 0.0% prior. Prior period: 0.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 1-100.0%

8

Motorists Injured

Prior: 19-57.9%

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

The timing of crashes shifted between the two periods. In 2025, the peak days for crashes were Wednesday and Thursday, each with 10 incidents, moving from a peak on Tuesday (10 crashes) in 2024. The peak hour also shifted later into the day, from the afternoon hours of 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. in the prior year to the 6 p.m. evening commute hour in the current year, which saw 6 crashes.

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

Crash severity markedly decreased year-over-year. In 2025, there were no fatal or serious injury crashes, a significant improvement from 2024, which recorded one fatal crash (2.2% of total) and one serious injury crash (2.2% of total). The proportion of crashes involving any injury fell from 33.3% in the prior period to 17.5% in the current period. Consequently, the share of non-injury crashes increased from 62.2% to 80% of all incidents.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury6minor injury crashes15%
-45.5%prior 11
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes2.5%
-75.0%prior 4
No Injury32no injury crashes80%
14.3%prior 28

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

While "No improper driving" remained the most common circumstance with 17 incidents in both years, the ranking of contributing factors changed. Crashes attributed to "Failed to yield right of way" were eliminated, dropping from 5 incidents in 2024 to zero in 2025. Conversely, "Followed too closely" became a more prominent factor, accounting for 3 crashes in the current year after not being a top factor in the prior year. The count for "Inattention" remained stable at 4 crashes in both periods.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving17 (42.5%)0.0%prior 17
Inattention4 (10%)
Followed too closely3 (7.5%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings2 (5%)
Distracted2 (5%)
Fatigued/asleep2 (5%)
Other improper action2 (5%)
Made an improper turn1 (2.5%)
Glare1 (2.5%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner1 (2.5%)

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

While most crashes in both years occurred in daylight on dry roads, there was a notable shift in road surface conditions. The proportion of crashes on adverse surfaces like wet, ice, or snow increased significantly, from 13.3% of crashes in 2024 to 27.5% in 2025. The share of crashes occurring during daylight hours remained relatively stable, accounting for 62.5% of incidents in the current year compared to 64.4% in the prior year.

Weather

Clear21 (53.8%)
-19.2%prior 26
Cloudy5 (12.8%)
-28.6%prior 7
Clear/Cloudy3 (7.7%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (2.6%)
Rain1 (2.6%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (2.6%)
Rain/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (2.6%)
Severe crosswinds/Rain1 (2.6%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)/Cloudy1 (2.6%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)/Rain1 (2.6%)

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

Lighting

Daylight25 (64.1%)
-13.8%prior 29
Dark - roadway not lighted7 (17.9%)
-22.2%prior 9
Dark - lighted roadway3 (7.7%)
-40.0%prior 5
Dusk3 (7.7%)
Dawn1 (2.6%)

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

Road Surface

Dry28 (71.8%)
-26.3%prior 38
Wet6 (15.4%)
0.0%prior 6
Ice3 (7.7%)
Slush1 (2.6%)
Snow1 (2.6%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

Toyota and Honda remained the top two vehicle makes involved in crashes for both periods, though their total counts decreased from 19 to 13 and 12 to 9, respectively. The age demographics of persons involved in crashes also shifted. Involvement for the 65+ age group decreased from 24 to 15 individuals, and the 26-34 age group saw its count drop from 19 to 8. In contrast, the number of individuals in the 55-64 age group involved in crashes more than doubled from 5 to 11.

Top Vehicle Makes (66 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA13 (19.7%)
-31.6%prior 19
2
HONDA9 (13.6%)
-25.0%prior 12
3
CHEVROLET6 (9.1%)
4
JEEP5 (7.6%)
5
SUBARU5 (7.6%)
6
HYUNDAI4 (6.1%)
7
FORD4 (6.1%)
-55.6%prior 9
8
VOLVO2 (3%)
9
NISSAN2 (3%)
10
MAZDA2 (3%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (73 persons with recorded sex)

Male43 (58.9%)
2.4%prior 42
Female30 (41.1%)
-25.0%prior 40

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

A shift occurred in the speed zones where crashes were most frequent, moving toward lower-speed areas. Crashes in the 30 mph zone more than doubled from 6 to 14 incidents, making it the most common zone for crashes in 2025. Concurrently, crashes in 40 mph and 50 mph zones decreased from 13 to 8 and 8 to 4, respectively. The single fatality recorded in 2024 occurred in a 50 mph zone, whereas no fatalities were recorded in any speed zone in 2025.

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: SUNDERLAND, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 40
  • Total persons involved: 78
  • Total vehicles involved: 66

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). "SUNDERLAND, 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/sunderland/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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