Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

9 CRASHES IN
TEMPLETON, MA
MARCH 2026

All metrics benchmarked againstMarch 2025

In March 2026, Templeton experienced 9 crashes, a 10% decrease compared to the 10 crashes recorded in March 2025. The most notable year-over-year shift was a substantial 75% reduction in total injuries, decreasing from 8 in March 2025 to 2 in March 2026.

9

-10.0%was 10

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

2

-75.0%was 8

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash incidents in Templeton showed a declining trend, with a 10% reduction in total crashes from 10 in March 2025 to 9 in March 2026. This decline was accompanied by a significant 75% decrease in total injuries, falling from 8 to 2 over the same period.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — March 2026

11.1% hit-and-run rate this period vs 0.0% prior. Prior period: 0.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

2

Motorists Injured

Prior: 8-75.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · 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 Wednesday with 3 crashes in March 2025 to Sunday, Monday, and Thursday, each recording 2 crashes in March 2026. While 2 PM remained a peak hour with 2 crashes in both periods, March 2026 also saw 2 crashes at 12 AM, which was not a peak in the prior year.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatalities remained at 0 in both March 2025 and March 2026. Total injuries decreased from 8 in March 2025 to 2 in March 2026, representing a 75% reduction. While minor injuries accounted for 2 crashes in both periods, the 'Possible Injury' category, which had 2 crashes in March 2025, was absent in March 2026.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury2minor injury crashes22.2%
0.0%prior 2
No Injury5no injury crashes55.6%
-16.7%prior 6

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The contributing factor 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' increased from 2 crashes in March 2025 to 3 crashes in March 2026. 'No improper driving' also increased from 1 crash in March 2025 to 3 crashes in March 2026, representing a 33.3% share of crashes. Factors such as 'Inattention' (2 crashes) and 'Failed to yield right of way' (2 crashes), prominent in March 2025, were not among the top factors in March 2026, which instead saw 'Distracted' (1 crash) and 'Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings' (1 crash) emerge.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving3 (33.3%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner3 (33.3%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings1 (11.1%)
Distracted1 (11.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Daylight' conditions decreased from 9 in March 2025 to 5 in March 2026, while those in 'Dark - roadway not lighted' increased from 1 to 3 crashes. Crashes on 'Dry' road surfaces decreased from 7 to 5, and 'Ice' conditions appeared in March 2026 with 1 crash, which was not present in March 2025.

Weather

Clear4 (44.4%)
Cloudy2 (22.2%)
Fog, smog, smoke/Rain1 (11.1%)
Rain1 (11.1%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (11.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight5 (55.6%)
-44.4%prior 9
Dark - roadway not lighted3 (33.3%)
Dark - lighted roadway1 (11.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry5 (55.6%)
-28.6%prior 7
Wet3 (33.3%)
Ice1 (11.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (14 vehicles)

1
CHEVROLET3 (21.4%)
2
HONDA2 (14.3%)
3
HYUNDAI1 (7.1%)
4
KIA1 (7.1%)
5
MAZDA1 (7.1%)
6
MERCEDES-BENZ1 (7.1%)
7
TOYOTA1 (7.1%)
8
BUIC1 (7.1%)
9
VOLKSWAGEN1 (7.1%)
10
FORD1 (7.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (16 persons with recorded sex)

Female9 (56.3%)
-30.8%prior 13
Male7 (43.8%)
-41.7%prior 12

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 30 mph speed zone decreased from 5 in March 2025 to 2 in March 2026, and those in the 40 mph zone decreased from 2 to 1. Crashes in the 35 mph zone, with 4 incidents, appeared in March 2026, whereas crashes in the 5 mph and 55 mph zones, each with 1 incident in March 2025, were not recorded in March 2026. No fatal crashes were reported in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31 · 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: 2026-03-01 through 2026-03-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2026-03-01 through 2026-03-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: TEMPLETON, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 9
  • Total persons involved: 20
  • Total vehicles involved: 14

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). "TEMPLETON, MA Crash Intelligence Report: March 2026." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2026-03-01 to 2026-03-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/templeton/march-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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Templeton, MA Crash Report — March 2026 | ThatCarHitMe.com