Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

117 CRASHES IN
WALTHAM, MA
JULY 2025

All metrics benchmarked againstJuly 2024

Total crashes in Waltham increased from 101 in July 2024 to 117 in July 2025, marking a 15.8% rise year-over-year. A notable shift was observed in "Angle" collisions, which increased by 19 crashes, representing a a 73.1% rise from 26 to 45. "Failed to yield right of way" also saw a substantial increase of 8 crashes, rising from 11 to 19.

117

15.8%was 101

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

22

-8.3%was 24

Persons Injured

13

8.3%was 12

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 · 2025-07-01 to 2025-07-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash incidents in Waltham increased by 15.8% year-over-year, from 101 crashes in July 2024 to 117 crashes in July 2025. Despite this rise in total crashes, the number of total injuries slightly decreased by 8.3%, from 24 in July 2024 to 22 in July 2025. There were no fatalities reported in either period.

13

Hit-and-Run Crashes — July 2025

8.3% vs prior (12)

The number of hit-and-run crashes increased slightly from 12 in July 2024 to 13 in July 2025. However, the hit-and-run rate decreased from 11.9% of total crashes in July 2024 to 11.1% in July 2025.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Other Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 3-66.7%

19

Motorists Injured

Prior: 190.0%

1

Other Injured

Prior: 2-50.0%

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 temporal distribution of crashes shifted year-over-year, with the peak day moving from Friday (23 crashes) in July 2024 to Tuesday (25 crashes) in July 2025. The peak crash hour also changed, from 6 p.m. (13 crashes) in July 2024 to 5 p.m. (17 crashes) in July 2025. Wednesday experienced a notable increase in crashes, rising from 11 to 22.

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

While total crashes increased, the overall number of injuries decreased slightly from 24 in July 2024 to 22 in July 2025. There was an increase in serious injuries (Severity A), rising from 0 in July 2024 to 1 in July 2025. Crashes resulting in no injury (Severity O) also increased in count from 78 to 97, and in share from 77.2% to 82.9% of all crashes.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes0.9%
Minor Injury14minor injury crashes12%
0.0%prior 14
Possible Injury3possible injury crashes2.6%
-40.0%prior 5
No Injury97no injury crashes82.9%
24.4%prior 78

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

Among contributing factors, "Failed to yield right of way" saw a significant increase of 8 crashes, rising from 11 in July 2024 to 19 in July 2025, a 72.7% increase in count. "Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road" also increased substantially by 5 crashes, from 4 to 9, representing a 125% increase in count. Conversely, "Made an improper turn" decreased by 2 crashes, from 3 to 1, a 66.7% decrease in count.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention27 (23.1%)3.8%prior 26
No improper driving22 (18.8%)37.5%prior 16
Failed to yield right of way19 (16.2%)72.7%prior 11
Followed too closely11 (9.4%)22.2%prior 9
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road9 (7.7%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner5 (4.3%)0.0%prior 5
Other improper action4 (3.4%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings3 (2.6%)
Over-correcting/over-steering2 (1.7%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (0.9%)

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 daylight conditions increased from 83 in July 2024 to 93 in July 2025. A notable increase was observed in crashes occurring in "Dark - roadway not lighted" conditions, rising from 1 in July 2024 to 7 in July 2025. The number of crashes on dry road surfaces increased from 95 to 108 year-over-year.

Weather

Clear82 (70.1%)
1.2%prior 81
Cloudy13 (11.1%)
0.0%prior 13
Clear/Clear11 (9.4%)
Rain6 (5.1%)
Other1 (0.9%)
Rain/Rain1 (0.9%)
Clear/Cloudy1 (0.9%)
Cloudy/Clear1 (0.9%)
Cloudy/Cloudy1 (0.9%)

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

Lighting

Daylight93 (79.5%)
12.0%prior 83
Dark - lighted roadway12 (10.3%)
-14.3%prior 14
Dark - roadway not lighted7 (6.0%)
Dusk3 (2.6%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (0.9%)
Other1 (0.9%)

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

Road Surface

Dry108 (92.3%)
13.7%prior 95
Wet8 (6.8%)
33.3%prior 6
Other1 (0.9%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased by 38, from 196 in July 2024 to 234 in July 2025. Toyota remained the most frequently involved make, with its count increasing from 40 to 47, while Honda also saw an increase from 24 to 32. Significant increases in person involvement were observed across several age groups, notably for 26-34 year olds (37 to 50 persons) and 65+ year olds (23 to 35 persons).

Top Vehicle Makes (234 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA47 (20.1%)
17.5%prior 40
2
HONDA32 (13.7%)
33.3%prior 24
3
FORD23 (9.8%)
0.0%prior 23
4
CHEVROLET18 (7.7%)
50.0%prior 12
5
NISSAN14 (6%)
40.0%prior 10
6
JEEP11 (4.7%)
7
SUBARU9 (3.8%)
-10.0%prior 10
8
BMW6 (2.6%)
0.0%prior 6
9
AUDI6 (2.6%)
10
VOLVO5 (2.1%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (253 persons with recorded sex)

Male169 (66.8%)
28.0%prior 132
Female84 (33.2%)
31.3%prior 64

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

The distribution of crashes across speed zones shifted, with the 25 mph zone experiencing the largest increase, rising from 47 crashes in July 2024 to 70 crashes in July 2025. Conversely, crashes in the 55 mph zone decreased by 6, from 16 to 10. No fatalities were recorded in any speed zone during either period.

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: WALTHAM, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 117
  • Total persons involved: 284
  • Total vehicles involved: 234

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). "WALTHAM, 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/waltham/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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Waltham, MA Crash Report — July 2025 | ThatCarHitMe.com