Avoiding Accidents on California’s Most Dangerous Roads

Per a preliminary 2025 report by the National Safety Council, approximately 44,680 preventable motor vehicle fatalities occurred in 2024 across the United States. In 2022, the state of California experienced nearly 4,500 traffic fatalities. California has some of the most dangerous roads in the country in terms of crash-related injuries and deaths.

Top Reasons for California’s Road Safety Crisis

The NSC’s analysis indicates that risky driving behaviors continue to cause the most problems in California and elsewhere. As with previous years, many drivers get behind the wheel while impaired by alcohol and drugs. Some people adamantly refuse to follow speed limits, yield rules and other legal requirements when traveling on the Golden State’s highways and other roads. 

Of course, the worst problem continues to be distracted actions by drivers. Distracted drivers take their eyes off the road or their hands off the wheel while drinking beverages and eating meals or snacks, talking to passengers, handling personal and business phone calls, and even surfing the internet. Their actions often result in a delayed response to external road and other events or exaggerated, sudden movements that reduce driving performance or vehicle stability.

Other Common Causes of California Traffic Accidents

The NSC, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, California’s Department of Motor Vehicles, and consumer reporting agencies and businesses like Consumer Affairs and MoneyGeek have reported that accident and safety issues are also commonly caused by poor infrastructure and autonomous vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists and other parties. Other causes of California’s road safety crisis are high congestion with bumper-to-bumper and start-stop traffic, lack of barriers between motor vehicles, delivery vehicles, pedestrians and other road users, and unsafe construction zones. Additionally, drivers have more difficulty with bad weather conditions and low visibility at dawn, dusk and nighttime. Even the lengths, locations and designs of many of California’s most dangerous roads adversely impact safety.

What Are the Most Dangerous Roads?

Dangerous and deadly roads exist throughout California. The most dangerous ones include I-5 in San Diego and Orange, I-10 in Los Angeles, I-15 in San Bernardino, I-880 in Alameda, SR 4 in Contra Costa, SR-62, SR 99 in Kern, SR 101 in Santa Barbara and Santa Clara, and SR 178. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration’s most recent California traffic data, millions of motor vehicles cross these dangerous roads daily. An estimated 504,000 drivers travel I-5 in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Santa Ana every day. An estimated 415,000 travel on I-5 through Mission Viejo. These numbers don’t include the many other types of traffic that also affect road safety. Accidents on these roads usually occur because of the high traffic congestion coupled with driver risk-taking behaviors, difficult terrain or low visibility.

How Can Drivers and Others Avoid Accidents?

The NSC, NHTSA, and other traffic experts believe that road users must act more responsibly by following all road safety rules and regulations, paying closer attention to traffic conditions in a 360-degree radius around any vehicle, person, or group, and eliminating well-documented risky behaviors that make roads everywhere more dangerous.

Experts also believe that advanced technologies for active braking, crosswalk alerts, crash warning, pedestrian detection and vehicle-based safety systems, and vehicle-to-vehicle communication can improve safety on all roads in California and nationwide. The NSC specifically promotes a holistic approach to reduce fatalities. People from all walks of life must work together to spread awareness about roadway safety and improve infrastructure issues and post-crash care.

Please follow and like us: