Fatal Crashes in California
26394 fatal crashes and 28602 fatalities from 2017-2023. Data from NHTSA FARS.
Crashes by year
| Year | Crashes | Fatalities | Drunk driver |
|---|
| 2017 | 3,569 | 3,884 | 1,032 |
| 2018 | 3,485 | 3,798 | 947 |
| 2019 | 3,427 | 3,719 | 898 |
| 2020 | 3,673 | 3,980 | 1,026 |
| 2021 | 4,196 | 4,513 | 1,140 |
| 2022 | 4,218 | 4,539 | 1,126 |
| 2023 | 3,826 | 4,169 | 1,111 |
Worst counties in California
The top counties by fatal crash count. Need crash history at a specific location within these counties? Our intersection report shows every fatal crash within any radius, with vehicle details, person demographics, and a map.
| County | Crashes | Fatalities |
|---|
| LOS ANGELES (37) | 5,201 | 5,517 |
| SAN BERNARDINO (71) | 2,392 | 2,626 |
| RIVERSIDE (65) | 2,092 | 2,237 |
| SAN DIEGO (73) | 1,826 | 1,943 |
| ORANGE (59) | 1,417 | 1,502 |
| SACRAMENTO (67) | 1,202 | 1,293 |
| KERN (29) | 1,199 | 1,327 |
| FRESNO (19) | 1,020 | 1,154 |
| SANTA CLARA (85) | 810 | 848 |
| SAN JOAQUIN (77) | 805 | 881 |
| ALAMEDA (1) | 657 | 696 |
| STANISLAUS (99) | 554 | 614 |
| CONTRA COSTA (13) | 539 | 588 |
| TULARE (107) | 510 | 566 |
| MERCED (47) | 378 | 422 |
Worst cities in California
Fatal crashes by city. Attorneys investigating a crash in any of these cities can get a full crash history report for the specific intersection - including prior crashes, time-of-day patterns, and impairment data.
| City | Crashes | Fatalities |
|---|
| LOS ANGELES | 2,074 | 2,185 |
| SAN DIEGO | 664 | 704 |
| SAN JOSE | 450 | 471 |
| SACRAMENTO | 405 | 435 |
| FRESNO | 392 | 419 |
| BAKERSFIELD | 353 | 368 |
| SAN BERNARDINO | 284 | 311 |
| LONG BEACH | 259 | 272 |
| RIVERSIDE | 252 | 265 |
| OAKLAND | 229 | 242 |
| STOCKTON | 228 | 239 |
| SAN FRANCISCO | 223 | 233 |
| ANAHEIM | 185 | 201 |
| VICTORVILLE | 177 | 190 |
| SANTA ANA | 158 | 166 |
When crashes happen
By month
| Month | Crashes |
|---|
| January | 2,173 |
| February | 1,888 |
| March | 1,998 |
| April | 2,013 |
| May | 2,128 |
| June | 2,162 |
| July | 2,252 |
| August | 2,305 |
| September | 2,319 |
| October | 2,431 |
| November | 2,396 |
| December | 2,329 |
Most dangerous hours
Peak hours matter for fleet safety teams scheduling routes and for attorneys establishing time-of-day patterns at a crash location.
| Hour | Crashes |
|---|
| 20:00 | 1,695 |
| 21:00 | 1,662 |
| 18:00 | 1,579 |
| 19:00 | 1,573 |
| 22:00 | 1,508 |
| 23:00 | 1,409 |
| 17:00 | 1,373 |
| 00:00 | 1,170 |
| 01:00 | 1,119 |
| 02:00 | 1,116 |
Vehicles involved in fatal crashes
Top vehicle makes in California fatal crashes. Insurance actuaries use vehicle-level crash data for risk scoring - our API lets you query by make, model, body type, and rollover status.
| Make | Vehicles involved |
|---|
| Toyota | 5,626 |
| Honda | 4,363 |
| Ford | 4,065 |
| Chevrolet | 3,529 |
| Nissan/Datsun | 2,098 |
| Dodge | 1,827 |
| Unknown Make | 1,348 |
| Harley-Davidson | 1,295 |
| GMC | 1,003 |
| BMW | 894 |
Conditions
Weather
| Weather | Crashes |
|---|
| Clear | 22,231 |
| Cloudy | 2,529 |
| Rain | 1,084 |
| Fog, Smog, Smoke | 225 |
| Not Reported | 172 |
| Severe Crosswinds | 79 |
| Snow | 30 |
| Other | 24 |
Collision type
| Type | Crashes |
|---|
| Single vehicle / pedestrian / object | 17,339 |
| Angle | 3,999 |
| Front-to-Front | 2,247 |
| Front-to-Rear | 1,858 |
| Sideswipe - Same Direction | 591 |
| Sideswipe - Opposite Direction | 228 |
| Other | 74 |
| Not Reported | 37 |
| Rear-to-Side | 13 |
| Reported as Unknown | 5 |
| Rear-to-Rear | 2 |
| Unknown | 1 |
Need crash data for a specific location in California?
Our intersection report shows every fatal crash within any radius of a GPS coordinate - with a map, event sequence, contributing factors, vehicle and person details. Used by attorneys for discovery and insurance teams for risk assessment.
For programmatic access to all California crash data, see the API guide. $19/mo for full access.
Data source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2017-2023. Updated annually.
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