Fatal crash profile · County

Traffic deaths in Santa Clara County, California

County in California · United States

Deaths, 2024
100
Fatal crashes
96
Population
1.9M

In 2024, 100 people died in 96 fatal crashes in Santa Clara County, California. That was 20.0% fewer than in 2023 (125) and the fewest in any year since 2020. The death rate was 5.2 per 100,000 residents, compared with 9.8 in California and 11.5 in the United States. Santa Clara County had the 10th most traffic deaths among California's counties. Between 2020 and 2024, 584 people died, an average of 117 a year. Pedestrians accounted for 36% of deaths, and 26% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

5.2

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2024

  • About half the rate in California: 9.8
  • About half the rate in the United States: 11.5

6.2

average deaths per 100,000 residents a year, 2020–2024

  • About 55 percent of the average in California: 10.7
  • About half the average in the United States: 12.3

-20%

change in deaths from 2023 to 2024

125 deaths in 2023, 100 in 2024

  • California: -7%
  • The United States: -4%
Traffic deaths by year, 2020–2024
Category Deaths Fatal crashes
2020 117 111
2021 129 126
2022 113 108
2023 125 117
2024 100 96

People who died within 30 days of a crash. A fatal crash can kill more than one person.

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Deaths per 100,000 residents, 2020–2024
Category Deaths per 100,000
2020 6.1
2021 6.9
2022 6.0
2023 6.6
2024 5.2

Uses Census population estimates, available from 2000.

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Road users

Who died

36%

of deaths were pedestrians

  • About 1.3 times the share in California: 28%
  • About double the share in the United States: 18%
Who died in 2024
Category Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others 43
Pedestrians 36
Motorcyclists 13
Cyclists 8
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Deaths by type, 2024
Type Deaths Share in Santa Clara County Share in California
Pedestrians 36 36% 28%
Motorcyclists 13 13% 13%
Cyclists 8 8% 4%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes 27 27% 34%
Speeding-related crashes 27 27% 29%

Alcohol-impaired and speeding-related count everyone killed in those crashes, so a death can appear in more than one row.

Crash factors

Speeding, alcohol, night and weekend crashes

26%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

  • About the same as the share in California: 29%
  • About the same as the share in the United States: 28%

25%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

  • About the same as the share in California: 27%
  • About the same as the share in the United States: 25%
Crash factors in 2024
Category Santa Clara County California United States
Speeding-related 25.0% 26.6% 24.8%
Alcohol-involved 26.0% 28.8% 28.1%
At night 59.4% 62.0% 53.6%
At weekends 33.3% 34.4% 32.6%

Share of fatal crashes. Alcohol-involved means a police-reported drinking driver.

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Timing

When crashes happen

59%

of fatal crashes happened at night

  • About the same as the share in California: 62%
  • About 1.1 times the share in the United States: 54%

33%

of fatal crashes happened at weekends

  • About the same as the share in California: 34%
  • About the same as the share in the United States: 33%
Fatal crashes by hour of day
Category Fatal crashes
12am 25
1am 36
2am 25
3am 20
4am 23
5am 24
6am 21
7am 10
8am 20
9am 13
10am 10
11am 19
12pm 10
1pm 15
2pm 11
3pm 17
4pm 32
5pm 24
6pm 25
7pm 24
8pm 35
9pm 40
10pm 37
11pm 36

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Fatal crashes by day of week
Category Fatal crashes
Sun 101
Mon 79
Tue 61
Wed 70
Thu 70
Fri 74
Sat 103

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Fatal crashes by month
Category Fatal crashes
Jan 46
Feb 56
Mar 49
Apr 34
May 49
Jun 38
Jul 43
Aug 61
Sep 65
Oct 33
Nov 39
Dec 45

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Clear 477
Cloudy 30
Rain 22
Fog, Smog, Smoke 1

All crashes 2020–2024. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Light conditions at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Daylight 196
Dark - Lighted 194
Dark - Not Lighted 121
Dark - Unknown Lighting 17
Dusk 12
Dawn 10

All crashes 2020–2024. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Roads and vehicles

Where and what, 2020–2024

Roads with the most fatal crashes

  1. US-10183
  2. SR-15218
  3. MONTEREY RD18
  4. I-28017
  5. I-68016
  6. SR-1712
  7. SR-8511
  8. SR-8711
  9. I-8809
  10. SR-2378

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type
Category Vehicles
Cars 408
SUVs 121
Pickup trucks 89
Motorcycles 81
Medium and heavy trucks 40
Other vehicles 36
Vans 30
Buses 2
Other light trucks 1

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Vehicles most often involved

  1. Honda Accord39
  2. Toyota Camry31
  3. Honda Civic29
  4. Toyota Corolla21
  5. Ford F-15020
  6. Nissan Altima14
  7. Chevrolet Silverado13
  8. Tesla Model 310
  9. Toyota Sienna9
  10. Toyota RAV48

Reflects how common a vehicle is as well as crash involvement; not a safety rating.

Crashes

Fatal crashes

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Fatal crashes in 2024. Crashes without reported coordinates are not shown.

Filter crashes
Crash factors
Date Location Deaths
Dec 28, 2024 San Jose 1
Dec 22, 2024 Morgan Hill 1
Dec 22, 2024 Morgan Hill 2
Dec 20, 2024 — 1
Dec 13, 2024 San Jose 1
Dec 10, 2024 Santa Clara 1
Dec 9, 2024 San Jose 1
Dec 9, 2024 — 1
Nov 28, 2024 Saratoga 1
Nov 26, 2024 San Jose 1
Nov 24, 2024 San Jose 1
Nov 21, 2024 Santa Clara 1
Nov 21, 2024 — 1
Nov 18, 2024 San Jose 1
Nov 14, 2024 — 1
Oct 28, 2024 — 2
Oct 16, 2024 San Jose 1
Oct 8, 2024 San Jose 1
Oct 4, 2024 Santa Clara 1
Oct 1, 2024 San Jose 1
Sep 30, 2024 San Jose 1
Sep 29, 2024 San Jose 1
Sep 22, 2024 — 1
Sep 21, 2024 San Jose 1
Sep 20, 2024 Santa Clara 1

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Nearby and related

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Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2020–2024. A fatal crash is one in which at least one person died within 30 days. Population: US Census Bureau estimates.