Fatal crash profile · State

Traffic deaths in California in 2022

State in United States

Deaths, 2022
4,539
Fatal crashes
4,218
Population
39.1M

In 2022, 4,539 people died in 4,218 fatal crashes in California, about 12 a day. That was 0.6% more than in 2021 (4,513) and the most since 1991. The death rate was 11.6 per 100,000 residents, compared with 12.8 in the United States. California had the most traffic deaths of any state and the 30th-highest death rate. Pedestrians accounted for 27% of deaths, and 31% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

11.6

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2022

  • About the same as the rate in the United States: 12.8

+1%

change in deaths from 2021 to 2022

4,513 deaths in 2021, 4,539 in 2022

  • The United States: -1%

Profile by year: 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020

Road users

Who died

27%

of deaths were pedestrians

  • About 1.5 times the share in the United States: 18%
Who died in 2022
Category Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others 2,494
Pedestrians 1,213
Motorcyclists 649
Cyclists 183
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Deaths by type, 2022
Type Deaths Share in California Share in the US
Pedestrians 1,213 27% 18%
Motorcyclists 649 14% 15%
Cyclists 183 4% 3%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes 1,419 31% 32%
Speeding-related crashes 1,443 32% 28%

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

31%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

  • About 1.1 times the share in the United States: 28%

27%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 26%
Crash factors in 2022
Category California United States
Speeding-related 26.7% 26.2%
Alcohol-involved 31.0% 27.7%
At night 60.4% 53.9%
At weekends 35.4% 33.3%

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

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Timing

When crashes happen

60%

of fatal crashes happened at night

  • About 1.1 times the share in the United States: 54%

35%

of fatal crashes happened at weekends

  • About the same as the share in the United States: 33%
Fatal crashes by hour of day
Category Fatal crashes
12am 218
1am 181
2am 203
3am 140
4am 134
5am 168
6am 158
7am 103
8am 101
9am 109
10am 97
11am 104
12pm 135
1pm 104
2pm 142
3pm 162
4pm 179
5pm 188
6pm 250
7pm 226
8pm 288
9pm 270
10pm 245
11pm 226

All crashes 2022.

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Fatal crashes by day of week
Category Fatal crashes
Sun 742
Mon 516
Tue 531
Wed 494
Thu 534
Fri 651
Sat 750

All crashes 2022.

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Fatal crashes by month
Category Fatal crashes
Jan 360
Feb 337
Mar 334
Apr 337
May 347
Jun 353
Jul 328
Aug 377
Sep 357
Oct 389
Nov 341
Dec 358

All crashes 2022.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Clear 3,652
Cloudy 335
Rain 124
Fog, Smog, Smoke 44
Severe Crosswinds 18
Snow 2

All crashes 2022. 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 1,552
Dark - Lighted 1,366
Dark - Not Lighted 1,075
Dusk 93
Dawn 92
Dark - Unknown Lighting 32

All crashes 2022. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Roads and vehicles

Where and what, 2022

Roads with the most fatal crashes

  1. I-5111
  2. US-10178
  3. SR-9970
  4. I-1563
  5. I-1059
  6. I-8032
  7. SR-9130
  8. SR-127
  9. SR-421
  10. SR-4120

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type
Category Vehicles
Cars 2,804
SUVs 1,155
Pickup trucks 822
Motorcycles 664
Medium and heavy trucks 439
Other vehicles 255
Vans 188
Other light trucks 16
Buses 14

All crashes 2022.

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Vehicles most often involved

  1. Honda Civic218
  2. Toyota Camry205
  3. Honda Accord183
  4. Chevrolet Silverado158
  5. Toyota Corolla147
  6. Freightliner Cascadia101
  7. Ford F-15096
  8. Toyota Tacoma96
  9. Nissan Altima87
  10. Nissan Sentra85

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 2022. Crashes without reported coordinates are not shown.

Filter crashes
Crash factors
Date Location Deaths
Dec 31, 2022 Rialto, San Bernardino County 1
Dec 31, 2022 San Jose, Santa Clara County 1
Dec 31, 2022 Tulare, Tulare County 1
Dec 31, 2022 Long Beach, Los Angeles County 1
Dec 31, 2022 Walnut Creek, Contra Costa County 1
Dec 31, 2022 San Joaquin County 1
Dec 31, 2022 Riverside, Riverside County 1
Dec 31, 2022 Mountain View, Santa Clara County 1
Dec 31, 2022 Riverside County 1
Dec 31, 2022 Barstow, San Bernardino County 1
Dec 31, 2022 Fortuna, Humboldt County 1
Dec 31, 2022 Colusa County 1
Dec 31, 2022 San Mateo, San Mateo County 1
Dec 30, 2022 Los Angeles, Los Angeles County 1
Dec 30, 2022 San Diego, San Diego County 1
Dec 30, 2022 Oakland, Alameda County 1
Dec 30, 2022 Kern County 2
Dec 29, 2022 Sacramento, Sacramento County 1
Dec 29, 2022 Los Angeles, Los Angeles County 1
Dec 29, 2022 Los Angeles, Los Angeles County 1
Dec 29, 2022 Buena Park, Orange County 1
Dec 29, 2022 Fresno County 1
Dec 29, 2022 San Mateo County 1
Dec 29, 2022 Concord, Contra Costa County 1
Dec 29, 2022 San Bernardino, San Bernardino County 1

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Nearby and related

Counties in California in 2022

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Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2022. A fatal crash is one in which at least one person died within 30 days. Population: US Census Bureau estimates.