Counties with the most motor vehicle accident fatalities in California
Counties with the most motor vehicle accident fatalities in California
Media outlets were quick during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdowns that defined the summer and fall of 2020 to note just how little traffic there was as a result. Simple logic would suggest that less traffic equals a lower likelihood of accidents and thus fewer injuries and fatalities. Sadly, this was not the case.
Nationwide, traffic fatalities rose 7.2% in 2020 to nearly 39,000. That number was the highest recorded since 2007. Qualifying this disturbing fact is a sticky wicket—common denominators behind traffic deaths such as impaired driving, failure to use a seat belt, and excessive speed were certainly contributing factors, but they alone do not account for a rise in deaths commensurate with a 430-million-mile drop in the number of miles people traveled across the course of the year. What can be qualified, however, is where fatal crashes took place.
Citing data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Stacker identified the counties in California that had the most fatalities from motor vehicle crashes in 2020. The number of accident fatalities are ranked by the number of deaths per 100,000 people, with the raw number functioning as a tiebreaker. The analysis only looked at counties with at least five deaths during 2020. Additional data is included on pedestrian, bicyclist, and drunk-driving-related deaths. In counties where at least five fatalities happened on the same street or interstate, the road with the most deaths is also included.
#50. San Francisco County, California
- 13 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 0 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#49. San Mateo County, California
- 11 pedestrian deaths
- 2 bicyclist deaths
- 10 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: US-101 (9 fatalities)
#48. Alameda County, California
- 30 pedestrian deaths
- 2 bicyclist deaths
- 27 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-880 (13 fatalities)
#47. Santa Clara County, California
- 37 pedestrian deaths
- 8 bicyclist deaths
- 21 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: US-101 (15 fatalities)
#46. Orange County, California
- 74 pedestrian deaths
- 14 bicyclist deaths
- 48 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-5 (13 fatalities)
#45. Santa Barbara County, California
- 3 pedestrian deaths
- 2 bicyclist deaths
- 15 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: US-101 (6 fatalities)
#44. Santa Cruz County, California
- 9 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 5 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#43. Sonoma County, California
- 6 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 8 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#42. Ventura County, California
- 12 pedestrian deaths
- 4 bicyclist deaths
- 25 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-33 (7 fatalities)
#41. Los Angeles County, California
- 276 pedestrian deaths
- 27 bicyclist deaths
- 139 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-5 (25 fatalities)
#40. San Luis Obispo County, California
- 4 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 7 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: US-101 (6 fatalities)
#39. Solano County, California
- 11 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 8 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-80 (14 fatalities)
#38. Placer County, California
- 4 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 10 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-80 (9 fatalities)
#37. San Diego County, California
- 87 pedestrian deaths
- 7 bicyclist deaths
- 75 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-5 (28 fatalities)
#36. Contra Costa County, California
- 29 pedestrian deaths
- 5 bicyclist deaths
- 25 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-4 (16 fatalities)
#35. Sacramento County, California
- 50 pedestrian deaths
- 5 bicyclist deaths
- 35 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-5 (10 fatalities)
#34. El Dorado County, California
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 10 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#33. Monterey County, California
- 9 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 23 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-1 (13 fatalities)
#32. Yolo County, California
- 3 pedestrian deaths
- 2 bicyclist deaths
- 13 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#31. Riverside County, California
- 84 pedestrian deaths
- 8 bicyclist deaths
- 89 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-74 (19 fatalities)
#30. Tuolumne County, California
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#29. Siskiyou County, California
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#28. Nevada County, California
- 3 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 7 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#27. Napa County, California
- 4 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-29 (7 fatalities)
#26. Stanislaus County, California
- 18 pedestrian deaths
- 3 bicyclist deaths
- 22 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-99 (9 fatalities)
#25. San Joaquin County, California
- 22 pedestrian deaths
- 9 bicyclist deaths
- 40 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Roads with most fatalities: SR-99, SR-4 (9 fatalities each)
#24. Humboldt County, California
- 5 pedestrian deaths
- 2 bicyclist deaths
- 9 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#23. Sutter County, California
- 5 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 6 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-99 (7 fatalities)
#22. Imperial County, California
- 11 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-8 (8 fatalities)
#21. Merced County, California
- 11 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 12 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-5 (7 fatalities)
#20. San Bernardino County, California
- 80 pedestrian deaths
- 6 bicyclist deaths
- 79 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: I-15 (41 fatalities)
#19. Fresno County, California
- 43 pedestrian deaths
- 8 bicyclist deaths
- 40 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-41 (15 fatalities)
#18. Glenn County, California
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#17. Tulare County, California
- 10 pedestrian deaths
- 5 bicyclist deaths
- 35 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-99 (7 fatalities)
#16. Kings County, California
- 4 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 9 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-41 (11 fatalities)
#15. San Benito County, California
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 4 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#14. Madera County, California
- 6 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 13 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-41 (6 fatalities)
#13. Butte County, California
- 10 pedestrian deaths
- 2 bicyclist deaths
- 10 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-99 (5 fatalities)
#12. Calaveras County, California
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#11. Shasta County, California
- 6 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 11 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-299 (10 fatalities)
#10. Kern County, California
- 32 pedestrian deaths
- 4 bicyclist deaths
- 73 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-99 (17 fatalities)
#9. Lake County, California
- 4 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-20 (6 fatalities)
#8. Mendocino County, California
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 9 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Roads with most fatalities: SR-20, US-101 (6 fatalities each)
#7. Tehama County, California
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 10 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: SR-36 (5 fatalities)
#6. Lassen County, California
- 2 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 6 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: US-395 (9 fatalities)
#5. Colusa County, California
- 1 pedestrian death
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#4. Amador County, California
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 6 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#3. Trinity County, California
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 2 deaths involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities
#2. Inyo County, California
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 3 deaths involving drunk drivers
- Road with most fatalities: US-395 (7 fatalities)
#1. Modoc County, California
- 0 pedestrian deaths
- 0 bicyclist deaths
- 1 death involving drunk drivers
- No roads with at least five fatalities