California recorded 4,061 traffic deaths and 16,760 serious injuries in 2023, the most recent year with finalized statewide figures. The state’s fatality rate was 1.28 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. The current SWITRS extract reports 163,848 police reported fatal and injury crashes that year. California’s preliminary estimate for 2024 is 3,807 deaths, a figure that remains subject to revision.
This page is built only from California government publications and the state endorsed UC Berkeley SafeTREC data tools. Every number carries its data year, its source system, and whether it is final or preliminary. Where official sources disagree, the corrections ledger explains which value we publish and why. Data were retrieved August 21, 2026 and the page was last updated August 22, 2026.
California crash statistics at a glance: 2023 final data
Sources: California Office of Traffic Safety, FY 2025 Annual Report, printed p. 32; Caltrans 2025 to 2029 SHSP Implementation Plan; UC Berkeley SafeTREC TIMS SWITRS Summary, retrieved August 21, 2026.
Preliminary 2024 estimate
Caltrans labels 2014 through 2023 as finalized and 2024 as provisional. Its dashboard warns that provisional data can undercount crashes, deaths, and serious injuries. Historically, 95 to 99 percent of categories have been reported at this stage. We do not blend the 2024 estimate into any finalized trend chart on this page.
Ten year trend, 2014 to 2023
The charts below use one internally consistent series, the SWITRS extract from SafeTREC TIMS (crashes as of June 8, 2026), so that deaths, serious injuries, and crash counts can be compared across years. SWITRS counts 4,142 deaths for 2023; the federal FARS count used for the public headline is 4,061. That gap reflects different reconciliation processes, not an error. See methods.
OTS core performance measures, revised, 2019 to 2023
These are the most recent revised values from the OTS 2025 Annual Report. They supersede older OTS reports and the OTS Quick Stats page where figures conflict.
| Measure | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2022 to 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traffic fatalities, FARS | 3,719 | 3,980 | 4,513 | 4,539 | 4,061 | -10.5% |
| Serious injuries, SWITRS | 16,443 | 15,392 | 18,084 | 17,916 | 16,760 | -6.5% |
| Fatalities per 100M vehicle miles | 1.09 | 1.33 | 1.45 | 1.44 | 1.28 | -11.1% |
| Unrestrained passenger vehicle occupant deaths | 634 | 782 | 919 | 853 | 780 | -8.6% |
| Alcohol impaired deaths | 966 | 1,183 | 1,435 | 1,419 | 1,355 | -4.5% |
| Speeding related deaths | 1,108 | 1,295 | 1,590 | 1,443 | 1,303 | -9.7% |
| Motorcyclist deaths | 491 | 559 | 611 | 649 | 583 | -10.2% |
| Unhelmeted motorcyclist deaths | 28 | 36 | 46 | 43 | 33 | -23.3% |
| Drivers age 20 or younger in fatal crashes | 363 | 419 | 518 | 482 | 437 | -9.3% |
| Pedestrian deaths | 1,011 | 1,013 | 1,179 | 1,213 | 1,106 | -8.8% |
| Bicyclist deaths | 143 | 136 | 134 | 183 | 145 | -20.8% |
- The 2023 population fatality rate was 10.42 per 100,000 residents.
- The 2023 rate was 1.75 deaths per 100 million VMT in rural areas and 1.17 in urban areas.
- The five year rolling fatality average was 4,162 in 2023, compared with 3,725 in 2019. One year of decline did not erase the elevated longer term trend.
- Caltrans reports that fatalities plus serious injuries rose 48% from 2014 through 2023.
- Caltrans’ 2030 targets: 3,322 deaths, 12,872 serious injuries, and a fatality rate of 0.92 per 100 million VMT.
What contributes to fatal and serious crashes
| Factor (SWITRS coding) | Killed | Seriously injured | Killed + injured, all severities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lane departure | 1,755 | 6,711 | 53,275 |
| Alcohol involved | 1,109 | 3,532 | 27,610 |
| Speeding related | 1,100 | 4,360 | 78,260 |
| Intersection | 835 | 4,956 | 78,210 |
| Drug involved | 573 | 446 | 2,880 |
| Distracted driving | 124 | 617 | 10,797 |
| Work zone | 93 | 261 | 4,424 |
Alcohol impaired and alcohol involved driving
- 1,355 alcohol impaired deaths in 2023 (FARS), 33.4% of all California traffic deaths, down 4.5% from 2022.
- 27,346 SWITRS alcohol related injuries, including 3,824 serious injuries.
- Alcohol impaired fatality rate: 0.43 per 100 million VMT.
- 47.6% of fatal alcohol impaired crashes occurred between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.; 43.4% occurred on a Saturday or Sunday.
- Men were 75% of deaths; men age 15 to 34 were 39.1% of deaths.
- Highest county death counts: Los Angeles 265, Riverside 115, San Bernardino 113, San Diego 93, Orange 72.
Definition matters here. FARS “alcohol impaired” means a driver or rider with an estimated blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher. SWITRS “alcohol involved” is based on an officer’s had been drinking assessment and does not require a known BAC, which is why the SWITRS figure in the chart above (1,109 killed) differs from the FARS figure (1,355). Only 26% of drivers in California fatal crashes had a known BAC in SafeTREC’s detailed analysis; FARS imputes the rest.
Drug involved driving
52% of drivers killed in crashes who were tested tested positive for drugs in 2023. The series is 51% in 2019, 55% in 2020, 51% in 2021, 51% in 2022, and 52% in 2023. This is not “52% of fatal crashes.” It excludes killed drivers who were not tested and does not establish impairment or causation. FARS changed its toxicology method, so SafeTREC’s latest detailed California drug fact sheet still uses 2021 data.
Speeding
- 1,303 speeding related deaths in 2023 (FARS), 32% of all traffic deaths, down 9.7% from 2022.
- 68,733 speeding related injuries, including 5,778 serious injuries (SWITRS).
- 81% of fatal speeding crashes were urban. 33.5% occurred between 6 p.m. and midnight.
- Leading fatal and serious injury crash types: rear end 33.0%, hit object 22.3%, broadside 11.7%, overturn 10.0%, vehicle versus pedestrian 7.1%.
- Highest county death counts: Los Angeles 299, San Bernardino 103, Riverside 103, San Diego 83, Orange 75.
Distracted driving
- 158 deaths were coded as distracted driving related in 2023 (FARS), up 6.8% from 2022, about 4% of all deaths.
- Caltrans warns that distraction is heavily underreported because a witness or evidence is usually needed to confirm it.
- OTS observed handheld phone or texting use among drivers at 1.64% in 2021, 3.15% in 2022, 3.64% in 2023, 2.92% in 2024, and 4.46% in 2025.
- In the 2025 OTS opinion survey, 71.4% of Californians listed texting while driving as a top traffic concern.
Hit and run
| Measure | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fatal hit and run crashes, FARS | 327 | 404 | 480 | 490 | Not published |
| Hit and run deaths, FARS | 335 | 413 | 491 | 505 | Not published |
| Hit and run injury crashes, SWITRS | 20,122 | 18,075 | 20,548 | 20,676 | 20,995 |
| People injured in hit and run crashes | 25,842 | 23,260 | 26,681 | 26,665 | 27,076 |
Fatal hit and run crashes rose 49.8% from 2019 to 2022. From 2022 to 2023, hit and run injury crashes and injured people each rose about 1.5%. Source: OTS FY 2024 Annual Report, printed p. 50.
Caltrans challenge areas, share of fatal and serious injury victims, 2014 to 2023
Who is most affected
| Road user group | Deaths (FARS, 2023) | Share of all deaths | Change from 2022 | Injuries (SWITRS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pedestrians | 1,106 | 27% | −8.8% | 11,194 |
| Motorcyclists | 583 | 14% | −10.2% | 11,414 (3,089 serious) |
| Unrestrained passenger vehicle occupants | 780 | 19% | −8.6% | Not published |
| Road users age 65 or older | 647 | 16% | −7.3% | Not published |
| Bicyclists | 145 | 3.6% | −20.8% | See note |
| People age 16 to 19 (all road users) | 212 | 5.2% | Not published | 16,349 |
Pedestrians
- 1,106 pedestrian deaths in 2023, 27% of all traffic deaths. Down 8.8% from 2022 but 56% above 2014.
- 75% of pedestrian deaths occurred between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.; 92% of fatal pedestrian crashes were urban.
- 201 pedestrians age 65 or older died, 18.2% of pedestrian deaths; 1,600 were injured.
- Highest county death counts: Los Angeles 273, San Bernardino 120, Riverside 85, San Diego 84, Orange 70.
- Officer coded factors such as “pedestrian violation” (48.6%) and “pedestrian right of way” (17.8%) describe the crash report, not legal fault.
Motorcyclists
- 583 motorcyclist deaths in 2023, down 10.2% from 2022 but nearly 19% above 2019. 33 riders who died were unhelmeted.
- 11,414 motorcyclist injuries, including 3,089 serious injuries.
- 29% of fatally injured operators were improperly licensed. Men were 95% of deaths.
- The motorcyclist was officer coded at fault in 67% of fatal motorcycle crashes and 54% of injury crashes. “At fault” here is a police coding field, not a civil liability judgment.
- Highest county death counts: Los Angeles 125, San Diego 52, Riverside 50, San Bernardino 48, Orange 42.
Bicyclists
- 145 bicyclist deaths in 2023, 3.6% of traffic deaths, down 20.8% from 2022.
- 90% of fatal bicycle crashes were urban; 39.9% occurred between 6 p.m. and midnight. Men were 83.4% of deaths.
- Leading crash types in fatal and serious injury bicycle crashes: broadside 34.9%, rear end 10.3%, head on 8.6%.
- Highest county death counts: Los Angeles 28, San Bernardino 18, Sacramento 16, Riverside 13, San Joaquin 9.
- We do not publish the OTS Annual Report’s detailed bicyclist injury rows because they are mislabeled in the source. See the corrections ledger.
Young and teen road users
These are different measures and should not be substituted for one another.
| Measure | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Drivers age 15 to 20 involved in fatal crashes (OTS Quick Stats definition) | 428 |
| Drivers age 20 or younger involved in fatal crashes (OTS annual table definition) | 437 |
| Motor vehicle deaths among people age 16 to 19 | 212 |
| Driver deaths among people age 16 to 19 | 120 |
| Motor vehicle injuries among people age 16 to 19 | 16,349 |
Older road users
- 647 road users age 65 or older died in 2023, 16% of all traffic deaths, down 7.3% from 2022.
- California had 5,212,638 licensed drivers age 65 or older, 18.7% of all licensed drivers.
- This is an age of victim measure. It covers drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and bicyclists and is not a count of crashes caused by older drivers.
Seat belts and child passengers
- 780 unrestrained passenger vehicle occupants died in 2023, down 8.6%.
- Observed front seat belt use was 96.21% in 2023 and 97.54% in 2024. We are withholding the 2025 rate because OTS and Caltrans publish different values (93.25% and 93.9%).
- Passenger vehicle occupants age 0 to 8: 36 deaths and 5,055 injuries. Children age 14 or younger: 24 unrestrained deaths and 106 serious injuries.
California crash statistics by county, 2023
All 58 counties, from the SWITRS extract in SafeTREC TIMS (2023 final). Click any column header to sort. Population rates are calculated by GJEL using U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 estimates for July 1, 2023, and are shown separately from raw counts on purpose.
| County | Fatal + injury crashes | Deaths (SWITRS) | Serious injuries | Killed + injured | Pedestrian victims | Population 2023 | Deaths per 100k | Killed + injured per 100k |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 41,029 | 814 | 4,182 | 58,758 | 3,764 | 9,731,837 | 8.4 | 603.8 |
| San Diego | 13,612 | 287 | 1,096 | 18,773 | 1,041 | 3,285,890 | 8.7 | 571.3 |
| Orange | 12,679 | 223 | 830 | 17,809 | 826 | 3,154,563 | 7.1 | 564.5 |
| Riverside | 10,483 | 324 | 1,116 | 15,177 | 559 | 2,503,549 | 12.9 | 606.2 |
| San Bernardino | 10,370 | 386 | 1,047 | 15,118 | 610 | 2,200,805 | 17.5 | 686.9 |
| Sacramento | 8,192 | 210 | 796 | 11,407 | 613 | 1,594,506 | 13.2 | 715.4 |
| Alameda | 7,084 | 108 | 542 | 9,509 | 636 | 1,638,142 | 6.6 | 580.5 |
| Santa Clara | 6,423 | 125 | 500 | 8,745 | 494 | 1,897,137 | 6.6 | 461.0 |
| San Joaquin | 4,167 | 135 | 406 | 6,095 | 257 | 805,909 | 16.8 | 756.3 |
| Kern | 3,935 | 180 | 492 | 6,028 | 296 | 916,646 | 19.6 | 657.6 |
| Fresno | 3,657 | 147 | 509 | 5,377 | 275 | 1,019,899 | 14.4 | 527.2 |
| Ventura | 3,655 | 72 | 326 | 5,130 | 185 | 833,071 | 8.6 | 615.8 |
| Contra Costa | 3,416 | 100 | 361 | 4,549 | 233 | 1,162,179 | 8.6 | 391.4 |
| San Francisco | 3,259 | 37 | 243 | 4,260 | 628 | 819,151 | 4.5 | 520.1 |
| Stanislaus | 3,112 | 88 | 304 | 4,679 | 204 | 553,921 | 15.9 | 844.7 |
| San Mateo | 2,548 | 38 | 223 | 3,333 | 231 | 734,267 | 5.2 | 453.9 |
| Solano | 2,083 | 50 | 216 | 2,868 | 120 | 451,060 | 11.1 | 635.8 |
| Tulare | 2,028 | 85 | 257 | 3,012 | 122 | 480,747 | 17.7 | 626.5 |
| Santa Barbara | 1,891 | 36 | 211 | 2,489 | 132 | 443,521 | 8.1 | 561.2 |
| Sonoma | 1,806 | 30 | 213 | 2,438 | 103 | 483,366 | 6.2 | 504.4 |
| Monterey | 1,696 | 40 | 172 | 2,315 | 125 | 435,637 | 9.2 | 531.4 |
| Placer | 1,611 | 43 | 164 | 2,277 | 69 | 424,599 | 10.1 | 536.3 |
| Merced | 1,550 | 60 | 258 | 2,386 | 94 | 294,402 | 20.4 | 810.5 |
| Santa Cruz | 1,037 | 24 | 148 | 1,315 | 74 | 263,699 | 9.1 | 498.7 |
| Marin | 1,032 | 15 | 122 | 1,323 | 86 | 255,706 | 5.9 | 517.4 |
| San Luis Obispo | 934 | 21 | 147 | 1,254 | 57 | 282,007 | 7.4 | 444.7 |
| Yolo | 887 | 24 | 115 | 1,250 | 58 | 222,919 | 10.8 | 560.7 |
| Madera | 752 | 27 | 101 | 1,119 | 49 | 163,402 | 16.5 | 684.8 |
| El Dorado | 747 | 19 | 152 | 1,004 | 34 | 192,440 | 9.9 | 521.7 |
| Butte | 715 | 35 | 150 | 979 | 47 | 207,354 | 16.9 | 472.1 |
| Kings | 650 | 40 | 98 | 1,000 | 44 | 153,281 | 26.1 | 652.4 |
| Napa | 619 | 17 | 95 | 859 | 46 | 133,444 | 12.7 | 643.7 |
| Shasta | 549 | 23 | 74 | 726 | 33 | 180,656 | 12.7 | 401.9 |
| Imperial | 542 | 17 | 76 | 770 | 22 | 180,585 | 9.4 | 426.4 |
| Humboldt | 524 | 27 | 124 | 680 | 33 | 134,009 | 20.1 | 507.4 |
| Sutter | 517 | 23 | 75 | 734 | 31 | 98,457 | 23.4 | 745.5 |
| Yuba | 423 | 21 | 66 | 598 | 33 | 85,695 | 24.5 | 697.8 |
| Nevada | 388 | 14 | 77 | 512 | 14 | 102,086 | 13.7 | 501.5 |
| Mendocino | 378 | 21 | 89 | 473 | 13 | 89,354 | 23.5 | 529.4 |
| San Benito | 335 | 7 | 51 | 484 | 17 | 68,341 | 10.2 | 708.2 |
| Lake | 323 | 20 | 50 | 443 | 26 | 67,934 | 29.4 | 652.1 |
| Tuolumne | 312 | 19 | 51 | 433 | 6 | 54,123 | 35.1 | 800.0 |
| Tehama | 259 | 14 | 49 | 371 | 9 | 64,959 | 21.6 | 571.1 |
| Calaveras | 250 | 14 | 73 | 358 | 7 | 46,580 | 30.1 | 768.6 |
| Siskiyou | 191 | 19 | 32 | 271 | 2 | 42,941 | 44.2 | 631.1 |
| Amador | 168 | 11 | 33 | 240 | 2 | 41,798 | 26.3 | 574.2 |
| Lassen | 134 | 7 | 34 | 176 | 5 | 28,838 | 24.3 | 610.3 |
| Del Norte | 121 | 5 | 25 | 176 | 8 | 26,571 | 18.8 | 662.4 |
| Colusa | 109 | 5 | 28 | 155 | 3 | 22,093 | 22.6 | 701.6 |
| Glenn | 103 | 13 | 22 | 166 | 2 | 28,190 | 46.1 | 588.9 |
| Inyo | 103 | 7 | 22 | 137 | 7 | 18,548 | 37.7 | 738.6 |
| Trinity | 94 | 8 | 27 | 107 | 7 | 15,684 | 51.0 | 682.2 |
| Mariposa | 84 | 3 | 20 | 103 | 3 | 16,996 | 17.7 | 606.0 |
| Mono | 82 | 1 | 20 | 116 | 0 | 13,207 | 7.6 | 878.3 |
| Plumas | 79 | 0 | 19 | 92 | 6 | 19,120 | 0.0 | 481.2 |
| Modoc | 49 | 2 | 13 | 65 | 3 | 8,566 | 23.3 | 758.8 |
| Alpine | 38 | 0 | 7 | 45 | 1 | 1,126 | 0.0 | 3996.4 |
| Sierra | 34 | 1 | 11 | 41 | 0 | 3,180 | 31.4 | 1289.3 |
Sources: SafeTREC TIMS SWITRS Summary (crashes as of June 8, 2026), retrieved August 21, 2026; U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 county population estimates, July 1, 2023. Deaths here are SWITRS counts, which sum to 4,142 statewide; the FARS statewide total is 4,061. Pedestrian victims are people killed or injured in pedestrian involved crashes.
Largest cities by fatal and injury crashes, 2023
| City | County | Fatal + injury crashes | Deaths (SWITRS) | Serious injuries | Killed + injured | Pedestrian victims |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | Los Angeles | 10,859 | 343 | 1,741 | 15,605 | 1,419 |
| San Diego | San Diego | 5,754 | 111 | 382 | 7,800 | 539 |
| Sacramento | Sacramento | 3,578 | 67 | 268 | 5,145 | 299 |
| San Jose | Santa Clara | 3,500 | 62 | 242 | 4,797 | 328 |
| San Francisco | San Francisco | 3,259 | 37 | 243 | 4,260 | 628 |
| Long Beach | Los Angeles | 3,075 | 42 | 288 | 4,354 | 324 |
| Oakland | Alameda | 2,127 | 42 | 162 | 2,836 | 258 |
| Anaheim | Orange | 2,099 | 26 | 75 | 3,163 | 95 |
| Riverside | Riverside | 1,810 | 36 | 138 | 2,558 | 119 |
| Santa Ana | Orange | 1,780 | 26 | 87 | 2,493 | 149 |
| Fresno | Fresno | 1,590 | 53 | 219 | 2,250 | 206 |
| Bakersfield | Kern | 1,500 | 56 | 116 | 2,387 | 169 |
| Stockton | San Joaquin | 1,446 | 35 | 85 | 2,129 | 129 |
| Modesto | Stanislaus | 1,300 | 21 | 65 | 1,997 | 113 |
| San Bernardino | San Bernardino | 1,279 | 52 | 112 | 1,981 | 107 |
| Ontario | San Bernardino | 1,135 | 22 | 96 | 1,624 | 58 |
| Oxnard | Ventura | 930 | 16 | 56 | 1,398 | 60 |
| Pasadena | Los Angeles | 929 | 3 | 44 | 1,376 | 72 |
| Lancaster | Los Angeles | 920 | 25 | 57 | 1,601 | 56 |
| Pomona | Los Angeles | 900 | 18 | 57 | 1,241 | 72 |
| Fontana | San Bernardino | 888 | 30 | 62 | 1,238 | 56 |
| Chula Vista | San Diego | 820 | 15 | 54 | 1,164 | 69 |
| Fremont | Alameda | 793 | 11 | 56 | 1,085 | 41 |
| Corona | Riverside | 783 | 20 | 73 | 1,097 | 34 |
| Huntington Beach | Orange | 780 | 13 | 34 | 1,110 | 53 |
City figures cover incorporated areas only. Unincorporated county areas are excluded from this list. OTS compares cities only within population groups, so a large city’s OTS rank cannot be compared with a small city’s. Example from the 2023 OTS rankings: Los Angeles reported 8,116 victims killed or injured and ranked 15th of 15 large cities, while Long Beach reported 3,774 and ranked first.
Personal injury burden: California resident health data, 2024
Police crash data capture what officers record at the scene. The California Department of Public Health measures what happens afterward in hospitals and emergency departments. For 2024, unintentional motor vehicle traffic injuries among California residents produced:
For context, EpiCenter reports 25,157 injury deaths among California residents from all causes and intents in 2024, including 2,939 from unintentional falls and 1,788 homicides. Those are public health outcomes, not premises liability events or valid legal claims, and we do not present them as a personal injury market size. Source: CDPH EpiCenter, updated February 26, 2026; CDPH 2026 State of Public Health Report, p. 76.
State highway crashes, 2024 final (state highways only)
Caltrans publishes a final annual report for crashes on the State Highway System. It is final for 2024 but covers only the 14,998 miles of state highway, not city streets or county roads, so it cannot be presented as a statewide total.
| 2024 State Highway System measure | Value |
|---|---|
| All recorded crashes (including property damage only) | 153,588 |
| Property damage only crashes | 98,919 |
| Injury crashes | 53,332 |
| Fatal crashes | 1,337 |
| People killed | 1,467 |
| People injured | 76,629 |
| Fatalities per 100 million VMT (state highways) | 0.80 |
Freeways carried 83% of state highway travel and had a fatality rate of 0.58 per 100 million VMT, versus 1.87 on non freeway state highways. The most common crash types on state highways were rear end (66,846), sideswipe (41,023), and hit object (30,063). The most common primary crash factor was speeding (67,795), followed by improper turn (33,124). Primary factor is an administrative classification, not a legal finding of negligence. Source: Caltrans, 2024 Annual Crash Data on California State Highways, pp. 10 to 12 and 114 to 115.
Exposure and denominators
| Year | Vehicle miles traveled (millions) | Population (DOF E-2) | Active driver licenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 298,982 | 39,541,742 | Not available |
| 2021 | 310,822 | 39,260,048 | 27,462,109 |
| 2022 | 315,245 | 39,220,037 | 27,721,418 |
| 2023 | 317,796 | 39,279,899 | 27,765,378 |
| 2024 | 325,074 | 39,509,657 | 27,951,175 |
California’s 325.1 billion vehicle miles in 2024 broke down as 55.9% on state highways, 32.5% on city streets, and 11.2% on county roads. The DMV reported 36,190,654 registered vehicles in 2025, including 25,742,093 automobiles and 763,800 motorcycles. Use the denominator that matches the numerator: VMT for road crash rates, resident population for CDPH outcomes, licenses only for driver involved measures. Sources: Caltrans 2024 Public Road Data; DOF E-2; DMV Driver Licenses Outstanding by County; DMV Statistics 2025.
Methods and definitions
| System | Best use | Unit and geography | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| FARS (NHTSA, reported by OTS) | Final fatality headlines and fatal crash categories | Fatal crashes occurring in California; federally reconciled | Revised as records finalize; not an injury source |
| SWITRS (CHP, via SafeTREC TIMS) | Fatal and injury crashes, people injured, serious injuries, crash characteristics | Crash location on California public roads | Officer reported; property damage only records incomplete; fatal totals differ from FARS |
| CCRS (CHP raw records) | Custom analysis | Daily updated crash, party, and victim files | Unfiltered totals do not reproduce official annual totals |
| CDPH EpiCenter | Deaths, hospitalizations, and ED visits among residents | Residence based deaths; encounter based care | Not comparable to road location data |
| Caltrans state highway report | Crashes on the State Highway System | State highways only | Not a statewide total |
Statewide fatality figures are from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Crash, injury, and serious injury figures are primarily from California’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) as published through SafeTREC TIMS. County population rates use U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 estimates for 2023 and are labeled as GJEL calculations. Mileage rates use Caltrans Highway Performance Monitoring System vehicle miles traveled. CDPH figures describe resident deaths and healthcare encounters and are shown separately because their geography differs. A crash can involve several road users and contributing factors, so category totals overlap and should not be added. Injury severity is assessed by the investigating officer at the scene, and fields such as “primary collision factor” and “at fault” are police coding, not determinations of civil liability. The latest finalized statewide year in California’s official traffic safety publications is 2023; statewide 2024 data remain preliminary.
We did not use data aggregators, insurer blogs, media summaries, or other law firm pages as numerical sources. Raw CCRS downloads are excluded from published totals because CHP does not document a public filter that reproduces its formal annual report: the current raw 2023 file yields 167,354 fatal and injury records unfiltered and 165,002 after obvious exclusions, versus 163,848 in the final TIMS extract.
Corrections and known conflicts in the official sources
California’s own publications do not always agree with one another. This ledger records every conflict we found and the value we publish. If you cite a California crash statistic, these are the traps to check.
| Issue | Conflict | What this page publishes |
|---|---|---|
| Latest final year | 2024 appears in dashboards and raw files but is still provisional statewide | 2023 for all charts; 2024 isolated with a preliminary badge |
| Fatality systems | FARS 4,061 versus SWITRS 4,142 deaths in 2023 | FARS for the headline; SWITRS inside internally consistent crash and injury tables |
| Historical FARS revisions | OTS FY 2024 report listed 4,428 deaths for 2022; the FY 2025 report revises it to 4,539 | The full series rebuilt from the newest annual table |
| 2023 mileage death rate | OTS Quick Stats says 1.26; OTS annual and Caltrans say 1.28 | 1.28 |
| 2022 mileage death rate | OTS Quick Stats says 1.34; the revised annual says 1.44 | 1.44 |
| Alcohol share of deaths | OTS narrative says 39%; 1,355 ÷ 4,061 and the OTS table give 33.4% | 33.4% |
| Teen drivers | 428 (age 15 to 20) versus 437 (age 20 or younger) | Both, each with its exact age definition |
| OTS bicyclist injury rows | The annual report labels 7,941 / 7,625 / 8,735 / 8,811 injuries as fatalities | Not published; 145 FARS deaths only |
| 2022 seat belt use | OTS table shows 93.30%; the graph and prior report show 95.30% | 95.30% |
| 2025 seat belt use | OTS table says 93.25%; Caltrans says 93.9% | Withheld pending the underlying survey |
| SafeTREC pedestrian text | Describes 1,213 to 1,106 as a 0.09% decline | 8.8% |
| 2023 total injuries | Current TIMS 226,965 versus OTS publication 226,421 | 226,965, with the TIMS snapshot date disclosed |
| 2024 state highway VMT | State highway crash report says 183,494.9M; HPMS says 181,644.41M | Each denominator used only with its own report’s numerators |
| CDPH population | EpiCenter uses 38,991,721 person years; DOF E-2 says 39,509,657 | EpiCenter’s own denominator for health rates |
| Property damage only crashes | CHP says reporting is incomplete | Never included in a statewide “all crashes” figure |
Frequently asked questions
How many car accidents happen in California each year?
California recorded 163,848 police reported fatal and injury crashes in 2023, the latest final year, according to the SWITRS extract in SafeTREC TIMS. That is about 449 fatal or injury crashes per day. Property damage only crashes are not included because CHP says their reporting is incomplete, so no complete statewide count of all crashes exists.
How many people die in car accidents in California each year?
4,061 people died in California traffic crashes in 2023 (FARS final), about 11 per day. The preliminary 2024 estimate is 3,807, a 6.3% decrease, but that figure is subject to revision.
How many people are injured in California crashes each year?
SWITRS records 226,965 people injured in 2023, including 16,760 with suspected serious injuries. CDPH separately reports 308,236 emergency department visits and 29,944 hospitalizations for motor vehicle traffic injuries among California residents in 2024.
What is the leading cause of fatal crashes in California?
No single cause can be isolated because categories overlap. In 2023, 1,355 deaths were alcohol impaired (33.4%), 1,303 were speeding related (32%), and 158 were coded as distracted driving related (about 4%, heavily underreported). Across 2014 to 2023, lane departures were involved in 43% of fatal and serious injury victims.
Which California county has the most car accidents?
Los Angeles County, with 41,029 fatal and injury crashes and 814 SWITRS deaths in 2023. Raw counts follow population and travel, though. The Office of Traffic Safety’s model, which adjusts for population and daily vehicle miles, ranked Los Angeles County 58th of 58 counties in 2023.
Is California’s fatality rate higher than average?
California’s 2023 rate was 1.28 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from 1.44 in 2022. The rate was 1.75 in rural areas and 1.17 in urban areas. Caltrans’ 2030 target is 0.92.
Why do different sources give different numbers of California traffic deaths?
FARS (federal, 4,061 for 2023), SWITRS (CHP, 4,142), and CDPH (resident deaths, 4,374 for 2024) count different things: crashes on California roads reconciled federally, police reported crashes, and deaths of California residents wherever they occurred. All three are correct for their own definition.
Sources
All figures on this page trace to the publications below. Retrieval date for every source: August 21, 2026.
- California Office of Traffic Safety, FY 2025 Annual Report, core performance measures, printed p. 32; drug involvement, p. 33.
- California Office of Traffic Safety, FY 2024 Annual Report, hit and run series, printed p. 50.
- California Office of Traffic Safety, Federal FY 2026 Annual Grant Application, preliminary 2024 fatalities, p. 18.
- California Office of Traffic Safety, Crash Rankings and Quick Stats.
- Caltrans, 2025 to 2029 Strategic Highway Safety Plan Implementation Plan, pp. 4 to 20; SHSP Crash Data Dashboard.
- Caltrans, 2024 Crash Data on California State Highways.
- Caltrans, 2024 California Public Road Data (HPMS vehicle miles traveled).
- UC Berkeley SafeTREC, Transportation Injury Mapping System, SWITRS Summary, crashes as of June 8, 2026; 2025 Traffic Safety Facts fact sheets on alcohol, speeding, distracted driving, pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists, older adults, and occupant protection.
- California Highway Patrol, 2020 SWITRS Annual Report; California Crash Reporting System dataset.
- California Department of Public Health, EpiCenter, updated February 26, 2026; 2026 State of Public Health Report, p. 76.
- California Department of Finance, E-2 population estimates; U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 county population estimates.
- California DMV, Driver Licenses Outstanding by County; California DMV Statistics 2025.
Cite this page: GJEL Accident Attorneys, “California Car Accident Statistics,” updated August 22, 2026, https://www.gjel.com/car-accident-lawyers/california-car-accident-statistics. Journalists, researchers, and safety organizations are welcome to reuse the charts and tables with attribution. For the underlying extract or a question about a figure, contact us.
Update schedule: we check the OTS annual report each spring and summer, the Caltrans SHSP dashboard quarterly, and CDPH EpiCenter annually, and we rebuild the full trend from the newest revised table rather than appending a single year.
Injured in a California crash?
Statistics describe the state. They do not describe your case. If you or a family member was seriously hurt in a crash in Northern California, our California car accident lawyers offer a free case review, and you pay nothing unless we win. Call (415) 986-4777.