Kristopher earned his J.D. at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law where he was a member of the Review of Law and Social Justice honors law journal and was awarded several scholastic honors.
Looking for reliable Los Angeles traffic fatality statistics?
The problem is familiar: figures vary between publications, government datasets can lag by years, and it’s hard to know which numbers reflect what’s actually happening on LA’s roads right now.
We’ve done the work for you.
This post pulls together the most current available data as of April 2026 into one definitive reference. We cover fatalities, crash volumes, causes, vulnerable road users, dangerous intersections and how LA compares to the rest of California and the US.
Kristopher Peerali is the co-founding partner of Peerali Law and a licensed attorney in California, admitted to the State Bar in 2018 (Bar No. 322090). He earned his J.D. from USC Gould School of Law and leads the firm’s catastrophic injury cases and trial litigation, with results including a $16.3M premises liability verdict and a $5.2M car accident settlement.
Los Angeles Traffic Fatalities
How many people were killed in car accidents in Los Angeles County in 2025?
526 people were killed in traffic crashes in Los Angeles County in 2025, according to the California Highway Patrol. That works out to roughly one to two traffic deaths every single day.
How many fatal crashes occurred in Los Angeles County in 2025?
There were 494 fatal crashes in Los Angeles County in 2025, according to the California Highway Patrol. The gap between crash count and death count — 494 crashes, 526 deaths — reflects the number of incidents in which more than one person was killed.
How many people were killed or injured in car accidents in Los Angeles County in 2025?
56,682 people were killed or injured in traffic crashes in Los Angeles County in 2025, averaging approximately 1.4 victims per crash, according to the California Highway Patrol.
What is the average number of traffic deaths per year in Los Angeles County?
The five-year average from 2021 to 2025 is 748 traffic deaths per year in Los Angeles County, according to the California Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System. The 526 deaths recorded in 2025 are notably below that average, though the data remains provisional.
Los Angeles Traffic Crashes
How many car accidents happen in Los Angeles every day?
There are 288 car crashes in Los Angeles County every single day, according to the California Highway Patrol. That figure covers all crashes — including those involving death, injury and property damage only.
How many car accidents were there in Los Angeles City in 2025?
28,912 car crashes were recorded in the City of Los Angeles in 2025, according to the California Highway Patrol. This covers all crash types, including those resulting in death, injury or property damage.
How many car accidents were there in Los Angeles County in 2025?
101,433 car crashes were recorded across Los Angeles County in 2025, according to the California Highway Patrol. The City of Los Angeles accounts for roughly 29% of all county crashes.
How many of those crashes involved a death or injury?
40,329 of the 101,433 crashes in Los Angeles County in 2025 involved at least one death or injury — roughly 40% of all crashes, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Causes of Fatal Car Accidents in Los Angeles
What is the leading cause of fatal car accidents in Los Angeles?
Speeding is the leading cause of fatal car accidents in Los Angeles County, responsible for 160 deaths in 2025 — more than DUI, drug-related crashes or crashes involving unrestrained occupants, according to the California Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System.
How many people were killed in speeding-related accidents in Los Angeles County in 2025?
160 people were killed in speeding-related crashes in Los Angeles County in 2025, according to SWITRS. Speeding is the single largest cause of traffic fatalities in the county in absolute terms.
How many people were killed in DUI or drug-related crashes in Los Angeles County in 2025?
78 people were killed in crashes involving DUI or drug use in Los Angeles County in 2025, according to SWITRS.
How many deaths involved unrestrained occupants in Los Angeles County in 2025?
71 people who died in traffic crashes in Los Angeles County in 2025 were not wearing a seatbelt or were otherwise unrestrained at the time of the collision, according to SWITRS.
How many people were killed in distracted driving accidents in Los Angeles County in 2025?
5 people were killed in crashes where distracted driving was recorded as a contributing factor in Los Angeles County in 2025, according to SWITRS. This figure reflects only crashes where distraction was formally recorded and is likely an undercount.
Most Dangerous Roads and Collision Types
What is the most dangerous intersection in Los Angeles?
The most dangerous intersection in Los Angeles is S. Figueroa St. and Slauson Ave. in the Vermont Slauson neighbourhood of South LA, according to Crosstown.
What are the most common types of car accident in Los Angeles County?
Rear-end collisions are the most common crash type in Los Angeles County, with 31,987 recorded in 2025, followed by sideswipes (28,002), broadside crashes (16,902), collisions with objects (12,376) and head-on crashes (4,981), according to the California Highway Patrol.
What are the most common causes of car accidents in Los Angeles?
Unsafe speed for conditions is the leading primary collision factor in Los Angeles County, accounting for 29,328 crashes in 2025, followed by unsafe turning movements (20,559), unsafe lane changes (7,214), unsafe starting or backing (3,282) and driving under the influence of alcohol (approximately 4,500), according to the California Highway Patrol.
What is the deadliest type of car accident in Los Angeles?
Crashes involving pedestrians carry a fatality rate five times higher than any other collision type in Los Angeles, according to the California Highway Patrol. Rear-end and sideswipe crashes, despite being the most common, are among the least deadly.
Vulnerable Road Users
How many pedestrians were killed in car accidents in Los Angeles County in 2025?
175 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in Los Angeles County in 2025, according to SWITRS. Pedestrian fatalities account for roughly one in three of all traffic deaths in the county.
How many motorcyclists were killed in car accidents in Los Angeles County in 2025?
67 motorcyclists were killed in traffic crashes in Los Angeles County in 2025, according to SWITRS.
How many cyclists were killed in car accidents in Los Angeles County in 2025?
16 cyclists were killed in traffic crashes in Los Angeles County in 2025, according to SWITRS.
California and US Context
How many car accidents were there in California in 2025?
393,097 car crashes were recorded across California in 2025, according to the California Highway Patrol. Los Angeles County accounts for roughly 26% of all crashes statewide.
How many of those crashes involved a death or injury?
229,242 of California’s 393,097 crashes in 2025 involved at least one death or injury — approximately 42% of all crashes, according to the California Highway Patrol. Los Angeles County accounts for roughly 25% of all injury and fatal crashes in the state.
How many people were killed in car accidents in California in 2025?
2,708 people were killed in traffic crashes across California in 2025, according to the California Highway Patrol. Los Angeles County’s 526 deaths represent approximately 19% of all traffic fatalities statewide.
How do car accidents rank as a cause of death in California?
Accidents and unintentional injuries are the third-leading cause of death in California, with motor vehicle crashes making up the largest share of that category, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. California recorded 4,169 traffic fatalities in 2024 — the second-highest total of any US state, behind only Texas (4,294), according to NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis.
How many people were killed in car accidents in the US in 2025?
36,640 people were killed in traffic crashes across the United States in 2025 — a 6.7% decrease from 2024 and the second-lowest traffic fatality rate in recorded US history, at 1.10 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, according to NHTSA.
How many car accidents were there in the US in 2024?
6,180,241 car crashes were recorded across the United States in 2024 — the most recent year for which national crash totals are available, according to NHTSA.
How do car accidents rank as a cause of death in the US?
Unintentional injuries — of which motor vehicle crashes are the leading component — ranked as the third-leading cause of death in the United States, according to The Global Statistics.
How do car accidents rank as a cause of death in Los Angeles County?
Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death from unintentional injuries in Los Angeles County, according to the County of Los Angeles Department of Health Services. Accidents and unintentional injuries as a whole are the fifth-leading cause of death in the county overall, accounting for 4,488 fatalities in 2022. Among teenagers and young adults aged 15 to 24, they are the second-leading cause of death.
Uninsured Drivers
What percentage of drivers are uninsured in California?
20.4% of drivers in California are uninsured, making California the eighth state with the highest rate of uninsured drivers in the US, according to the Insurance Research Council.
What percentage of drivers are uninsured in the US?
In 2023, 15.4% of motorists in the United States — more than one in seven drivers — were uninsured, according to a 2025 study by the Insurance Research Council.