Data show more California drivers died from car crashes in 2022 compared with pre-pandemic levels of 2018, a trend researchers said shows fewer drivers on the road doesn’t necessarily mean fewer fatal accidents.
Less congested roads brought on more speeding and reckless driving, which led to an increase in car crash fatalities, according to experts cited in the report. They say the trend has since continued, with early estimates for 2023 suggesting fatalities still remain above prepandemic levels.
“It’s a crisis that needs to be reversed,” Timothy Weisberg, a spokesman for the California Office of Traffic Safety told Consumer Affairs in the report. “During the pandemic, we saw more of those dangerous driving behaviors.”
Researchers used data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showing when and how fatal crashes occurred in the state.
They used factors such as speeding, alcohol, and time of day, to determine the most dangerous places and times to drive.
The I-15 in San Bernardino County topped the list with 48 deaths recorded in 2022, the highest rate for a freeway of any county in the state, according to the study.
Following, by county, were the I-5 in San Diego, I-5 in Orange, and the US-101 in Santa Barbara. At the bottom of the list of counties with fatalities was Alpine, Mariposa, Modoc, and Sierra, all in the northern region of the state, with each having recorded only 1 freeway death on their deadliest road.
Eight of 10 of the state’s most populous counties saw a rise in traffic deaths from 2018 to 2022, with San Bernardino again taking the top spot with 20.4 fatal car crashes per 100,000 residents, a rise from 14.9 in 2018 and 16.9 in 2020.
Fresno, Riverside, Sacramento, and Los Angeles counties followed by 19.5, 13.9, 13.6, and 8.8 deaths per 100,000 people, respectively.
By city, Sacramento saw the most traffic deaths in 2022 with 14.7 per 100,000 people, compared with 10.2 in 2018. All 10 of California’s most populous cities had more fatal car crashes in 2022 than pre-pandemic levels, researchers noted.
The cities of Bakersfield, Long Beach, Fresno, and Oakland took the next spots for deaths per capita.
Speeding and drinking played a role in accidents between 2018 and 2022, according to the study, with speeding accounting for 28 percent of accidents on average for all counties and drinking 25 percent.
The 2022 data show that California’s fatal car crashes were more likely to occur from 6 p.m. to midnight, with that time slot accounting for more than one-third of deaths. The period from 6 a.m. to noon accounted for less than one-sixth of deaths.
August and October saw the most traffic deaths in 2022, recording 406 and 407, respectively. Researchers explained that in August, more vacationers and young drivers are on the road for summer break, while October tends to be darker and wetter, which can make visibility and road conditions poor.
