Road deaths in California have increased since before the COVID-19 pandemic, and many of these fatalities were recorded on southern Californian roads.
A study, just released by Consumer Affairs, highlights some of the dangers on streets and highways and may help Californian drivers to take precautions.
Road Deaths Recent Rise
There has been a rise in traffic fatalities in recent years in the state of California.
Consumer Affairs reports that, between 2018 and 2022, deaths due to car crash increased by 17%.
Due to Change in Behavior?
It has been suggested that the increase in road deaths could be due to drivers being less cautious during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With fewer cars on the roads, drivers may have been tempted to drive faster, meaning that, when crashes did occur, they were more likely to be fatal.
Trend Needs to Be Reversed
Timothy Weisberg, deputy director of marketing and public affairs at the California Office of Traffic Safety, says: “During the pandemic, we saw more of those dangerous driving behaviors.”
He told Consumer Affairs that it’s “a crisis that needs to be reversed.”
Drink-Driving a Related Issue
Drink-driving is a problem as well, although the magnitude of the problem differs across different counties in California.
However, on average, speeding and drinking are involved in “around 28 and 25 percent of fatalities, respectively, between 2018 and 2022,” according to Consumer Affairs.
Speeding is More Common in Rural Areas
Speeding is another issue that differs depending on the state region.
It is said by Consumer Affairs to be “a much more common factor in fatal crashes in California’s more rural, less populated counties.”
San Bernardino Deadliest County
When the state was broken down into its constituent counties, the deadliest county for road traffic fatalities was found to be San Bernardino County.
It registered almost 20 deaths per 100,000 people in 2022 alone.
SoCal Has Lion’s Share of Most Dangerous Roads
SoCal was found to have the stretches of road registering the highest number of traffic deaths.
When creating a list of the top 10 most deadly roads in the state, Consumer Affairs found that 6 of them were located in SoCal.
5 Freeway the Deadliest
The deadliest road was found to be the 5 Freeway, which recorded 128 deaths over 2022.
The deadliest stretch of roadway was San Bernardino’s I-15 stretch, which recorded 48 deaths in 2022: 15 more than in 2018.
Suggestion When Coming Across Speeding Drivers
A California driver interviewed on Tuesday by KTLA offers some sage advice for when coming across a dangerous driver.
She says: “There are crazy people out there that may be busy or in a hurry, and they’re going fast. Get out of the way…that’s the only thing you can do.”
