California roadways include winding coastal highways, five-lane interstates, and potholed city roads – all dangerous in their own ways. But a recent study sought to determine which stretches of the state’s nearly 400,000 miles of road are the most dangerous.
MoneyGeek plotted out the locations of more than 10,000 fatal crashes between 2017 and 2019 to determine which roadways are the deadliest in California.
The study found the single deadliest stretch of road is on Interstate 15 through Hesperia, a high desert city of San Bernardino County. Between 2017 and 2019, there were 19 fatal crashes on the four miles of I-15 between exits 138 and 129 (near the interstate’s intersection with State Route 138).
Seven of the 10 deadliest roads in the state are stretches of interstate. The Bay Area, Sacramento, Los Angeles County, San Bernardino and Riverside all make the list.
The 10 deadliest roads in California, according to MoneyGeek’s analysis, are:
10. State Route 22 through Garden Grove (Orange County)
9. Bear Valley Road between south of Apple Valley (San Bernardino County)
8. Interstate 280 through San Jose (Santa Clara County)
7. Interstate 605 near Norwalk, Cerritos (Los Angeles County)
6. State Route 74 near Menifee (Riverside County)
5. Interstate 215 through San Bernardino
4. Interstate 5 north of Sacramento
3. Interstate 80 in the East Bay
2. Interstate 80, also in the East Bay
1. Interstate 15 from Cajon Junction to Hesperia
The analysis also took a look at what caused the most deadly crashes in California. It found 27% of accidents involved drunk driving and 28% involved speeding.