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A new report shows the deadliest freeways in California – and three of them are in counties surrounding Los Angeles.
The data was released as part of a new L.A. Times report on Measure AB-645, a new effort to catch and penalize speeders around the state, and it found that speed was a major factor in traffic collisions that led to death or injury. The data was calculated by ConsumerAffairs, which analyzed numbers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System in California.
The five deadliest freeways in California are:
- The 15 Freeway in San Bernardino County: 48 deaths in 2022, up from 33 in 2018
- The 10 Freeway in Riverside County: 31 deaths in 2022, up from 25 in 2018
- The 5 Freeway in San Diego County: 21 deaths in 2022, up from 19 in 2018
- 5 Freeway in Orange County: 16 deaths in 2022, up from 14 in 2018
- The 101 Freeway in Santa Barbara County: 15 deaths in 2022, up from 7 in 2018
What is measure AB-645?
The news comes alongside the initiation of the Speed Safety System Pilot Program, voted into law with Measure AB-645.
The measure allows California cities to install cameras that capture speeders in high-risk areas and ticket them. Los Angeles is one of the six cities chosen to participate in the program alongside Oakland, San Jose, Long Beach, Glendale, and San Francisco.
The program went into effect on January 1, 2026. Glendale has already activated the speed cameras in nine locations. Cameras around Los Angeles are expected to begin operating in mid-2026. Both Long Beach and Malibu are expected to install cameras this spring.
And a ticket isn’t your only worry. If you’re caught speeding over 100 mph, your license could be revoked by the DMV.
You can read more about the locations and fines here.
In December 2025, a new report named L.A. as the 10th most traffic-congested city across the globe – and it was actually an improvement from the previous year’s ranking. The study considered travel delay, costs of congestion to drivers and regions, and commuting trends to create a ranking system that shares the economic cost of congestion as hours lost per year. At #10, L.A. residents lose about 87 hours a year to traffic congestion. In other words, we spend over three entire days a year in the car, driving in traffic.
Three other American cities beat out Los Angeles in the ranking. Chicago landed at No. 3, with NYC at No. 4, and Philadelphia at No. 5.