Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Pedestrian Safety

Streets Are For Everyone Releases Report “Dying on the Streets of Los Angeles”

4:57 PM PST on January 12, 2023

Car crash – photo via LAFD

This week the nonprofit Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE) released Dying on the Streets of Los Angeles, a short report on traffic violence in the city of Los Angeles. The trends are not good. Find the full report at SAFE's webpage. Below are some takeaways:

2022 Traffic Fatalities Higher Than Ever

There were 309 traffic fatalities in 2022, breaking the 300 mark for the first time in over 20 years, which is how far our records reach. This was an increase of five percent from the previous year and a staggering 28 percent increase over 2020.

xxx
Graph of city of Los Angeles traffic fatalities 2003-2022 - via SAFE

Pedestrians, cyclists, people in cars, etc. are all trending upward in the past couple years. Per SAFE:

...vulnerable road users – pedestrians and cyclists – are impacted the most by traffic violence in Los Angeles. Pedestrian fatalities were up by 19 percent (157 lives lost, also the highest in 20 years). Bicycle fatalities also increased by 24 percent (21 lives lost).

Unhoused Angelenos Killed at Higher Rates

Using 2018 to 2022 data, SAFE found:

On average, housed pedestrians and cyclists in Los Angeles are killed at a rate of 2.9 per capita (100,000 individuals), a rate that is significantly higher than the national average of 2.2 per capita. However, on average, 116.6 unhoused individuals per capita are killed by traffic violence every year. That is 40.2 times more than housed pedestrians and cyclists in Los Angeles and 53 times the national average.

Recommendations for Mayor Bass

SAFE recommends:

    • Cut the Bureaucracy - including "fast-tracking hiring the personnel needed by LADOT [L.A. City Transportation Department] for road safety projects" and auditing the city's Vision Zero program.
    • Reestablish Vision Zero with Accountability, Transparency, and Purpose - including re-establishing the city's multi-departmental Vision Zero Executive Steering Committee, working with community groups, and regular quarterly reporting on traffic deaths and serious injuries.
    • Prioritize Lives over the Right to Speed - including equitably implementing automated speed enforcement on the most dangerous roads - including school zones and street racing corridors.
    • Get Real About the Magnitude of the Problem - including fully staffing LADOT Vision Zero staff, increasing Vision Zero funding, and implementing the city's Mobility Plan 2035.

Read the full report at Streets Are For Everyone.

To get involved, attend SAFE's planned die-in protest on Saturday, January 21 on the steps of L.A. City Hall, 200 N. Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles. Participating organizations include Bike LA, So Cal Families for Safe Streets, Streets for All, Move LA, Street Racing Kills, Faith for SAFEr Streets, Walk n Rollers, Conor Lynch Foundation, SBBC+, and others. Find details at SAFE event page.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

Metro September 2023 Board Committee Round-Up: C Line, 91 Freeway Widening, and More

Transit ridership and freeway funding are up. $14 million for MicroTransit was postponed. South Bay C Line extension draws both controversy and support. Law enforcement, Taylor Swift, bus lanes, and more!

September 23, 2023

Input Meetings Starting This Weekend for Ballona Creek “Finish the Creek” Extension Study

Learn more and give your ideas for extending the Ballona Creek bike/walk path upstream through Culver City and into Mid-City Los Angeles

September 21, 2023

Guest Opinion: Metro Should Treat Walk and Bike Projects with the Respect They Deserve

Prioritizing true first mile/last mile infrastructure isn’t somehow optional; it’s how your customers get to and from the transit stations.

September 21, 2023
See all posts