Most Dangerous Intersections in Los Angeles (2026 Data)

The Most Dangerous Intersections in Los Angeles (2026 Crash Data)  And What to Do If You’re Hurt at One

If you drive, walk, bike, or ride in Los Angeles, you already know that some intersections feel more dangerous than others. The data backs up that instinct. Below, we break down which Los Angeles intersections see the most serious crashes, why these specific corners are so hazardous, what’s driving the city’s traffic-death numbers, and  most importantly  what your legal options are under California law if you or someone you love is injured at one of them.

What is the most dangerous intersection in Los Angeles?

The most dangerous intersection in the City of Los Angeles is South Figueroa Street and Slauson Avenue, in the Vermont-Slauson neighborhood of South LA. According to Crosstown LA’s analysis of Los Angeles Police Department data, this single intersection was the scene of 66 serious collisions  including 17 felony hit-and-runs and seven pedestrians struck  between February 2021 and February 2025. It narrowly edges out the intersection of Sepulveda Boulevard and Roscoe Boulevard in Panorama City, which recorded 65 serious collisions over the same period.

One factor these danger zones share is proximity to freeway exits: Figueroa and Slauson sits roughly a block from a 110 Freeway offramp, and Sepulveda and Roscoe is near the 405. As Crosstown LA editor and USC professor Gabriel Kahn explained, drivers coming off the freeway at near-highway speeds as they enter a city street create conditions where a momentary misjudgment turns catastrophic.

If you’ve been hurt in any kind of collision at a crossing like this, our intersection accident and car accident pages explain how these claims typically work in California.

The 25 most dangerous LA intersections, ranked by serious crashes

This ranking reflects Crosstown LA’s analysis of LAPD collision records from February 2021 through February 28, 2025. One important caveat: because the LAPD switched to a new records management system in early 2025, public collision data for roughly the last seven months of that window is incomplete, so the ranking ends in late February 2025 and should be treated as the most current reliable picture rather than a fully closed-out 2025 count.

A striking pattern jumps out: 15 of the 25 most dangerous intersections are in South Los Angeles, and many sit within a block or two of a freeway exit. As you can see, certain corridors  Figueroa Street, Vermont Avenue, Western Avenue, and Sepulveda Boulevard  appear again and again.

Why are South LA intersections overrepresented?

Danger on LA streets is geographically concentrated, and that concentration is not random. The Los Angeles Department of Transportation’s “High Injury Network” data establishes that a small share of city street miles accounts for a hugely disproportionate share of severe and fatal pedestrian injuries. The recurring culprits are wide, fast arterial roads  sometimes called “stroads”  that cut straight through dense residential neighborhoods: Vermont, Western, Figueroa, Sepulveda, Avalon, Venice, Roscoe, and Van Nuys.

These corridors tend to run through historically under-invested, lower-income communities with high pedestrian and transit use, wide roadways that encourage speeding, and street designs that prioritize moving cars quickly over protecting people on foot. The result is a pattern of risk that falls heaviest on the neighborhoods least equipped to absorb it.

A different list: LA’s busiest intersections aren’t always the deadliest

It’s worth knowing that “most dangerous” and “busiest” aren’t the same thing. A separate analysis blending crash counts with sheer traffic volume surfaces high-traffic commercial and tourist chokepoints  places like Highland and Sunset in Hollywood  that don’t necessarily top the serious-crash rankings. A high-volume intersection can move enormous amounts of traffic and still produce comparatively fewer severe injuries per trip. When you’re evaluating where the real injury risk lies, serious-collision data is the more meaningful measure than congestion or sheer crash totals.

How many people are dying on LA streets?

The bigger picture explains why this matters. Traffic fatalities in the City of Los Angeles have exceeded the number of homicides for three straight years, with 314 deaths in 2022, 345 in 2023, and 303 in 2024. Deaths declined again in 2025 to roughly 290  a welcome drop, but still far above the levels LA saw throughout the 2010s. Pedestrians consistently account for more than half of all traffic deaths in the city.

Zooming out to the county level (which should never be confused with city-only figures), the numbers are larger still. According to the California Highway Patrol, 526 people were killed in traffic crashes across Los Angeles County in 2025  roughly one to two deaths every single day.

The city’s “Vision Zero” initiative, launched in 2015 with the goal of eliminating traffic deaths by 2025, did not meet its target. An independent audit released in 2025 attributed the failure to poor coordination across city departments, incomplete follow-through on planned actions, and declining participation from LAPD’s traffic division.

What’s actually causing these crashes?

Speeding is the single biggest factor. LADOT reports that around one in five fatal crashes in the city in 2024 was directly attributed to speeding. Speed has been the leading collision factor in Los Angeles for well over a decade.

Other major contributors include:

• Hit-and-run. South LA in particular sees a disproportionate share of hit-and-run collisions, many of them tied to drivers fleeing after running red lights. If a fleeing driver hurt you, our hit and run accident page explains how California handles these cases  including how your own coverage may come into play.
• Rear-end collisions. These remain the most common crash type on busy LA corridors. Learn more on our rear-end accident page.
• Distracted, drowsy, and impaired driving. Cell phones, fatigue, alcohol, and drugs continue to drive serious crashes. See our pages on being hit by a distracted driver, drowsy driving accidents, and being hit by a drunk driver.
• Larger, more powerful vehicles. Heavier SUVs and pickups strike pedestrians higher on the body and sharply raise the odds of a fatal or catastrophic outcome.
• Emerging risks. LAPD has noted a rise in e-bike and e-scooter collisions, often involving younger riders without formal training. Our e-bike and e-scooter accident page covers this growing area.

Speed-related crashes deserve their own mention given how central they are; our speed-related accident page goes deeper. And because so many of LA’s worst intersections involve cross-traffic, T-bone (broadside) collisions and head-on collisions are unfortunately common outcomes at these corners.

Are LA’s new speed cameras going to help?

Possibly  but not immediately, and not everywhere. In March 2026, the Los Angeles City Council approved a plan to install up to 125 automated speed-safety cameras across the city under state law AB 645. This is the largest automated speed-enforcement network in California.

Here’s how the program works:

• Cameras trigger when a vehicle is traveling at least 11 mph over the posted limit, with fines ranging from $50 to $500.
• The fines are civil penalties there are no points added to your license and no license suspension tied to the citation itself.
• Installation and testing were slated to run from spring into summer 2026, followed by a public-education campaign and a 60-day warning period before any tickets are issued.
• Actual fines are expected to begin in late 2026.

Notably, one factor relevant to injury claims: camera and other data can become evidence in a crash case  potentially helping or hurting either side, depending on the facts.

How to stay safer at LA’s deadliest intersections

No safety habit guarantees you won’t be hit by a careless driver, but a few practices meaningfully reduce risk:

• Treat freeway-adjacent intersections with extra caution. Drivers exiting the 110 or 405 are often still moving at freeway speed.
• Don’t gamble on yellow lights, and pause briefly before entering on a fresh green  red-light running is a recurring problem at South LA intersections.
• Leave generous following distance to avoid the rear-end collisions that dominate LA crash data.
• As a pedestrian, use marked crosswalks, make eye contact with turning drivers, and assume a driver may not yield even when you have the right of way. Under California Vehicle Code § 21950, drivers must yield to pedestrians in crosswalks  but that legal duty won’t stop a distracted driver in the moment.
• As a cyclist, favor streets with protected bike lanes; a large share of cyclist fatalities happen on wide, fast roads without them.

What should I do after a crash at a Los Angeles intersection?

If you’re physically able, the steps that protect both your safety and any future claim are straightforward: call 911 and report the collision, get medical attention even if you feel “okay” (adrenaline masks serious injuries, and conditions like whiplash, neck injuries, and back pain often surface days later), document the scene and your injuries, and get the other driver’s information.

One point worth emphasizing: evidence at a busy intersection can disappear fast. Skid marks fade, vehicles are repaired or scrapped, surveillance footage gets overwritten, and witnesses move on. Preserving this evidence promptly matters regardless of any filing deadline, so it’s wise to speak with an attorney sooner rather than later.

Be cautious in early conversations with insurance companies, which often move quickly to limit what they pay. Our pages on dealing with car insurance companies and how car accident compensation works in California walk through what to expect.

How long do I have to file an injury claim in California?

For most California personal injury claims, the general statute of limitations is two years from the date of the injury, under California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1.

That two-year rule has significant exceptions, and one is especially important here. If your claim is against a government entity  and that’s a real possibility at these intersections, where claims can involve a city, county, or state agency over dangerous road design, signal timing, or signage  you generally must present a formal written claim within six months of the incident under the California Government Claims Act (Government Code § 911.2), before any lawsuit can even be filed. Because the intersections discussed here involve city streets, freeway-adjacent design, and public infrastructure, this shorter government deadline can come into play.

Other circumstances can shorten or lengthen your deadline depending on who is responsible for the injury, so it’s important to act quickly. We can’t tell you your specific deadline from a blog post  that depends on the facts of your case but you should confirm it with an attorney as soon as possible so you don’t lose your right to recover.

Different crashes, different claims

The right legal approach depends heavily on how you were hurt and who was involved. A few common scenarios at LA intersections:

• Rideshare collisions. If you were hurt in or by an Uber or Lyft, coverage and liability work differently than in an ordinary crash. See our Uber/Lyft accident page, along with our resources for Uber passengers, Uber drivers, Lyft passengers, and Lyft drivers. Delivery platforms raise similar questions  see whether you can sue DoorDash, Grubhub, or Uber Eats.
• Commercial trucks and motorcycles. Crashes involving big rigs or motorcycles carry their own complexities; see our truck accident and motorcycle accident pages.
• The at-fault driver has little or no insurance. This is common in LA. Our uninsured and underinsured driver page explains how your own policy may help.
• You were a passenger, in a rental, or not at fault. See passenger injuries, rental car accidents, and not-at-fault accidents.
• A loved one was killed. Few situations are harder. Our fatal car accident page is a starting point, and our broader personal injury practice covers the full range of serious-injury claims.

If you’re trying to understand what your claim might involve more generally, our overview of how car accident compensation works and what factors influence a car accident settlement can help you frame the conversation. Every case is different, and the value of any claim depends entirely on its specific facts.

Talk to Oaks Law Firm about your intersection accident

If you or someone you love was injured at one of these intersections or anywhere in Los Angeles  Oaks Law Firm is here to help you understand your options. We handle California personal injury and car accident claims and can review the specific facts of your situation, explain your rights, and help you confirm the deadlines that apply to you. There’s no pressure and no obligation; the goal of a consultation is simply to give you clear, situation-specific information so you can decide what’s right for you.

Contact Oaks Law Firm for a consultation specific to your situation. When working on a contingency basis, “no fee unless we win” refers to attorney’s fees; case costs and expenses may be handled separately, and we’re happy to explain how that works for your case.

Oaks Law Firm

This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information presented may not reflect the most current legal developments and should not be relied upon as a substitute for consultation with a licensed attorney. Every personal injury case involves unique facts and circumstances, and the outcome of any case depends entirely on those specific facts. Any results, settlement amounts, or verdicts referenced in this content are specific to the individual cases described, are not typical, and do not guarantee, promise, or predict a similar outcome in your case. Reading this content does not create an attorney-client relationship with Oaks Law Firm. Contact us directly for a consultation specific to your situation.