Fatal crash rate · California · Road
Fatal crashes on US-101 in California
Every fatal crash NHTSA coded to US Route 101, also written as Ventura Fwy, Hollywood Fwy, El Camino Real, in California, 2020 to 2024, with the year, the county and what the record says about each. Fatal crashes only, and a count, not a rate: the federal record has no traffic volume for a road.
US-101 in California2020 to 2024 · fatal crashes recorded by NHTSA
532fatal crashes over five years · 562 deaths
Over 2020 to 2024, NHTSA recorded 532 fatal crashes on US-101 in California, in which 562 people died. That is 3% of the 19,496 fatal crashes recorded in California in those years, about 106 a year. 41 of the 532 were coded to a ramp, frontage or service road of US-101 rather than the main lanes. In 2024, the latest year, 96 were recorded.
- Counted
- FARS crashes 2020 to 2024 in California whose TWAY_ID or TWAY_ID2 begins US-101, with or without a local name (Ventura Fwy, Hollywood Fwy, El Camino Real)
- Share
- 532 ÷ 19,496 fatal crashes in California = 3%
Every year, 2020 to 2024
| Year | Fatal crashes on US-101 | Deaths | Fatal crashes in California | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 88 | 91 | 3,673 | 2% |
| 2021 | 122 | 131 | 4,196 | 3% |
| 2022 | 107 | 113 | 4,218 | 3% |
| 2023 | 119 | 127 | 3,826 | 3% |
| 2024 | 96 | 100 | 3,583 | 3% |
2024 is NHTSA’s Annual Report File and will be revised when the final file replaces it.
Where on US-101: by county, 2020 to 2024
The counties the crashes were coded to, alphabetical. A road’s count in a county depends on how many miles of it run there and how busy they are; the page does not rank the counties. Each name opens the county page with its own rate.
What the record says about those crashes, 2020 to 2024
Every figure is a count of the 532 fatal crashes NHTSA coded to US-101 in California over five years, from the fields FARS records. Nothing is estimated or inferred.
| Road type | Crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Interstate | 7 | 1% |
| Other freeway or expressway | 436 | 82% |
| Other principal arterial | 86 | 16% |
| Minor arterial | 2 | 0% |
| Major collector | 1 | 0% |
| Minor collector | 0 | 0% |
| Local road | 0 | 0% |
| Unknown or not reported | 0 | 0% |
| Rural | 122 | 23% |
| Urban | 410 | 77% |
| Time of day | Crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Midnight to 5:59 am | 205 | 39% |
| 6 am to 11:59 am | 68 | 13% |
| Noon to 5:59 pm | 96 | 18% |
| 6 pm to 11:59 pm | 152 | 29% |
| Hour unknown | 11 | 2% |
| Light | Crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Daylight | 160 | 30% |
| Dark, not lighted (or lighting unknown) | 205 | 39% |
| Dark, lighted | 142 | 27% |
| Dawn or dusk | 24 | 5% |
| Unknown or not reported | 1 | 0% |
| Day of week | Crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | 98 | 18% |
| Monday | 60 | 11% |
| Tuesday | 59 | 11% |
| Wednesday | 69 | 13% |
| Thursday | 74 | 14% |
| Friday | 71 | 13% |
| Saturday | 101 | 19% |
| Month | Crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 42 | 8% |
| February | 36 | 7% |
| March | 42 | 8% |
| April | 44 | 8% |
| May | 40 | 8% |
| June | 36 | 7% |
| July | 46 | 9% |
| August | 44 | 8% |
| September | 48 | 9% |
| October | 58 | 11% |
| November | 47 | 9% |
| December | 49 | 9% |
| Weather | Crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Clear | 404 | 76% |
| Cloudy | 75 | 14% |
| Rain | 41 | 8% |
| Snow, sleet or freezing rain | 1 | 0% |
| Fog, smog or smoke | 6 | 1% |
| Severe wind, blowing sand or other | 3 | 1% |
| Unknown or not reported | 2 | 0% |
| Involving | Crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| A pedestrian | 149 | 28% |
| A bicyclist or other cyclist | 12 | 2% |
| A speeding-related vehicle | 148 | 28% |
| A driver police reported as drinking | 135 | 25% |
| A large truck (over 10,000 lb) | 67 | 13% |
| A motorcycle | 66 | 12% |
| A hit-and-run vehicle | 55 | 10% |
| A teen driver (15 to 19) | 34 | 6% |
Road type is FARS FUNC_SYS for the crash, which can differ from the route’s class where a crash was coded on a frontage road or ramp; speeding is any vehicle coded SPEEDREL 2 to 5; drinking is any driver coded DRINKING = 1 (police-reported, not a blood-alcohol test).
How this is counted
- The road is the designation FARS wrote. Each crash in NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System names the trafficway it was on (
TWAY_ID) and, at an intersection, a second one (TWAY_ID2). NHTSA standardises the route designation (I-45,US-59,SR-6) and the police often add a local name after it (I-45/NORTH FWY) or a ramp or frontage word. The page counts every crash whose designation is US-101, once, whatever followed it. Nothing else is matched: a crash coded only to a local street name is not here even if that street is this road. - Same number, another state, another road. US-101 in California is counted within California only. Where the route continues into a neighbouring state it has its own page there, and a State Route number means nothing outside its state.
- Only roads with ten or more fatal crashes over 2020 to 2024 have a page. Fewer is too few to say anything, and the county page already lists the most-named roads in each county as the police wrote them.
- No rate, no rank. The California page lists every numbered road in route order with its count and nothing else. Roads with more lanes, more miles or more traffic record more fatal crashes; the record cannot separate those from the road’s design.
Informational only, not professional advice. Last reviewed: October 2026. Data snapshot built 2026-10-30.
Other roads in California
- I-5 717
- I-8 115
- I-10 348
- I-15 325
- I-40 55
- I-80 236
- I-105 41
- I-110 83
- I-205 14
- I-210 53
- I-215 111
- I-280 60
- I-405 133
- I-580 97
- I-605 60
- I-680 74
- I-710 56
- I-805 59
- I-880 82
- SR-1 289
- SR-2 36
- SR-3 16
- SR-4 129
- SR-9 13
- SR-12 54
- SR-14 74
- SR-15 17
- SR-16 23
- SR-17 24
- SR-18 69
In route order, first thirty; the full list is on the California page.