These 3 Bay Area Roads Are Among The Most Dangerous In CA: Study

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Any Bay Area commuter will tell you that its many roads can be dangerous, especially during rush hour. But some may be even dicier than you realized.

A study by financial planning website MoneyGeek, which analyzed 10,370 fatal car crashes along 4,451 roads based on the most recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, found that three five-mile stretches of Bay Area freeways reported some of the highest numbers in the state.

Here are the most dangerous Bay Area roads, based on the number of fatal collisions recorded from 2017 to 2019:

1. Interstate 80 between Exit 8A and 14A: This stretch of I-80 from Oakland to Albany reported 15 fatal accidents. By that metric, it is the most dangerous road in the Bay Area and the second most dangerous in California.
2. Interstate 80 from Exit 15 to Exit 21: Keep heading north on I-80 and it doesn’t get much better. The stretch from El Cerrito to Pinole recorded 13 fatal accidents, making it the second most dangerous in the Bay Area, and the third most dangerous in California.
3. Interstate 280 from Meridian Avenue to Wilshire Boulevard: This stretch of I-280 in central San Jose is ranked the eighth most dangerous in California with 11 fatal accidents and 12 fatalities, but it shares identical statistics with the sixth and seventh-place roads.

The study ranked Interstate 15 in Hesperia, a remote desert stretch over the mountains from San Bernardino, as California's most dangerous highway stretch, with 19 fatal accidents.

Here are the state’s top 10 most dangerous roads. Click on the link to see its precise location.

1. Hesperia: I-15 between Exit 138 and Exit 129 (19 fatal accidents, 19 fatalities)
2. Oakland: I-80 between Exit 14A and Exit 8A (15 fatal accidents, 17 fatalities)
3. Richmond: I-80 from Exit 15 to Exit 21 (13 fatal accidents, 18 fatalities)
4. Sacramento: I-5 from Del Paso Road to Railyards Boulevard (13 fatal accidents, 16 fatalities)
5. San Bernardino: I-215 from Exit 44B to Exit 39 (13 fatal accidents, 13 fatalities)
6. Menifee: SR-74 between Melba Avenue and 3rd Street (11 fatal accidents, 12 fatalities)
7. Norwalk: I-605 from Exit 5B to Firestone Boulevard (11 fatal accidents, 12 fatalities)
8. San Jose: I-280 from Meridian Avenue to Wilshire Boulevard (11 fatal accidents, 12 fatalities)
9. Hesperia: Bear Valley Road between Navajo Road and Tamarski Road (10 fatal accidents, 13 fatalities)
10. Garden Grove: SR-22 from Exit 10 to Exit 5 (10 accidents, 13 fatalities)

The study found that 28 percent of fatal crashes were caused by speeding, 27 percent were caused by drunk driving, and four percent were caused by distracted driving. So drive the limit, always be sober, make sure you have a good insurance policy, and avoid I-80 whenever you can.

See here to access the full study.