With millions of cars on the roads, congestion, and a preponderance of unprotected left turns, navigating the busy intersections of Los Angeles is always an adventure.
However, two intersections stand out from the rest in terms of the numbers of serious collisions – and they’re in two separate areas of the city.
Crosstown LA, an independent news organization, compiled and analyzed over 10 years of data from the Los Angeles Police Department. It found the intersection of South Figueroa and Slauson in South L.A. had 66 serious collisions over the past four years, the most in the city, followed by the intersection of Sepulveda and Roscoe in the San Fernando Valley with 65.
The intersection of Figueroa and Manchester was third with 61 serious collisions over that period.
“Where South Figueroa crosses Slauson Avenue, bad things happen,” Crosstown LA noted. “Over the past four years, the intersection has been the scene of 17 felony hit-and-run collisions and five severe injuries. The crosswalks aren’t safe, either: seven pedestrians have been struck there.”
Of the city’s 20 most dangerous intersections, many share something in common: they are close to freeway offramps. For example, Figueroa and Slauson is a block from an exit on the 110 Freeway and Sepulveda and Roscoe is two blocks from the 405.
L.A.’s Lethal Streets
Data shows the streets of Los Angeles have become more lethal with deaths from collisions exceeding the number of homicides over the past three years: 314 in 2022, 345 in 2023 and 303 in 2024. Serious injuries from collisions and auto vs. pedestrian crashes also far exceed pre-COVID levels, Crosstown LA reports.
LAPD Lt. Jesse Garcia, acting commanding officer of the West Traffic Division, says his officers can only do so much.
“The top factors [in crashes]: speed, stop signs, cell phone, red lights, obeying posted signs,” Lt. Garcia told Crosstown LA. “We’re not even talking about DUI. That’s a whole different animal.”
Among the problems, he said, is that cars are more powerful than before, with some reaching 400 to 500 horsepower.
“In more affluent areas, you have kids driving mom and dad’s car. They’re getting behind the wheel of a monster,” Garcia said.
Is lax enforcement a factor?
According to at least one critic, the answer is yes.
Damian Kevitt, founder of the advocacy organization Safe Streets Are for Everyone, told Crosstown LA that a sharp decline in the number of moving violations issued by the LAPD has made the streets less safe.
“We have a spike in fatalities that is related to the drop in traffic citations,” Kevitt said. “The streets are the same, but the fatalities are greater. The biggest change was that they stopped enforcing traffic citations.”
Kevitt says there are proven strategies that can make streets safer, including red-light cameras, which have been shown to reduce collisions by as much as 30%.
The post By the numbers, these are L.A.’s most dangerous intersections appeared first on KTLA.
