LA traffic deaths up more than 30% since 2020: Report

Protesters demand safer streets in 'die-in' at LA City Hall

Protesters demanded the city of Los Angeles take action to prevent the number of traffic deaths on the city's streets at a "die-in" demonstration at LA City Hall Saturday.

LOS ANGELES - Protesters gathered outside Los Angeles City Hall Saturday to speak out against the number of fatal traffic accidents on city streets this past year.

Nonprofit Streets Are For Everyone organized a "Die-In" at City hall Saturday, after the release their annual report analyzing traffic fatalities in the city in 2022. The group's analysis, "Dying on the Streets of Los Angeles," dug into public city data on traffic collisions. There were 312 traffic fatalities in Los Angeles in 2022, according to SAFE, up more than 6% since 2021, and up nearly 70% since 2015.

How does that compare to other cities across the state, or even nationally? LA's 312 traffic fatalities equate to just over eight deaths per 100,000, nearly twice that of San Francisco (4.5 deaths per 100,000 in 2022), but fewer than San Diego, which saw just less than nine traffic deaths per 100,000 people in 2022. In Cook County, Illinois, home to Chicago, there were roughly 7.8 traffic deaths per 100,000 people in 2022.

According to SAFE, more than a third of fatal accidents in LA in 2022 were speed related, three times as much as deaths that resulted from driving or cycling under the influence.

"Cities around the world have implemented proven strategies that manage speed for cars while making ample space for cyclists and pedestrians to get to where they need to go without fearing for their lives," said Eli Akira Kaufman, Executive Director of BikeLA and one of the organizers of Saturday's protest. "We deserve safe and equitable streets for every kind of commuter here in Los Angeles as well."

Protesters organizing Saturday, want the city to do more to help curb traffic deaths in LA. They're asking Mayor Karen Bass to declare a state of emergency on traffic violence; for more funding for the LA Department of Transportation and initiatives like VisionZero; and the passage of legislation that would allow for automated speed enforcement on dangerous roads.

"Throwing only $50.6 million at road safety issues in a city this big, especially considering how many lives are being lost, is a joke," SAFE's report concludes.