California Crashes After Dark Are Twice as Likely to Be Fatal, New Study Finds

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A new Maison Law study analyzes more than 820,000 California crashes, revealing the dangers of nighttime driving as clocks fall back. The report also ranks 173 cities and compares 10 regions.

FRESNO, Calif. - TelAve -- As daylight saving time ends, millions of California drivers will suddenly face darker evening commutes. A new study reveals that crashes occurring in darkness have approximately twice the odds of being fatal, even when compared with crashes happening in daylight at the same time of day.

California personal injury law firm Maison Law analyzed 820,916 crashes involving injuries or fatalities across all 58 California counties from 2021 through 2025.

The study found that while just 32% of California's injury and fatal crashes occur after dark, those crashes account for 59% of fatal collisions. Even after accounting for the time of day, month and day of week, crashes in darkness had approximately 1.7 to 2.0 times the odds of being fatal compared with crashes in daylight.

Additionally, Maison Law ranked 173 California cities with populations of at least 50,000 on two nighttime-driving measures: the percentage of crashes occurring in darkness and the percentage of nighttime crashes occurring on roads without streetlights.

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Below are the top 10 cities in each category.

Top 10 California Cities for Crashes After Dark
  1. Los Angeles (41.3%)
  2. Cathedral City (41.1%)
  3. Pittsburg (38.9%)
  4. Rialto (37.8%)
  5. Highland (37.4%)
  6. San Bernardino (37.1%)
  7. Madera (37.1%)
  8. Perris (36.4%)
  9. Pomona (36.4%)
  10. Compton (36.3%)
Top 10 California Cities for Nighttime Crashes on Unlit Roads
  1. Hesperia (55.5%)
  2. Apple Valley (49.0%)
  3. Yucaipa (36.6%)
  4. Lake Elsinore (35.3%)
  5. Beaumont (34.8%)
  6. Encinitas (32.4%)
  7. Pleasanton (31.0%)
  8. Murrieta (30.2%)
  9. Glendora (30.1%)
  10. Menifee (30.0%)
More Findings and Takeaways
  • Pedestrians face disproportionate danger after dark. Approximately 80% of California's fatal pedestrian-involved crashes occurred in darkness. Pedestrian-involved crashes were fatal 16.9% of the time after dark, compared with 3.1% in daylight.
  • Unlit roads are associated with deadlier crashes. After accounting for several crash characteristics, the odds of a fatal crash were approximately twice as high on roads without streetlights compared with those where streetlights worked.
  • The Inland Empire has the highest nighttime share of fatal pedestrian crashes. Approximately 85.4% of fatal pedestrian-involved crashes across Riverside and San Bernardino counties occurred after dark.
  • The San Joaquin Valley has a significant concentration of crashes on unlit roads. Across its eight counties, 46.7% of nighttime crashes occurred on roads without streetlights, compared with just 15.3% in the region's 15 larger cities.
  • Los Angeles County leads California's regions for crashes occurring after dark. Approximately 34.2% of its injury and fatal crashes occurred in darkness, accounting for 67.2% of its fatal crashes.
Read the Full Report

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Find all 173 city rankings, regional comparisons, additional findings, graphics, safety tips and the complete methodology in Maison Law's published report:

https://maisonlaw.com/california-crashes-in-the-dark/



Source: Maison Law
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