Study: The Most Dangerous Intersections in Orange County

July 29, 2020

From 2010-2019, there were nearly 60,000 traffic collisions at Orange County intersections.  In these crashes, 328 people were killed and another 55,891 people were injured.

Which intersections pose the most risk for drivers in Orange County?

We worked with 1Point21 Interactive – a data visualization company that has analyzed collision data from all over the country – to find out.

[Interactive Map]

This interactive map shows the top 100 most dangerous intersections throughout Orange County. Users can click and drag to move the area displayed and zoom in and out using the + / – buttons or their mouse wheel (or touch gestures on a mobile device).  Hover over each bubble to reveal more information about the intersection it represents.

*Circle size is determined by the crossings ranking.  If viewing the map on a mobile device, rotate for the best experience.

We analyzed nine years of traffic collision data (from 2010 – 2018) to identify intersections present the highest risk of crashes and injuries to drivers.

After adjusting for both the volume of collisions and the severity of the resultant injuries, these are the 50 most dangerous intersections in Orange County.

The 50 Most Dangerous Intersections in Orange County, CA

Rank Road 1 Road 2 City Crashes Min/Mod Inj Severe Inj Fatals CRI
1 Alicia Pkwy Jeronimo Rd Mission Viejo 66 78 6 0 162
2 Euclid St Orangethorpe Av Fullerton 72 74 0 0 142.5
3 Chapman Av Harbor Bl Fullerton 78 66 1 0 138.75
4 Ellis Newland Huntington Beach 42 70 2 0 124.5
5 Commonwealth Av Harbor Bl Fullerton 61 60 1 0 121.5
6 Harbor Bl Orangethorpe Av Fullerton 55 70 2 0 119.25
7 Chapman Av Commonwealth Av Fullerton 53 57 1 0 116.25
8 Gothard Heil Huntington Beach 47 56 2 0 110.25
9 Magnolia Yorktown Huntington Beach 33 55 1 0 108.75
10 Acacia Av Kimberly Av Fullerton 43 52 1 2 103.5
11 Haster St Lampson Av Garden Grove 48 34 2 2 100.5
12 Gilbert St Rosecrans Av Fullerton 38 53 0 1 99.75
13 Adams Bushard Huntington Beach 32 48 1 1 98.25
14 Chapman Av Raymond Av Fullerton 47 52 1 0 96
15 Euclid St Malvern Av Fullerton 39 46 2 1 95.25
16 Magnolia Slater Fountain Valley 56 42 2 0 94.5
17 Euclid Slater Fountain Valley 44 49 2 0 93.75
18 Bushard Talbert Fountain Valley 42 44 2 0 91.5
19 Gisler Av Harbor Bl Costa Mesa 42 44 3 0 90.75
20 Associated Rd Bastanchury Rd Fullerton 40 52 1 0 89.25
21 Lemon St Orangethorpe Av Fullerton 45 48 0 0 89.25
22 Orangethorpe Av Pomona Av Fullerton 38 42 0 1 88.5
23 Chapman Av Magnolia St Garden Grove 45 36 3 0 87
24 Mcfadden Springdale Huntington Beach 39 50 1 0 87
25 Newhope St Trask Av Garden Grove 48 44 0 0 87
26 Placentia Av Yorba Linda Bl Fullerton 42 45 1 0 85.5
27 Gothard Talbert Huntington Beach 38 48 0 0 85.5
28 Crescent Av Knott Av Buena Park 33 36 1 2 84
29 Crescent Av Stanton Av Buena Park 36 41 1 0 84
30 Edwards Heil Huntington Beach 28 44 0 0 84
31 Bushard St Mcfadden Av Westminster 40 45 1 1 82.5
32 Edinger Av Orange Av Santa Ana 30 39 3 0 82.5
33 1St St Elk Ln Santa Ana 33 49 3 0 81.75
34 Garfield Magnolia Huntington Beach 26 45 1 0 81
35 Brookhurst Hamilton Huntington Beach 29 51 0 0 81
36 Newland Slater Huntington Beach 38 50 0 0 81
37 La Palma Av Stanton Av Buena Park 35 40 3 0 79.5
38 Magnolia Av Valencia Dr Fullerton 34 37 0 1 78.75
39 Cypress St La Habra Bl La Habra 34 40 0 0 78
40 Bolsa Av Brookhurst St Westminster 39 43 0 0 78
41 El Camino Real Tustin Ranch Rd Tustin 36 31 2 0 77.25
42 1St St Main St Santa Ana 31 46 0 0 77.25
43 Newland Yorktown Huntington Beach 24 32 2 0 76.5
44 Commonwealth Av Euclid St Fullerton 38 43 1 0 76.5
45 Highland Av Orangethorpe Av Fullerton 32 32 3 1 75.75
46 Brookhurst Rd Commonwealth Av Fullerton 35 34 1 1 75
47 Bushard Hamilton Huntington Beach 27 39 0 0 75
48 Bushard Yorktown Huntington Beach 25 44 0 0 74.25
49 Euclid St Valencia Dr Fullerton 39 38 0 0 74.25
50 Bristol St S Jamboree Rd Newport Beach 31 30 3 1 73.5

*This table uses our Crash Risk Index (CRI) to assign a composite score to and rank each intersection according to the number of crashes and the volume and severity of the resultant injuries.  

As you can see, our top 50 list is dominated by two cities: Fullerton and Huntington Beach.  Nine of the ten most dangerous in Orange county were in one of these two cities.

  • Six of the top ten and half of the top twenty intersections were located in Fullerton.
  • Three of the top ten were located in Huntington Beach.

Why do these cities dominate the rankings?

One thing for certain is that it’s not just due to collision volume.  Both Fullerton and Huntington Beach had far fewer overall intersection related accidents and injuries than Anaheim, yet Anaheim didn’t have a single intersection among the top 50.

CITY Int Crashes Total Inj Severe Inj Fatalities Top 50 Intersections
ANAHEIM 6457 7908 99 33 0
SANTA ANA 6086 7161 168 41 3
FULLERTON 4383 4215 82 22 18
HUNTINGTON BEACH 4053 4613 71 31 13
GARDEN GROVE 3851 2567 84 18 3
IRVINE 3398 3230 156 19 0
ORANGE 3042 3137 77 9 0
FOUNTAIN VALLEY 2441 1978 59 7 3
WESTMINSTER 2371 2298 55 18 2
BUENA PARK 2035 1788 36 9 3
COSTA MESA 2024 2397 54 16 1
TUSTIN 1838 1453 45 7 1
NEWPORT BEACH 1808 1806 56 11 1
LA HABRA 1679 1472 39 7 1
BREA 1478 842 16 3 0
MISSION VIEJO 1193 981 70 5 1

 

For more information on dangerous crossings in specific cities, please see the full list of the top 500 intersections or our further analysis for:

Anaheim – Costa Mesa – Fullerton – Garden Grove – Huntington Beach – Irvine – Santa Ana

The most dangerous intersection in all of Orange County?

The most dangerous intersection in all of Orange County is found in Mission Viejo.  Alicia Parkway and Jeronimo Road – the only Mission Viejo crossing to make our list – saw 66 crashes, 57 minor injuries, 21 moderate injuries, and six severe injuries.

With a Crash Risk Index score of 162, this intersection saw the most injuries and the third-highest number of crashes during the study period.

While our data only includes crashes from 2010 – 2018, recent events have cemented this intersections spot on the top of the list.  In early January 2020, Alicia Parkway and Jeronimo Road was the site of a nine vehicle collision that sent six people – two of whom were children – to trauma centers with injuries.

Deadly Crossings

Out of 20,107 intersections where at least one crash occurred, only 20 had multiple fatalities.

Just two, Harvard Avenue and Michelson Drive in Irvine and N. Dale Avenue and W Lincoln Avenue in Anaheim, saw more than two deaths – both with three.  However, at both intersections, all three fatalities came from one crash – a 2017 DUI crash involving high speed and a run red light at Harvard and Michelson in Irvine and a tanker truck collision in 2016 at Dale and Lincoln.

While both of these fatal crashes were horrible tragedies, they were isolated incidents at intersections with a very low volume of collisions otherwise.  Therefore, despite having the most deaths, neither intersection appears in our top 50 (placing 315th and 650th respectively).

Staying Safe

Our study is intended to inform drivers of potential risks, so that they may plan their routes or adjust their driving behaviors accordingly.  Some intersections on this list may require attention from their respective municipalities, while others may be a result of significantly higher traffic volume.

Regardless of the reason, there are several things drivers can do to remain safe at these intersections as well as anywhere else on the road.

  1.  Drive defensively and be aware of your surroundings, especially near one of these intersections.
  2. Do not use a handheld mobile phone or engage with an in-vehicle display.  It is paramount that you maintain your focus on the road and the cars around you.
  3. Make sure your vehicle is well maintained.  If your breaks or tires are worn out, you may not be able to respond to the actions of another driver in time.
  4. Always wear your seatbelt and have children in the appropriate car seat for their age and size.
  5. Always adhere to posted speed limits and obey traffic signals and signs, especially stop signs and traffic lights.

Data, Methodology and Fair Use Statement

Our data comes from the California Highway Patrols Statewide Integrated Traffic Reporting System for the yeas 2009 – 2018 (the most recent year available).  We parsed hundreds of thousands of crashes to identify those that occurred at an Orange County Intersection but not on a State Highway.

In order to rank the intersections, we calculated each crossing’s Crash Risk Index (CRI) score –  a composite score that weighs the volume of collisions and severity of injuries.

If you would like to publish, reuse, or share the results of our study and or the maps and charts, please provide attribution to our firm by linking to this page or our home page.