The 5 Most Dangerous Intersections in California for 2025: What You Need to Know
October 27, 2025- Categories: Car Accidents
Based on recent crash data, the most dangerous intersection in California is Newport Boulevard and 22nd Street/Victoria Street in Costa Mesa, with 33 crashes in a five-year period.
Other high-risk locations include multiple intersections in Los Angeles, such as Devonshire Street & Reseda Boulevard and Imperial Highway & Vista Del Mar.
These intersections represent places where lives are changed in an instant. The reasons for their danger typically involve a combination of high traffic volume, confusing layouts, and poor visibility.
Making matters more complex, new laws for 2025, like California’s “Daylighting” bill (AB 413), change driver responsibilities and directly impact how fault is determined in a crash. This law is designed to increase safety by improving visibility at crosswalks.
If you were injured at one of these intersections, securing fair compensation is possible with the right legal partner on your side. Call Neale & Fhima for a free consultation at (888) 407-2955.
California’s Riskiest Crossroads: A Closer Look at the Top 5
Certain intersections across the state pose a statistically higher risk to drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists. Here’s a closer look at the most dangerous intersections according to data from the California Traffic Safety Dashboard cited above.
1. Newport Boulevard & 22nd Street/Victoria Street (Costa Mesa)
The Data: Ranked as California’s most dangerous intersection, this location saw 33 crashes, 7 severe injuries, and 21 minor injuries over a five-year period.
Why it’s dangerous: A high volume of traffic feeds into major arteries from this point. The combination of complex turning lanes and a mix of local and commuter traffic creates a recipe for collisions. The sheer number of vehicles navigating a complicated layout increases the potential for error.
2. Devonshire Street & Reseda Boulevard (Los Angeles)
The Data: This intersection has a history of 24 crashes that resulted in 41 injuries. Over a ten-year period, there were 108 total accidents at this location.
Why it’s dangerous: Located in a dense San Fernando Valley neighborhood, this intersection handles heavy commercial and residential traffic. This constant flow of vehicles, combined with drivers entering and exiting numerous local businesses, leads to frequent rear-end and T-bone accidents.
3. Imperial Highway & Vista Del Mar (Los Angeles)
The Data: This intersection accounted for 26 crashes and 39 injuries in a single year.
Why it’s dangerous: As a major gateway to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), this intersection sees a unique mix of traffic. Tourists who may be unfamiliar with the roads, daily commuters, and commercial vehicles all converge here, contributing to its high crash rate.
4. Firestone Boulevard & Lakewood Boulevard (Downey)
The Data: A staggering 36 crashes have been recorded here in one year.
Why it’s dangerous: Both Firestone and Lakewood are major thoroughfares with multiple lanes and high speed limits. The sheer volume of vehicles moving at significant speeds through a complex intersection increases the likelihood of serious collisions.
5. Vineyard Avenue (Route 232) & Esplanade Drive (Oxnard)
The Data: A significant 81% of crashes at this location involved a suspected injury.
Why it’s dangerous: This area combines highway-speed traffic with vehicles entering and exiting local shopping centers. This creates a volatile mix of fast-moving cars and slower vehicles maneuvering into parking lots, leading to a high potential for accidents.
How a New 2025 Law Changes Fault at Intersections
Starting January 1, 2025, a new statewide law known as Assembly Bill 413 (AB 413), or the “Daylighting” law, is in effect.
This law prohibits any vehicle from stopping, standing, or parking within 20 feet of a marked or unmarked crosswalk. The primary goal is to improve visibility for both drivers and pedestrians, a key factor in preventing many intersection accidents. By keeping the area around crosswalks clear, it becomes easier for drivers to see people waiting to cross and for pedestrians to see oncoming traffic.
Why does this matter for your case?
- It creates a new form of negligence: If a driver’s illegally parked car blocked your view and contributed to the accident, that driver (or their insurance) may be held partially liable for your injuries. This is based on a legal concept called negligence, which simply means someone failed to act with reasonable care, and violating a traffic law is clear evidence of this failure.
- It strengthens your claim: Proving that a violation of AB 413 was a factor in your crash provides concrete evidence that another party shares blame. This is instrumental in pursuing the maximum compensation available under the law.
Our team at Neale & Fhima stays current on all new legislation. We will thoroughly investigate your accident to determine if a violation of the daylighting law played a role.
How Is Blame Determined in an Intersection Accident?
Proving who was at fault in an intersection accident is rarely as simple as one driver’s word against another. California law uses a principle called “comparative fault.”
This means more than one person may be held responsible for an accident. For example, a jury might find that the other driver was 80% at fault for running a red light, but that you were 20% at fault for being slightly over the speed limit. In California, you may still recover damages even if you are found to be partially at fault. Your final compensation award would be reduced by your percentage of fault.
Insurance companies are well aware of this rule. Their adjusters will conduct a thorough investigation, looking for any evidence to argue you were at fault. Our role is to keep them accountable and ensure no amount of blame is unjustly put on you.
To build a clear picture of what happened, we gather and analyze evidence, including:
- Police Reports: The official narrative of the incident.
- Witness Statements: Accounts from others who saw what happened.
- Traffic Camera Footage: Unbiased video evidence, when available.
- Accident Reconstruction: Using physics and engineering to show precisely how the crash occurred.
Frequently Asked Questions About Intersection Accidents
How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in California?
In most cases, you have two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. However, if a government entity is involved (for example, if you were hit by a city bus), the deadline is much shorter—as short as six months to file an initial claim.
What if the other driver was uninsured?
You may recover compensation through your own insurance policy’s Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage. California law requires insurance companies to offer this coverage, and you have it unless you rejected it in writing. We help you manage the process of filing a UIM claim.
Do I need a lawyer if the accident was clearly the other driver’s fault?
Even in seemingly clear-cut cases, insurance companies may dispute the severity of your injuries or argue that you share some of the blame to reduce their payout. A lawyer ensures your rights are protected and that you pursue all available compensation for your injuries and other losses.
Let Us Help You Move Forward
If you’ve been injured at any of these intersections, you don’t need to have all the answers to make the first call. We are here to listen to what happened and explain your options in a clear, straightforward way.
To get started with a free, confidential consultation, call Neale & Fhima today at (888) 407-2955.
Attorney Aaron Fhima
Aaron Fhima is a trial attorney who has secured numerous settlements and verdicts against large corporations and some of the largest auto manufacturers in the world. Representing consumers and injury victims throughout the state of California, Aaron’s practice areas include personal injury, and lemon law litigation. Aaron has a long record of success taking on large defense firms; and he doesn’t hesitate to take cases to trial when necessary to enforce his clients’ rights. [ Attorney Bio ]
