Left Turns Cause 52.8 Percent Of California’s Fatal Active-Maneuver Crashes

UNITED STATES—

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• Left turns account for 52.8% of California’s five-maneuver driver fatalities (353.4 per year), exceeding the other four maneuvers combined by 37.4 deaths annually.

• California averages 669.4 driver fatalities per year from five routine maneuvers alone, roughly one death every 13 hours from a conscious driving decision.

• California accounts for 14.5% of all U-turn fatalities nationally, the highest share among the five maneuvers, despite holding only 12% of the combined population of the 10 states studied.

Every day on California’s roads, drivers make split-second decisions to turn, change lanes, or pass another vehicle. Among the nearly 40 million residents who share the state’s freeways and intersections, one maneuver stands out as deadlier than the other four studied movements combined.

According to a study by Wilk Law Personal Injury & Accident Lawyers, researchers examined five years of fatal motor vehicle crash data (2019 to 2023) from the NHTSA CDAN Query Tool and population figures from the World Population Review to calculate average annual driver fatality rates per 100,000 residents for five active decision maneuvers: turning left, turning right, making a U-turn, passing or overtaking, and changing lanes. The analysis focused on driver fatalities in California, using rates per 100,000 residents for comparability.

Left Turns Alone Produce 353.4 Driver Deaths Per Year in California, More Than the Other Four Studied Maneuvers Combined

Turning left is the deadliest of the five studied maneuvers in California by a wide margin. With an average of 353.4 driver fatalities per year, left turns alone account for 52.8% of all five-maneuver deaths and outnumber the combined total of the remaining four maneuvers (316.0) by 37.4 fatalities annually. That translates to roughly one left-turn driver death per day across the state.

Looking at the study, Tyler Wilk, Founding Attorney at Wilk Law Personal Injury & Accident Lawyers, commented:

“With nearly 40 million people on California’s roads, left turns alone kill a driver almost every single day. That one maneuver outpaces lane changes, passing, right turns, and U-turns combined. These are not freak accidents; they happen at ordinary intersections during routine drives. Checking for oncoming traffic, watching for pedestrians, and waiting for a safe gap are small steps that save lives.”

Turning Left Ranks as the Second Deadliest Pre-Crash Maneuver Overall in California at 353.4 Fatalities Per Year, Behind Only Negotiating a Curve

*Denotes one of the five active decision maneuvers studied.

When placed alongside all pre-event maneuvers recorded in California, turning left ranks second overall, trailing only negotiating a curve (906.8 fatalities per year). Left turns produce nearly 1.5 times more fatalities than the third-ranked maneuver, stopped in the roadway (240.4), highlighting just how concentrated the risk is at the top of this list.

California: Passing and Lane Changes Together Cause 33.6% of Maneuver Deaths, Totaling 225.0 Fatalities Per Year

In California, passing or overtaking another vehicle (115.4 average annual fatalities) and changing lanes (109.6) produce comparable fatal outcomes, separated by 5.8 deaths per year. Together, these two lateral movement maneuvers account for 225.0 fatalities annually, or 33.6% of the state’s five-maneuver total. Nationally, left turns represent 59.6% of five-maneuver deaths, but in California, that share drops to 52.8%, with the difference absorbed by a proportionally higher contribution from lane changes and passing.

In California, Left Turns Cause 79.5% of Turning Fatalities, Right Turns 12.8%, and U-Turns 7.7%

Of the 444.4 average annual driver deaths involving a turning maneuver in California, left turns are responsible for 79.5%. Right turns account for 12.8%, while U-turns contribute 7.7%. The left-to-right turn fatality ratio in California is 6.2 to 1, meaning for every right-turn fatality, more than six drivers die making a left turn. 

Methodology

The study analyzed data from the NHTSA Crash Data Analysis Network (CDAN Query Tool) for the years 2019 to 2023, calculating five-year averages for driver fatalities. Population figures were sourced from the World Population Review. The study focused exclusively on drivers (not passengers or pedestrians) involved in fatal crashes where the pre-event movement was one of five active decision maneuvers: turning left, turning right, making a U-turn, passing or overtaking another vehicle, or changing lanes. The geographic scope covered the 10 most populous U.S. states, with this report focused on California (population: 39,663,800). To enable fair cross-state comparison, fatality counts were normalized to rates per 100,000 residents. The composite Deadly Maneuver Index for each state was calculated by summing the average annual fatalities across all five maneuvers, dividing by the state population, and multiplying by 100,000.

Data Sources

• • NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS): https://cdan.dot.gov/query

• Research Dataset: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16PhiZKushSw9bAu8PbqchVgwKQ5oNTT0VzIU2wTT2dU/edit?gid=1320857963#gid=1320857963

• Research by: https://wilklawfirm.com/

About Wilk Law Personal Injury and Accident Lawyers

The study was conducted by Wilk Law Personal Injury & Accident Lawyers, a Pennsylvania-based firm that represents victims of negligence in cases involving vehicle collisions, medical malpractice, nursing home abuse, premises liability, and wrongful death.

Learn more at wilklawfirm.com.