Where pedestrian, cyclist, and motorcyclist flags concentrate across California places
Statewide, roughly one in twelve reported California crashes involves a pedestrian, bicyclist, or motorcyclist (8.40% in the latest 90-day Pulse; 8.6% across 371,698 crashes in the 365-day benchmark), yet local concentrations exceed twice that rate in coastal and high-arterial communities.
- Observation window
- 90-day Pulse (2026-07-30 to 2026-10-27) & 365-day municipal benchmark (2025-06-30 to 2026-06-29)
- Primary records
- CHP CCRS public collision, party, and victim records
- Editorial date
- Published 2026-11-12 (Updated 2026-11-12)
8.40% of 74,533 statewide reported crashes between 2026-07-30 and 2026-10-27.
1,481 of 8,419 reported San Diego crashes (2.04x the 8.6% statewide 365-day share).
Highest vulnerable/motorcycle flag share among quiet-danger ZCTAs (86 crashes, 9.30% severe).
8:00 PM to 8:59 PM recorded the highest single-hour death count in the 90-day statewide Pulse.
Coastal cities and high-speed surface arterials diverge sharply from statewide averages
Statewide collision averages mask substantial local variation in who bears roadway injury risk. Across the 90-day California Crash Pulse window (2026-07-30 to 2026-10-27), 6,264 of 74,533 reported collisions (8.40%) carried a pedestrian, bicyclist, or motorcyclist flag, closely matching the 8.6% share observed across 371,698 statewide collisions in the 365-day benchmark window (2025-06-30 to 2026-06-29).
At the city and ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) level, unprotected road-user involvement rises sharply where dense pedestrian, transit, cycling, or year-round motorcycle activity intersects multi-lane surface boulevards. In the 365-day municipal benchmark, San Diego recorded 1,481 vulnerable-road-user or motorcycle crashes out of 8,419 total collisions (17.6%, or 2.04 times the statewide share), alongside 382 serious-or-fatal collisions (4.5%). Neighboring Orange County cities with comparable overall crash totals also diverge in recorded context: Anaheim logged 4,764 crashes (7.4% hit-run, 78.7% mappable) while Santa Ana logged 4,544 crashes (3.1% hit-run, 9.8% vulnerable/motorcycle share, 88.9% mappable).
Within the 90-day ZCTA severity screen (areas with at least 80 reported crashes), elevated severe-injury rates repeatedly coincide with high vulnerable-user or hit-run shares, led by Los Angeles 90047 (11.83% severe), Upland 91762 (11.46% severe), Los Angeles 91344 (11.0% severe, 27.0% hit-run), Costa Mesa 92627 (9.30% severe, 22.1% vulnerable/motorcycle), and Los Angeles 91331 (8.63% severe, 30.2% hit-run).
| Area & window | Total crashes | Severe share | Vulnerable / moto share | Hit-run share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California statewide (90d) | 74,533 | 3.48% | 8.40% | 10.37% |
| ZIP 90047 Los Angeles (90d) | 93 | 11.83% | 12.9% | 20.4% |
| ZIP 91762 Upland (90d) | 96 | 11.46% | 13.5% | 9.4% |
| ZIP 91344 Los Angeles (90d) | 100 | 11.00% | 9.0% | 27.0% |
| ZIP 92627 Costa Mesa (90d) | 86 | 9.30% | 22.1% | 14.0% |
| ZIP 91331 Los Angeles (90d) | 139 | 8.63% | 10.8% | 30.2% |
| San Diego city (365d) | 8,419 | 4.54% | 17.6% | 9.2% |
| Santa Ana city (365d) | 4,544 | 2.80% | 9.8% | 3.1% |
Why evening darkness compounds severe harm for people outside vehicle cabins
Unprotected road users lack the kinetic energy absorption of modern passenger-vehicle structures, making vehicle impact speed and sight distance decisive when collisions occur after sunset. In the 90-day statewide Pulse, total crash counts drop steadily after the 15:00 to 17:00 commuter peak, yet fatal outcomes spike sharply in the early evening darkness window.
Specifically, the 20:00 hour (8:00 PM to 8:59 PM) recorded 3,191 collisions and 21 deaths, the highest single-hour fatality count across the entire 24-hour clock, with severe crash share climbing to 4.89% (1.40x the statewide baseline). Elevated severity persists through 21:00 (142 severe crashes, 5.30% share, 10 killed) and 22:00 (133 severe crashes, 6.14% share, 9 killed).
For municipal Vision Zero engineers, separating high-volume daytime fender-bender intersections from evening arterial corridors with long crosswalk exposure, wide curb radii, and high hit-run incidence helps direct pedestrian refuge islands, leading pedestrian intervals, and corridor lighting upgrades where severe harm actually concentrates.
- Check coordinate completeness before drawing neighborhood conclusions: in San Diego's 365-day profile, 6,818 crashes (81.0%) were mappable (4,930 from source coordinates and 1,888 from street-name inference), leaving 1,601 unmapped records that still belong in citywide totals.
- Combined vulnerable-road-user and motorcycle indicators flag collisions involving pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorcyclists; analysts designing bikeways versus motorcycle curve treatments should inspect party-type breakdowns on the interactive map.
- High hit-run shares in ZCTAs such as 91331 (30.2%) and 91344 (27.0%) warrant pairing geometric speed management with transit-stop and midblock crossing audits.
Methodology boundaries and exposure limitations
- The combined vulnerable-road-user and motorcycle flag groups pedestrian, bicyclist, and motorcyclist involvement in summary tables; individual modes have distinct roadway environments and seasonal exposure.
- Counts reflect police-reported CCRS filings and undercount minor bicycle or pedestrian incidents that do not generate a formal law-enforcement collision report.
- Walking, cycling, and motorcycling trip denominators vary widely by climate, university presence, and transit density, so higher flag shares do not by themselves measure per-trip risk.
Review full source, coordinate-derivation, and report-revision rules on our Sources, Methodology, and Privacy page.
How to cite this brief
Evidence for Zero (Meru AI), "Vulnerable Road User & Nighttime Harm Patterns," built from CHP CCRS public collision records (90-day Pulse 2026-07-30 to 2026-10-27; 365-day benchmark 2025-06-30 to 2026-06-29), https://crashes.meruai.co/insights/vulnerable-road-user-and-nighttime-harm-patterns.
Inspect the underlying corridors and records
Full 365-day San Diego breakdown with downloadable CSV and map.
Side-by-side Orange County comparison of hit-run and coordinate coverage.
Compare local vulnerable-road-user and hit-run shares against California.
Inspect sightlines, braking distances, and street geometry in 3D.