Key Takeaways:
- Octavia Street and Market Street is the most dangerous intersection in San Francisco.
- San Francisco’s intersection crash rate is 40.71% higher than the average of California cities.
- However, San Francisco’s fatal injury and serious injury rate are both lower than average.
San Francisco’s dense urban layout, steep hills, and high traffic volume make its intersections some of the most challenging in California. Every day, thousands of drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians navigate these busy streets, often sharing limited space. With heavy commuter traffic, frequent tourists, and an extensive public transit system, the risk of collisions at intersections remains high.
To identify the city’s most hazardous areas, we analyzed crash data from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), which was cleaned and geocoded by Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) from 2020 to 2024. Our study focuses on the 10 most dangerous intersections in San Francisco, comparing the city’s proportion of intersection crashes with other major California cities, along with a breakdown of crash severities.
It’s important to note that this analysis only includes crashes where an injury was reported or suspected. Minor incidents without reported injuries are not recorded in TIMS and, therefore, are excluded from our dataset. By highlighting these high-risk intersections, we aim to bring attention to critical traffic safety concerns and areas that may benefit from improved infrastructure or enforcement.
Ranking Intersections by Danger Score
The intersections below are ranked based on a composite metric known as the “danger score.” This score factors in the total number of crashes over a five-year period while also weighing crash severity, with more serious injuries contributing more to the final score.
At the top of the list is the intersection of Octavia Street and Market Street, with 37 crashes and a danger score of 71. This location is a key junction where multiple lanes converge, and its proximity to freeway access ramps may contribute to high traffic volume and complex traffic patterns.
In second place is Market Street and Gough Street, recording 33 crashes and a danger score of 60. As part of Market Street’s heavily traveled corridor, this intersection experiences a mix of vehicle, public transit, and pedestrian activity, increasing the potential for collisions.
Van Ness Avenue and Market Street ranks third with 23 crashes and a danger score of 52. Van Ness Avenue serves as a major north-south thoroughfare, intersecting with Market Street’s high-density traffic flow, making it a high-risk area for crashes.
San Francisco’s Intersection Crash Rate vs. Other California Cities
Here, we compare San Francisco’s proportion of intersection crashes to that of other cities in California.
The average proportion of intersection crashes across all studied California cities is 37.16%, making San Francisco’s intersection crash rate of 52.28% approximately 40.71% higher than the average.
Crash Severity Distribution
Lastly, we present a breakdown of intersection crashes by severity. These categories include fatal injury, serious injury, minor injury, and possible injury.
The intersection fatality rate in San Francisco is 1.26% lower than the average rate of 2.34% across cities. Similarly, the serious injury rate in San Francisco is 1.13% lower than the average of 9.20%.
As for the other injury categories, San Francisco’s minor injury rate stands at 29.42%, while the possible injury rate is 61.43%.
Conclusion
While San Francisco has a higher proportion of intersection crashes compared to other California cities, its rates of fatal and serious injuries remain below average. By Identifying the most dangerous intersections, we aim to highlight areas where safety improvements, such as better signage, redesigned traffic patterns, or enhanced enforcement, could help reduce crash numbers. Addressing these high-risk locations is essential to improving road safety for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians alike.
Methodology
This study utilized crash data from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), which was cleaned and geocoded by the Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) from 2020 to 2024. The dataset includes only incidents where an injury was reported or suspected, excluding minor crashes with no documented injuries.
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