Bike crash statistics and hotspots in San Diego, CA

This page covers traffic crashes, not crime. We don't rate cities as safe or unsafe: crash counts can't say how risky a street is, and busy streets have more crashes partly because more people use them. What the records show: 1,689 bike crashes were reported in San Diego from 2021–2026, 138 of them serious or fatal (17 fatal). The most were at Market St & 5th Ave (17). 32% were side-impact crashes at junctions (drivers pulling out or turning across). 16% were sideswipes (close passes, right hooks, car doors).

• The street with the most crashesUniversity Ave58 bike crashes, 2021–2026
• The worst spot, on the mapMarket St & 5th Ave17 crashes. A mix of crash types.
• Also in San DiegoMotorcycle crash hotspots3,105 motorcycle crashes, 2021–2026

• 32% were side-impact crashes at junctions (drivers pulling out or turning across).
• 16% were sideswipes (close passes, right hooks, car doors).
• 22% happened after dark.
• 11% were hit-and-run.

• 22% (California: 21%) of crashes happened after dark.
• 80% (California: 41%) were on roads posted 40 mph or faster.
• 8% (California: 13%) left someone seriously hurt or killed.
• The busiest hour was 3 p.m. (California: 3 p.m.).
• 2% (California: 3%) were on a wet road, as the report records it.
• The reports name something about the road itself in 70 crashes: holes or deep ruts (27), a construction or repair zone (19), loose material on the road (17) and something blocking the road (7).

Set against all bike crashes in California, 2021–2026. Without traffic counts these can't say how risky a street is.

Reported bike crashes, 2021–2026, counted by the street each police report names first, so a crash at a corner counts toward one of its two streets. Long, busy streets collect more crashes partly because more people use them.

The other vehicle, where the report names one: 780 cars, 93 SUVs, 61 pickup trucks, 27 minivans, 13 truck or semis and 9 motorcycles. In 57 crashes the report says the other driver had been drinking or was on drugs.

Reported bike crashes, 2021–2026. The officer names one party and one Vehicle Code section as the main cause of each crash; these are the crashes where that party was a driver. It is the officer's reading at the scene, not a court's finding, and many reports name the person on foot or on a bike instead, which we don't list.

6.6% of households in San Diego have no car (California: 7.1%). The average trip to work takes 23.5 minutes one way (California: 28.7).

US Census American Community Survey, 2020–2024 five-year estimates, 1,389,526 residents. These are trips to work only: walks to school, the shops or a bus stop aren't counted, so they can't say how much walking or riding happens on San Diego's streets.

Where do the most bike crashes happen in San Diego?

The worst spot is Market St & 5th Ave, with 17 reported bike crashes from 2021–2026, 1 of them serious or fatal. Next are Park Blvd & Market St (17) and 6th Ave & A St (12).

How many cyclists were killed in San Diego?

17 crashes killed someone in 1,689 reported bike crashes in San Diego from 2021–2026, and 138 left someone seriously hurt or killed.

How do cyclists usually get hit in San Diego?

32% were side-impact crashes at junctions (drivers pulling out or turning across). 16% were sideswipes (close passes, right hooks, car doors). 22% happened after dark. 11% were hit-and-run.

When and where do bike crashes happen in San Diego, compared with California?

Of 1,689 reported bike crashes in San Diego from 2021–2026: 22% (California: 21%) of crashes happened after dark. 80% (California: 41%) were on roads posted 40 mph or faster. 8% (California: 13%) left someone seriously hurt or killed. The busiest hour was 3 p.m. (California: 3 p.m.). 2% (California: 3%) were on a wet road, as the report records it. The reports name something about the road itself in 70 crashes: holes or deep ruts (27), a construction or repair zone (19), loose material on the road (17) and something blocking the road (7).

Which streets in San Diego have the most bike crashes?

By the street each police report names first, 2021–2026: University Ave (58), El Cajon Blvd (36), Rosecrans St (23), Park Blvd (22), Imperial Ave (20). Long, busy streets collect more crashes partly because more people use them.

How many people bike to work in San Diego?

0.7% of workers in San Diego ride a bicycle to work (California: 0.7%), and 2.7% take public transit. 6.6% of households have no car (California: 7.1%). From the Census American Community Survey, 2020–2024.

How many bike crashes happen in San Diego each year?

Reported bike crashes with map locations: 2021: 226, 2022: 253, 2023: 282, 2024: 322, 2025: 328, 2026: 278. The latest year can rise as late reports come in.

Where does this data come from?

Police crash reports in the California Crash Reporting System (CCRS), published by the state on data.ca.gov. Only crashes reported with map coordinates are counted, so the real totals are higher.

Weather, getting there without a car, parking and the crashes reported within a mile of each.

San Diego publishes its own neighborhood outlines (community planning areas), so each one has a page: where bike crashes cluster there, which streets have the most, and what the reports show.