Transportation Performance Management

State Highway Safety Report (2021) - California

The following provides a summary of the Highway Safety Improvement Program's (HSIP) safety performance measures and State safety performance targets. As per the Safety PM Final Rule, States are required to set annual safety performance targets in the HSIP annual report for the number of fatalities, rate of fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT), number of serious injuries, rate of serious injures per 100 million VMT, and number of non-motorized fatalities and serious injuries. The safety performance targets are based on 5-year rolling averages. States have the flexibility to use the methodology they deem most appropriate when establishing safety performance targets. FHWA encourages States to review data sets and trends and consider factors that may affect targets. The safety performance targets should be data-driven, realistic, and attainable and should align with the performance management framework and legislative intent.

A State Department of Transportation (DOT) has met or made significant progress towards meeting its safety performance targets when at least four of the five safety performance targets established under 23 CFR 490.209(a) have been met or the actual outcome is better than the baseline performance. The baseline performance is the 5-year average ending with the year prior to the establishment of the target.

The Basis for Target and Additional Comments are provided by the State in their HSIP Annual Report and have not been edited by FHWA. Any questions about individual State reports should be directed to the respective State DOT. For additional information about each State's HSIP, the complete reports are available at https://highways.dot.gov/safety/hsip/reporting.

More information and resources on Safety Performance Management are available at https://highways.dot.gov/safety/hsip/spm/safety-performance-management-safety-pm-overview.

All State data used to populate the State Highway Safety Reports for 2021 are available for download at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/tpm/reporting/state/tpm_dashboard_data.zip.

• 

  Number of Fatalities

• Number of Fatalities	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
  Annual	3,387	3,837	3,884	3,798	3,719	3,980	4,285
  5-Year Average					3,725.0	3,843.6	3,933.2
  Target (5-Year Average)							3,624.8	3,491.8	3,808.2

• Basis for Number of Fatalities Target

  • 2021 Target
  • 2022 Target
  • 2023 Target

  The target was set by reducing fatalities annually at 2.88 which is the current trend in the reduction of fatalities between 2017 and 2018 in California. This target support and consistent with CA Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) goals of Toward Zero Death by 2050 . Through the Highway Safety Improvement Program, many California cities are developing or updating Local Roadway Safety Plans the focus on reducing crashes throughout the state. There has been a 25% increase in the number of OTS grants that will continue to assist California in reducing roadway fatalities.

  The available data from FARS was used to determine the average trend between 2017 and 2019. The average trend decreased the number of fatalities by 3.61% annually and the five-year rolling average was used to establish the 2022 target. The decrease in the number of fatalities aligns with the goal of the California Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) to move toward zero fatalities and serious injuries. In March of 2021, the Federal Highway Administration apportioned $226 million dollars to California to fund safety projects that focus on reducing fatalities and serious injuries on California's roads under the Highway Safety Improvement Program.

  The FARS data points for calendar years 2017-2020 were used to determine the projected trend and annual count for 2021-2023. The relative percentage change from 2017-2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020 were averaged to determine the annual decreasing trend of 0.30% for the number of fatalities. The 2023 target is based on the five-year rolling average of the annual counts. The decrease in the number of fatalities aligns with the goal of the California Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) to move toward zero fatalities and serious injuries. In December of 2021, the Federal Highway Administration apportioned $262 million dollars to California to fund safety projects that focus on reducing fatalities and serious injuries on California's roads under the Highway Safety Improvement Program. If the Vision Zero by 2050 was used as the projected trend, the 2023 target based on the five-year rolling average of the annual counts would have been 3667.5. NHTSA recommends a trend-based approach, so the target based on past data points has been reported. Caltrans notes that, if the Vision Zero by 2050 was used as the projected trend the 2023 Fatality target based on the five-year rolling average of the annual counts would have been 3667.5

  
  

• Data Sources:
  Fatalities: 2015-2020 Final FARS, 2021 FARS Annual Report File
  Targets: 2020-2022 California HSIP Annual Reports

• 

  Fatality Rate (per 100 million VMT)

• Fatality Rate (per 100 million VMT)	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
  Annual	1.01	1.13	1.13	1.09	1.09	1.33	1.38
  5-Year Average					1.090	1.154	1.204
  Target (5-Year Average)							1.044	1.042	1.216

• Basis for Fatality Rate Target

  • 2021 Target
  • 2022 Target
  • 2023 Target

  This target was set by reducing fatalities annually at 2.88% which is the current trend in reduction of fatalities between 2017 and 2018 in California. This target support and consistent with CA Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) goals of Toward Zero Death by 2050. Through the Highway Safety Improvement Program, many California cities are developing or updating Local Roadway Safety Plans the focus on reducing crashes throughout the state. There has also been a 25% increase in the number of OTS grants that will continue to assist California in reducing roadway fatalities.

  Based on the number of fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles travelled from 2015-2019, the average trend decreased the fatality rate by 2.00% annually. The five-year rolling average was then used to establish the 2022 target. The decrease in the fatality rate aligns with the goal of the California Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) to move toward zero fatalities and serious injuries. In March of 2021, the Federal Highway Administration apportioned $226 million dollars to California to fund safety projects that focus on reducing fatalities and serious injuries on California's roads under the Highway Safety Improvement Program.

  The FARS data points for calendar years 2017-2019 were used to determine the projected trend and annual count for 2021-2023. The relative percentage change from 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 were averaged to determine the annual decreasing trend of 1.77% for the rate of fatalities while assuming the vehicle-miles-traveled will remain constant. The 2023 target is based on the five-year rolling average of the annual counts. The decrease in the number of fatalities aligns with the goal of the California Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) to move toward zero fatalities and serious injuries. In December of 2021, the Federal Highway Administration apportioned $262 million dollars to California to fund safety projects that focus on reducing fatalities and serious injuries on California's roads under the Highway Safety Improvement Program.

  
  

• Data Sources:
  Fatalities: 2015-2020 Final FARS, 2021 FARS Annual Report File
  VMT: 2015-2021 FHWA Highway Statistics Series, VM-2 Table
  Targets: 2020-2022 California HSIP Annual Reports

• 

  Number of Serious Injuries

• Number of Serious Injuries	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
  Annual	11,942	13,701	14,201	16,158	16,443	15,392	17,920
  5-Year Average					14,489.0	15,179.0	16,022.8
  Target (5-Year Average)							15,419.4	16,704.2	15,156.2

• Basis for Number of Serious Injuries Target

  • 2021 Target
  • 2022 Target
  • 2023 Target

  In California, between the first half of 2018 and the first half of 2019, there was a 1.3% decrease in serious injuries. This target support and consistent with CA Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) goals of Toward Zero Death by 2050. Through the Highway Safety Improvement Program, many California cities are developing or updating Local Roadway Safety Plans the focus on reducing crashes throughout the state. There has also been a 25% increase in the number of OTS grants that will continue to assist California in reducing roadway fatalities.

  The available data from SWITRS was used to determine the average trend between 2018 and 2019. The average trend increased the number of serious injuries by 1.66% annually and the five-year rolling average was used to establish the 2022 target. The serious injury definition changed to include suspected serious injuries and was implemented in the middle of 2017. The first full year (2018) of including suspected serious injuries resulted in an increase of 17.93% from the last full year (2016) of the previous definition. In March of 2021, the Federal Highway Administration apportioned $226 million dollars to California to fund safety projects that focus on reducing fatalities and serious injuries on California's roads under the Highway Safety Improvement Program.

  The SWITRS data points for calendar years 2018-2020 were used to determine the projected trend and annual count for 2021-2023. In the middle of 2017, the serious injury definition to include suspected serious injuries was implemented, so 2017 data was not included in determining the projected trend. The relative percentage change from 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 were averaged to determine the annual decreasing trend of 2.40% for the number of serious injuries. The 2023 target is based on the five-year rolling average of the annual counts. The decrease in the number of serious injuries aligns with the goal of the California Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) to move toward zero fatalities and serious injuries. In December of 2021, the Federal Highway Administration apportioned $262 million dollars to California to fund safety projects that focus on reducing fatalities and serious injuries on California's roads under the Highway Safety Improvement Program. NHTSA recommends a trend-based approach, so the target based on past data points has been reported. Caltrans notes that, If the Vision Zero by 2050 was used as the projected trend, the 2023 target based on the five-year rolling average of the annual counts would have been 14976.6.

  
  

• Data Sources:
  Serious Injuries: 2022 California HSIP Annual Report
  Targets: 2020-2022 California HSIP Annual Reports

• 

  Rate of Serious Injuries (per 100 million VMT)

• Rate of Serious Injuries (per 100 million VMT)	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
  Annual	3.56	4.03	4.13	4.63	4.82	5.13	5.77
  5-Year Average					4.234	4.548	4.896
  Target (5-Year Average)							4.423	4.879	4.940

• Basis for Serious Injury Rate Target

  • 2021 Target
  • 2022 Target
  • 2023 Target

  In California, between the first half of 2018 and the first half of 2019, there was a 1.3% decrease in serious injuries. This target support and consistent with CA Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) goals of Toward Zero Death by 2050. Through the Highway Safety Improvement Program, many California cities are developing or updating Local Roadway Safety Plans the focus on reducing crashes throughout the state. There has also been a 25% increase in the number of OTS grants that will continue to assist California in reducing roadway fatalities.

  Based on the serious injury rate from 2015-2019, the average trend increased by 1.66% annually. The five-year rolling average was used to establish the 2022 target. The serious injury definition changed to include suspected serious injuries and was implemented in the middle of 2017. The first full year (2018) of including suspected serious injuries resulted in an increase of 17.93% from the last full year (2016) of the previous definition. In March of 2021, the Federal Highway Administration apportioned $226 million dollars to California to fund safety projects that focus on reducing fatalities and serious injuries on California's roads under the Highway Safety Improvement Program.

  The SWITRS data points for calendar years 2018-2020 were used to determine the projected trend and annual count for 2021-2023. In the middle of 2017, the serious injury definition to include suspected serious injuries was implemented, so 2017 data was not included in determining the projected trend. The relative percentage change from 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 were averaged to determine the annual decreasing trend of 2.40% for the number of serious injuries while assuming the vehicle-miles-traveled will remain constant. The 2023 target is based on the five-year rolling average of the annual counts. The decrease in the number of serious injuries aligns with the goal of the California Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) to move toward zero fatalities and serious injuries. In December of 2021, the Federal Highway Administration apportioned $262 million dollars to California to fund safety projects that focus on reducing fatalities and serious injuries on California's roads under the Highway Safety Improvement Program.

  
  

• Data Sources:
  Serious Injuries: 2022 California HSIP Annual Report
  VMT: 2015-2021 FHWA Highway Statistics Series, VM-2 Table
  Targets: 2020-2022 California HSIP Annual Reports

• 

  Number of Non-Motorized Fatalities and Serious Injuries

• Number of Non-Motorized Fatalities and Serious Injuries	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
  Annual	3,795	4,140	4,294	4,569	4,694	4,187	4,714
  5-Year Average					4,298.4	4,376.8	4,491.6
  Target (5-Year Average)							4,340.8	4,684.4	4,131.7

• Basis for Number of Non-Motorized Fatalities and Serious Injuries Target

  • 2021 Target
  • 2022 Target
  • 2023 Target

  For the fatalities involved with this performance measure, this target was set by reducing fatalities annually at 2.88% which is the current trend in reduction of fatalities between 2017 and 2018 in California. This target support and consistent with CA Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) goals of Toward Zero Death by 2050. In California, between the first half of 2018 and the first half of 2019, there was a 1.3% decrease in serious injuries. Through the Highway Safety Improvement Program, many California cities are developing or updating Local Roadway Safety Plans the focus on reducing crashes throughout the state. There has also been a 25% increase in the number of OTS grants that will continue to assist California in reducing roadway fatalities.

  The average trend decreased the number of fatalities by 3.61% and increased the number of serious injuries by 1.66%. The five-year rolling average was based on the average trends to establish the 2022 target. In March of 2021, the Federal Highway Administration apportioned $226 million dollars to California to fund safety projects that focus on reducing fatalities and serious injuries on California's roads under the Highway Safety Improvement Program.

  The FARS data points for calendar years 2017-2020 were used to determine the projected trend and annual count for 2021-2023. The relative percentage change from 2017-2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020 were averaged to determine the annual decreasing trend of 0.30% for the number of non-motorized fatalities. The SWITRS data points for calendar years 2018-2020 were used to determine the projected trend and annual count for 2021-2023. The relative percentage change from 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 were averaged to determine the annual decreasing trend of 2.40% for the number of non-motorized serious injuries. The 2023 target is based on the five-year rolling average of the annual counts. The decrease in the number of serious injuries aligns with the goal of the California Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) to move toward zero fatalities and serious injuries. In December of 2021, the Federal Highway Administration apportioned $262 million dollars to California to fund safety projects that focus on reducing fatalities and serious injuries on California's roads under the Highway Safety Improvement Program.

  
  

• Data Sources:
  Fatalities: 2015-2020 Final FARS, 2021 FARS Annual Report File
  Serious Injuries: 2022 California HSIP Annual Report
  Targets: 2020-2022 California HSIP Annual Reports

Additional Comments

N/A

Safety Performance Target Assessment

PLEASE NOTE: Each State’s safety performance target assessment is based on its own State-specific target methodology and program philosophy. Therefore, conclusions should not be drawn based only on the information in the Safety Performance Target Assessment Summary table. For example, the State may have set aggressive targets, and not met those targets, while another State may have set more easily attainable targets, and met those targets. FHWA understands that each State’s safety program is unique and therefore does not prescribe a methodology for States to set targets. States have the flexibility to use the methodology they deem most appropriate when setting their safety performance targets.