San Marcos may be the smallest of the five main North County cities, but it still has a population of nearly 95,000 residents. As is to be expected with enough residents in one area, traffic congestion can get rather intense at times. Wherever you find traffic jams, though, you will also find traffic accidents.
Every year, car accidents in the San Marcos area are the cause of hundreds of injuries that cause their victims to suffer from temporary or permanent disabilities. They may also incur large medical bills and require assistance to perform daily tasks like shopping and cooking.
If you’ve sustained injuries in a collision in San Marcos, CA, contact Petrov Personal Injury Lawyers at (619) 344-0360. Our San Marcos personal injury lawyers offer a free initial consultation to discuss your car accident case and provide guidance.
How Petrov Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help After a Car Accident in San Marcos, CA
Petrov Personal Injury Lawyers is a San Marcos, California, personal injury law firm. Since its founding in 2012, our San Marcos car accident lawyers have recovered over $40 million for clients injured by the intentional or negligent actions of others.
We can help you after a motor vehicle accident by providing you with the following:
- A free case evaluation to discuss your accident and explain how we can help you
- A legal team fluent in English, Russian, and Spanish
- Over 20 years of combined experience fighting at-fault parties and their insurers for personal injury compensation
A car accident in San Marcos can cause physical, emotional, and financial trauma. If you are the victim of one, contact Petrov Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation to discuss your injuries and the compensation you can seek for them under California law.
How Dangerous Are Roads in San Marcos, California?
San Marcos has a population roughly comparable to Vista, El Cajon, and Carlsbad, but it experiences the fewest injury crashes (both fatal and nonfatal) per year. El Cajon, for instance, experiences nearly 2.5 times more crashes than San Marcos despite being 6.2% more populated.
As such, driving in San Marcos is relatively safe compared to other North County, CA cities. According to a summary from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), San Marcos has averaged 229 motor vehicle injury accidents per year since 2020.
However, that number is slightly misleading, given that a large drop in traffic crashes occurred in 2020 due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you look at crash numbers only from 2021 and 2022, you’ll get a more accurate average of 247.5 crashes that cause injury or death each year. These crashes include all motor vehicle accidents on the roads of San Marcos, including pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents, and motorcycle accidents.
Car Accident Statistics in San Marcos, CA
Although driving in San Marcos is relatively safe, car accidents still happen. Some notable San Marcos car accident statistics include the following:
Crash Outcomes
Since 2021, San Marcos traffic accidents have killed or injured about 331 people yearly, a number that, in part, consists of 14 pedestrians, 18 cyclists, and 20 motorcyclists.
Looking specifically at outcomes in San Marcos in 2022:
- Fewer than 1% of crashes caused fatal injuries
- 10% of crashes caused incapacitating injuries that required an ambulance
- 35% of crashes caused visible injuries that did not require an ambulance
- 54% of crashes caused complaints of pain or other symptoms but no visible injuries
In total, San Marcos traffic accidents caused two deaths and 329 injuries in 2022, according to the SWITRS summary.
Risky Times to Drive
The average weekday had nearly 47% more crashes than the average weekend day, according to the SWITRS summary, and the riskiest time to drive occurred during the afternoon commute on weekdays.
In 2022, car crashes peaked between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on every weekday except Thursday, where they peaked instead during the morning commute, between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m.
Causes of Crashes Throughout San Marcos
According to the SWITRS summary, the primary causes of crashes in San Marcos are as follows:
Speeding
Speeding was the most common reason cited for crashes in the city. Over 30% of crashes in San Marcos involved drivers either exceeding the speed limit or traveling too fast for the conditions at hand.
Failing to Yield the Right of Way
A driver behavior that can happen at intersections or mid-block turns, drivers often fail to yield in a few contexts, such as:
- Disobeying a stop sign, yield sign, or traffic light
- Going out of turn at a two-way or four-way stop
- Turning into the path of an approaching vehicle
Failing to yield and turning unsafely combined to form the second most common cause of San Marcos crashes.
Driving Under the Influence
Surprisingly, DUIs were the third most common cause of crashes in San Marcos in 2022. California has seen an increase in DUIs in the past few years, a trend that it blames on drivers under the influence of marijuana or a combination of marijuana and alcohol, both of which can be purchased and consumed legally in California.
Schedule a Free Consultation with Our San Marcos Car Accident Attorneys
Although San Marcos has a relatively good road safety record, car crashes will still happen. If you are the victim of such an accident, contact Petrov Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation. We will discuss your car accident injuries and your case for financial compensation.
