CHP SWITRS Data Shows How Dangerous the Road Diet Is Making Venice Blvd.


my car doesn't need a road diet
We believe that Venice Blvd was not an appropriate candidate for a "road diet." With 46,500 to 52,000 cars going through the intersection of Venice Blvd. at Centinela Ave per day (CalTrans 2016), we believe Venice Blvd was being used to capacity during peak hours. Taking lanes for vehicles away and reducing the number of cars using Venice Blvd. to 31,000 cars per day (LADOT, 2017) has not made Venice Blvd. or the surrounding neighborhood streets any safer.

Now a detailed analysis of CHP SWITRS accident data by John Russo of KeepLAMoving shows just how dangerous the lane thefts on Venice Blvd. have been.


Attend the LADOT Open House for Venice Blvd on March 14th, 6 to 8 PM at Mar Vista Recreation Center. Click here for more details.

Is Venice Blvd. Safer Today?

Based on the preliminary data from the CHP SWITRS database, the answer is NO.  Since the lane thefts began on May 20, 2017 through December 31, 2017:

  • Accidents are up 17%
  • Accident-related injuries are up 39%
  • Accident-related complaints of pain are up 74%
  • Accident-related visible injuries are up 21%
Comparing the 5 year baseline to accidents between May 20, 2017 to December 31, 2017 on Venice Blvd. between Inglewood Blvd. and Beethoven St. (CHP SWITRS database)
Comparing the 5 year baseline to accidents between May 20, 2017 to December 31, 2017 on Venice Blvd. between Inglewood Blvd. and Beethoven St. (CHP SWITRS database)

  • It's important to note that as more accidents are added to the CHP SWITRS database, these numbers will only go up.
  • This current report doesn't include a detailed analysis of the accidents on the adjacent residential streets. But this will be the next project for our dedicated volunteers.


So the real question is: why are Councilman Mike Bonin and LADOT insisting that this unpopular, poorly designed and dangerous "pilot project" continue?!?




Read on for a detail explanation of how we came to this conclusion. The charts and graphics below help summarize the findings. And feel free to head over to the open source SWITRS website to verify this information for yourself.

View our Neighborhood Traffic Watch Program report and a slideshow of our accident photos here.


Graphic released by Councilman Mike Bonin and LADOT in September 2017

Examining the Safety Claims Made by LADOT and Councilman Mike Bonin


The "data" presented in the "New Street Design Is Improving Safety" graphic was released the first week of September 2017.

LADOT claimed to provide the data used to calculate these statistics. However an analysis of their "data" and the CHP SWITRS database by John Russo of KeepLAMoving has revealed that LADOT's data isn't quite the truth.

Map of LADOT's data for accidents on Venice Blvd from May 2016 to April 2017
Map of LADOT's data for accidents on Venice Blvd from May 2016 to April 2017


First, LADOT cited 10 accidents that did not occur on Venice Blvd

LADOT also used 9 LAPD counter or citizen reports, which are reports made in-person at the police station counter. These counter reports could be vehicle-related, like vandalism or theft from an automobile, but they are not official police reports and therefore do not get forwarded to the CHP SWITRS database.

In addition, LADOT also included 16 police reports without a vehicle code violation. Since there are no corresponding submissions in the CHP SWITRS database - as required by law - we are confident that they are NOT accident reports.

Why were these reports included? We believe it was to boost the pre-road diet accident count to give the appearance that Venice Blvd. was less safe before LADOT implemented their lane thefts.

LADOT and Councilman Bonin started with 58 accidents. When you subtract the 35 reports and accidents that aren't verified accidents on Venice Blvd., you are left with 23 accidents.

KeepLAMoving found 24 verified accidents in the CHP SWITRS database which happened on Venice Blvd. between Inglewood Blvd. and Beethoven St. from May 2016 to April 2017.

LADOT data vs. CHP SWITRS data for accidents on Venice Blvd. between Inglewood Blvd. and Beethoven St. from May 2016 to April 2017
LADOT data vs. CHP SWITRS data for accidents on Venice Blvd. between Inglewood Blvd. and Beethoven St. from May 2016 to April 2017


Chart of accidents on Venice Blvd. from Inglewood Blvd. to Beethoven St, from May 2016 to April 2017 (CHP SWITRS database)
Chart of accidents on Venice Blvd. from Inglewood Blvd. to Beethoven St, from May 2016 to April 2017 (CHP SWITRS database)

Post-Road Diet CHP SWITRS Data

Now let's look at the preliminary data being posted to the SWITRS database about accidents that have happened since the lane thefts on May 20, 2017.  We've chosen a date range of May 20, 2017 to December 31, 2017 based on what SWITRS data is available at this point in time. Please note that it can take up to 8 months for the data to be entered into the SWITRS database; we will be updating this information on a regular basis.
Chart of accidents on Venice Blvd. from Inglewood Blvd. to Beethoven St, from May 20, 2017 to December 31, 2017 (CHP SWITRS database)
Chart of accidents on Venice Blvd. from Inglewood Blvd. to Beethoven St, from May 20, 2017 to December 31, 2017 (CHP SWITRS database)

The next graphic summarizes this data and compares it to the May 2016 to April 2017 time frame discussed above.
Comparing accidents on Venice Blvd. between Inglewood Blvd. and Beethoven St. between [May 2016 and April 2017] and [May 20, 2017 to December 31, 2017] (CHP SWITRS database)
Comparing accidents on Venice Blvd. between Inglewood Blvd. and Beethoven St. between [May 2016 and April 2017] and [May 20, 2017 to December 31, 2017] (CHP SWITRS database)

Creating an 5 Year Accident Baseline for Venice Blvd.


Since accident numbers vary year to year, the best way to create a true baseline for Venice Blvd. accidents is to look at a larger data set. So John looked at the date range May 20 to December 31 for a 5 year period - 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 - and compiled detailed information for the accidents that happened during this time period. 
Accidents on Venice Blvd. between Inglewood Blvd. and Beethoven St.: date range May 20 to December 31 for the years 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 (CHP SWITRS database)
Accidents on Venice Blvd. between Inglewood Blvd. and Beethoven St.: date range May 20 to December 31 for the years 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 (CHP SWITRS database)
(A complete list of all the accidents on Venice Blvd. during this time period can be found at the end of this post.)

Detailed Information About the Accidents and Injuries on Venice Blvd. Since May 20, 2017

John compiled the same detailed information about the accidents that have occurred after the road diet was implements, between May 20 and December 31, 2017. The data points highlighted in red have increased over the 5 year baseline data posted above.

Accidents on Venice Blvd. between Inglewood Blvd. and Beethoven St.: date range May 20 to December 31, 2017 (CHP SWITRS database)
Accidents on Venice Blvd. between Inglewood Blvd. and Beethoven St.: date range May 20 to December 31, 2017 (CHP SWITRS database)

Venice Blvd. Is NOT Safer Today

Preliminary data from the CHP SWITRS database shows that between May 20 and December 31, 2017:
  • Accidents are up 17%
  • Accident-related injuries are up 39%
  • Accident-related complaints of pain are up 74%
  • Accident-related visible injuries are up 21%
Comparing the 5 year baseline to accidents between May 20, 2017 to December 31, 2017 on Venice Blvd. between Inglewood Blvd. and Beethoven St. (CHP SWITRS database)
Comparing the 5 year baseline to accidents between May 20, 2017 to December 31, 2017 on Venice Blvd. between Inglewood Blvd. and Beethoven St. (CHP SWITRS database)
  • It's important to note that as more accidents are added to the CHP SWITRS database, these numbers will only go up.
  • This current report doesn't include a detailed analysis of the accidents on the adjacent residential streets. But this will be the next project for our dedicated volunteers.

Councilman Mike Bonin and LADOT, it's time to end this unpopular, poorly designed and dangerous "pilot project" before more accidents take place and more people are injured.