San Francisco Cut Traffic Deaths Almost in Half in 2025

Nearly 12 years after San Francisco pledged to end traffic deaths by 2024, the number of road fatalities dropped to 25 in 2025, a 42 percent decrease from 2024.

As Natalia Gurevich explains in the San Francisco Examiner, “Last year’s total was the third-lowest annual tally since 2015, the lowest since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and lower than San Francisco’s typical annual total of about 30 deaths.”

The city installed 33 speed enforcement cameras in 2025, which, according to SFMTA, reduced speeding by 78 percent in the vicinity. “The agency previously released a study in October that revealed speeding had fallen 72%, on average, at 15 camera locations in September compared to a period prior to the cameras’ installation.”

San Francisco’s new Street Safety directive, signed last month by Mayor Daniel Lurie, directs city departments to review and update the city’s framework for recording and categorizing traffic-related injuries and deaths and publish data about its high-injury street network within 100 days. 

According to the SFMTA press release, though the number of traffic deaths dropped, pedestrian deaths make up a higher share of all traffic deaths. “Thursday’s release said the SFMTA, SFPD and the public health department will continue to prioritize pedestrian safety and visibility to better assess what areas are more dangerous.”