Dangerous Roads: Los Angeles

Los Angeles. The largest city in the United States, with the busiest road networks in the country. Here, every year, there are more than 55,000 reported accidents – one every three minutes!

There are many reasons behind this shocking figure: from dangerous behaviour like speeding, to people driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, which was legalized in 2018, to the incredible density of the traffic.

Then there’s another scourge of the roads that is particular to Los Angeles: the takeovers. These illegal takeovers of the highways, where hundreds young of drivers take over the city’s intersections at night to play loud music and try out the riskiest moves, often result in fatalities.

2 am in Los Angeles and another serious accident has just taken place. Two cars have collided, sweeping away a fire hydrant and creating a geyser of almost 10 meters. One of the drivers is in a critical condition. This accident, like many others, was caused by faulty traffic lights.

We follow paramedics from the biggest company in Los Angeles, including Bernie, a father of two and a paramedic for more than 15 years. More than 400 paramedics who work in shifts 24 hours a day to help the victims of the road.