Los Angeles County

If there's one county in California that is well known for both traffic and entertainment, it's Los Angeles County, also called L.A. County. It is currently the most populated county in the United States with a population of 9,818,605. More people live in L.A. County than in 43 individual states, and even if you combined Rhode Island and Delaware together, L.A. County would still be bigger. In fact, one-quarter of California's total population lives in this county, and it is considered to be one of the most diverse areas in terms of ethnicity.

This expansive county stretched for 4,083 square miles of land and another 693 square miles of water and its county seat is Los Angeles. Few people know this, but L.A. County also has two islands incorporated into it: San Clemente and Santa Catalina. L.A. County was first created back in 1850 when the state itself was first incorporated into the Union. It actually used to be much larger than what it is today, but over the years, parts of the county were given off to San Bernardino, Orange, Kern, and Riverside counties.

Any visitor to L.A. will tell you that there's plenty to do in the county seat. If you love the entertainment industry, then you have plenty of options. Take a drive down Sunset Boulevard and check out the cool restaurants and comedy clubs or head to Rodeo Drive where you'll find the best places to shop for designer clothes, handbags, and shoes. There are also museums, zoos, and arboretums that are not to be missed. Beach lovers should also visit Venice Beach as well as the Santa Monica Pier.

For the hiking enthusiast, there are several national protected areas in the region that are worth visiting. Parts of Los Padres National Forest, Angeles National Forest, and Santa Monica Mountains National recreation Area are all in L.A. County.

In addition to L.A. visitors can visit other major cities in the county, such as Long Beach, Santa Clarita, Glendale, Pomona, Pasadena, and Burbank, to name a few. There are also plenty of unincorporated areas, 140 total Some of these areas include Acton, East Whittier, Littlerock, Marina del Ray, Topanga, and Val Verde.

If there's one thing L.A. County is known for (other than Hollywood and entertainment), it's traffic. Many major highways and state roads crisscross this region. Some of the major highways include Interstate 5, 105, 405, 605, 10, 110, 210, and many others. Some of the most-travelled state roads include State Routes 1, 2, 14, 39, 47, 57, 90, and so many more.

Of course, accidents are inevitable in this region with so much traffic. One of the more publicized car crashes making headlines today actually happened back in February 2015 when Caitlyn Jenner was involved in a crash that turned deadly. According to the Los Angeles Times, Jenner was driving a Cadillac Escalade at high speeds when she hit a Lexus owned by Kim Howe. The collision pushed the Lexus into traffic, and the driver, a 69-year-old woman, was killed. In an article from Aug. 20, 2015, prosecutors were looking to present evidence to charge Jenner with misdemeanor manslaughter.

In Malibu on Aug. 27, 2015, a man lost his life after his car ran over a steep canyon road. He was found dead inside his car at the bottom of a 200 foot ravine.

Congested and steep roads are always a threat to motorists in L.A. County. That's why it's so important for drivers to be alert whenever they're on the road. All it takes is for drivers to look away from just a second to chance their whole lives forever.