Road Runner: Arizona maintains downward trend in traffic fatalities

The Arizona Department of Transportation’s latest crash report shows there’s improvement on our roads as total fatalities marked a three-year low in 2019.

There were 982 fatalities, 29 fewer than in 2018 and 16 fewer than in 2017, according to the 2019 Motor Vehicle Crash Facts report. Pima County recorded 141 of these deaths, second highest in the state after Maricopa County.

The stats also show fewer fatalities related to pedestrians, alcohol, not wearing seat belts and distracted driving when compared with 2018 figures, ADOT said.

The latest numbers reflect:

• Alcohol-related fatalities decreased for the third straight year, falling 21% since 2017, and the 256 fatalities in 2019 was the lowest total since 2010. Most of these crashes occurred between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m.
• The number of people killed while not wearing seat belts fell for the fifth year in a row – from 258 in 2015 to 211 in 2019. However, unbuckled occupants still account for about a fifth of all traffic fatalities, ADOT said.
• Pedestrian fatalities fell to their lowest total since 2016, with 220 in 2019.

“It’s good to see decreases on these pedestrian fatalities, the alcohol-related fatalities, the number of distracted drivers involved in crashes. Those all went down 2018 to 2019. There’s still too many crashes occurring on the roads and a lot of those are preventable, more than 90% of crashes,” said Doug Pacey, safety projects manager with ADOT.

Even crashes involving motorcyclists took a dip for the third straight year. These type of crashes totaled 2,676, something not seen since 2004.

State roads also experienced their fewest bicyclist-involved crashes since 1991, with 1,275 total crashes. Its peak was seen in 2012, with 2,146 crashes, according to ADOT.

But the fewer recorded crashes belie the fact that more Arizonans died in these types of collisions. The number of fatalities increased year over year for bicyclists, motorcyclists and their passengers.

There was a 10% increase in motorcyclist and motorcycle passenger fatalities from 2018 to 2019 as well as six additional deaths of bicyclists year over year, the report said.

Pacey said there’s still room for improvement in Arizona, especially in regard to distracted driving.

“Driver behavior is a factor in it, and when I say driver behavior, it’s drivers choosing to speed, driving impaired, driving reckless or distracted,” Pacey said.

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“Not wearing a seat belt, that won’t cause a crash usually, but it is a factor in fatalities. Last year, 211 people died in Arizona who weren’t wearing a seat belt. Those are all the things that are preventable.”

Distracted driving, the report said, can be attributed to at least 10,491 drivers involved in crashes last year, but it is fewer than the 11,898 such crashes in 2018.

The number of crashes in the state rose by 1.6% in 2019, an increase of 2,038 incidents, according to the report. There were 129,750 total crashes recorded in 2018. The crash data accounts for all Arizona roadways, including city streets, county roads, reservation roads and state highways.

“In 2008 there were 4.4 million licensed drivers and it looks like there were about 121,000 crashes. In 2019, there were 5.4 million licensed drivers and 130,000 crashes. So we added a million drivers and 10,000 crashes,” Pacey said. “That’s a positive, but it’s still not something to, you know, stand up and cheer about because it’s still 130,000 crashes.”

Pacey said the numbers show better decisions are being made, but more drivers need to make the decision to protect themselves and other Arizonans.

“People just have to realize that we’re all out there sharing the road together. It’s our friends, our families, our co-workers, our schoolmates. We’re all on the road together,” he said.

“Crashes do affect people, and we all live in the same community. We all drive the same roads. So, we all have to make better decisions behind the wheel.”

Down the road

Closure for Rita Road near I-10

Construction crews have closed southbound South Rita Road at Interstate 10 to repair a bridge that was damaged by an oversized load.

Motorist should expect a two-week closure. Northbound Rita Road and all interchange ramps will remain open to traffic.

Drivers heading southbound on Rita Road to eastbound I-10 should use westbound I-10, exit at Kolb Road, then take I-10 eastbound.