So far this year, Tucson police have recorded 82 deaths from motor-vehicle collisions. Of those, 34 victims were in vehicles, 24 were pedestrians, 18 were motorcyclists and six were bicyclists. That’s up from 73 such deaths at this time last year, when pedestrian deaths led the numbers.

While traffic fatalities and crashes rose in Arizona in 2021 for the second straight year, traffic fatalities in Pima County slightly decreased, reports by the Arizona Department of Transportation show.

On Sept. 7, ADOT published its annual Motor Vehicle Crash Facts report, which shows an increase in the number of crashes, injuries and fatalities. This is due to more people traveling to work, school and other places once again. In 2021, people in Arizona drove an estimated 8.1 billion more miles than in 2020.

According to the report, Arizona saw a total of 121,345 crashes in 2021, a 22% increase from 2020. Out of those crashes, there was 1,180 fatalities and 51,633 injuries. In 2020, there was 99,100 crashes, 1,054 fatalities and 41,540 injuries.

Traffic fatalities in 2021 were mostly driven by driver behavior. Speed was a factor in 30% of all fatalities while impairment made up one-third of fatalities, the report said.

Alcohol-related crashes also rose in 2021 with a total of 5,620, which is a number that hasn’t been seen in Arizona since 2009. The total number of alcohol-related fatalities was 243, a 6.5% increase from 2020.

October 2021 was revealed to be the month with greatest number of crashes in Arizona. The report also said that Fridays were the day of the week with the most crashes. On weekdays, crashes usually happened between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends.

Despite the increase in fatalities in Arizona, Pima County saw a slight decrease in deaths in 2021 over 2020. The total number of traffic fatalities was 161. In 2020, there was 163 deaths.

There were also 10,872 crashes in Pima County and 5,432 injuries. In 2020, there was 8,841 crashes and 3,041 injuries.

While fatalities decreased, other types of crashes increased in Pima County. Alcohol related crashes rose from 578 to 704, with a total of 49 fatalities in 2021.

Pedestrian crashes also increased from 2020. In 2021, there was a total of 243 pedestrian crashes in Pima County. Together, Maricopa County and Pima County accounted for 81.32% of pedestrian deaths seen in Arizona in 2021.

There was also 137 pedalcyclist crashes, with seven deaths, and 336 motorcycle crashes with 17 deaths in Pima County.

Similar to Pima County, bicycle related fatalities increased 41% in Arizona. Bicycle-related fatalities have been steadily increasing each year since 2018, the report said.

When it comes to reducing crashes, fatalities and injuries, ADOT said it can’t be solved by state agencies alone because more than two thirds of crashes happen on roads other than state highways. Since most fatalities are driven by driver behavior, ADOT said that the real change must begin in the driver’s seat.


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Jamie Donnelly covers breaking news for the Arizona Daily Star. Contact her via e-mail at jdonnelly@tucson.com