Tucsonans now have the dubious distinction of being ranked one of the least safe cities in the United States, coming in at number 162 out of 181 on WalletHub's latest list. Making the problem worse is the proliferating number of unsafe drivers on our streets. On November 13, 2019, three people were killed in two separate traffic accidents through no apparent fault of their own. In both cases the fatalities occurred after the vehicles in which the occupants were driving were hit from behind and pushed into oncoming traffic. In one case the vehicle causing the accident was speeding. The driver fled the scene and was eventually arrested. Arizona traffic fatalities increased to 1,010 in 2018 from 998 in 2017. The Arizona Department of Transportation states that 90 percent of those were the result of driver behavior. Pedestrian and bicyclist deaths are also on the rise in our community with 24 fatalities in 2017 and 28 in 2018.
John Healy
Southeast side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
