Traffic fatalities on Arizona roadways reached 10-year high in 2017

PHOENIX — A person was killed every 8 hours and 46 minutes in a traffic accident on Arizona’s roadways in 2017, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation’s annual study.

The 2017 Motor Vehicle Crash Facts report, which was released Tuesday, said there were 1,000 traffic fatalities in the state last year. That was the most since 2007, when there were 1,071 deaths.

After dropping to 774 in 2014, the number increased each of the past three years.

Nearly a quarter of those killed, 226, were pedestrians, a 17 percent increase from 2016.

In about a third of last year’s fatalities (320), alcohol was a factor. Excessive speed was a factor in 285 of the deaths.

Alcohol, prescription medication or illegal drugs played a role in 43 percent of the fatalities.

Overall, driver behavior was deemed a factor in more than 90 percent of all crashes.

“Every driver holds the key in their hand that can save a life if they make the right choices,” Arizona Department of Transportation director John Halikowski said in a news release.

“Choose not to speed. Choose not to drive drunk or on drugs. Choose life for yourself and others sharing the road with you.”

“The big takeaway is we all have to be better drivers,” ADOT’s Doug Pacey told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

“We all have to slow down and obey the speed limit. We all have to keep the phone down, don’t drive distracted. We can’t let our friends and family get behind the driver’s seat if they’re impaired.”

The report said there were 127,064 crashes in Arizona last year, resulting in $10.765 billion in economic losses. The crash total was nearly identical to 2016, when there were 127,039 accidents.

While fatalities were up, injuries decreased. There were 55,474 people injured in traffic accidents in 2017, down from 56,785 the year before.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Mark Carlson contributed to this report. 

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