How Safe is Maricopa County to Drive In?

In 2021, the state of Arizona had 5,873,322 drivers registered by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) Motor Vehicle Division. With approximately 62% of the state’s population consolidated in Maricopa County according to the United States Census Bureau, we wondered how safe the region’s roadways are to travel upon. Generally, areas that see the highest rates of traffic tend to have an increased number of collisions, along with more congested roadways.

Drawing upon data collected by the ADOT and local Arizona law enforcement agencies, we reviewed traffic and crash statistics across the state in 2021, the most recent year for which there are complete datasets available.

Historical Crash Trends in Arizona, 2017-2021

Before breaking down the figures on Arizona traffic crashes by individual counties, we wanted to get a sense of collision patterns over the past several years. Generally the number of annual collisions rises every year, as more drivers are licensed and the roads thus get more congested, increasing the risk of traffic accidents.

However, motor vehicle travel in the United States decreased significantly throughout 2020, due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. While many states saw a corresponding decrease in the overall number of collisions throughout that year, traffic fatalities remained steady or even increased in some regions of the country. Public safety experts noted that “careless and reckless motor vehicle drivers” were behind the shocking surge of crash fatalities, with drivers releasing pent-up stress and anxiety on near-deserted roadways.

Using data collected by the ADOT, we tracked significant crash statistics over a five-year period. As expected, the overall number of collisions (counting all levels of severity) decreased by a shocking 24.41% from 2019 to 2020. However, the number of fatal crashes actually increased by approximately 6% over that same timeframe, despite there being 31,998 fewer annual collisions. In 2021, both the number of collisions (121,345) and fatal crashes (1,063) increased from the previous year, although 2019 still had the highest number of wrecks over the tracked five-year period.

Arizona Traffic Fatality Breakdown by Victim Age & Gender

The overall number of traffic fatalities on an annual basis is often used as a measurement of how effective a state’s traffic laws, enforcement, and safety measures are at protecting motorists. A state with a higher rate of traffic fatalities, proportionate to the area’s population, may indicate that the region is more dangerous to drive in. 1,180 victims lost their lives in fatal Arizona car accidents in 2021. In the graph below, we broke down the victim demographics by age range and gender. Of particular note:

The majority of victims in fatal car crashes were male (68.3%). More male victims suffered fatal injuries than female victims across all age ranges except 5-9, where there were six victims of either gender.
Victims in fatal car crashes tended to be younger drivers or passengers. The age range with the highest rate of fatalities was 25-34 (212 victims), followed by 35-44 (184 victims).

Arizona Traffic Injury Breakdown by Victim Age & Gender

Another factor that is commonly used to judge the safety of a state’s transportation network is the total number of nonfatal crash-related injuries on an annual basis. In the state of Arizona throughout 2021, 51,633 victims suffered non-lethal wounds in a car accident. Males suffered a slightly higher rate of car accident wounds (50.93%) than females (48.88%). We observed that the age range with the highest number of injuries was 25-34 by a significant margin, followed by 35-44. Similarly to the traffic fatality statistics covered in the previous section, younger drivers in Arizona seem to suffer the highest rate of harm in motor vehicle accidents.

How Many Collisions Occurred in Each Arizona County in 2021?

When we begin to break down the 2021 crash data by Arizona counties, it quickly becomes evident that Maricopa County led every other region in each major collision category. 71.44% of the state’s car accidents in 2021 occurred in Maricopa County. More than half of the fatal crashes throughout the year occurred within Maricopa County as well, resulting in 594 lethally-wounded victims.

Coconino, Mohave, Pima, Pinal, Yavapai, and Yuma counties were the only other areas that experienced at least 2,000 total collisions during the year. Greenlee County had the fewest crashes during the tracked period, with just 72 total collisions and one fatal accident. On a positive note, more than 70% of reported collisions only resulted in property damage, with no one suffering injuries.

Fatal Alcohol-Related Crash Statistics by Arizona County, 2021

Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is one of the most significant causes of serious or fatal motor vehicle collisions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) explains that alcohol can impair a driver’s vision, judgment, decision making, and reaction times. In some cases, alcohol can even negatively influence a driver’s perception of colors, making it difficult to discern between a green or red stoplight.

In the chart below, we mapped the number of fatal crashes where responding law enforcement officers noted that at least one driver, pedestrian, or biker had seemingly consumed an alcoholic beverage. Of particular note:

Maricopa County again leads all Arizona counties with 104 fatal alcohol-related crashes. Pima County (47), Mohave County (8), and Pinal County (8) had the next-highest numbers of deadly alcohol-related crashes.
In 2021, Greenlee County had no reported fatal alcohol-related crashes.
If we exclude the two counties with the highest numbers of alcohol-related crashes, the average number of collisions between the remaining 13 counties is 4.92/year. Maricopa County’s 104 fatal collisions is more than 21x larger than this adjusted average.

Estimated Economic Loss From Traffic Crashes by Arizona County

At the end of the day, reducing the number of injuries and fatalities caused by car accidents should be the priority of government and law enforcement agencies. At the same time, it’s worth considering the economic impact of car accidents as well. In 2021, motor vehicle collisions ended up costing the state of Arizona an estimated $20,155,769,803 in damages. 57.37% of the state’s damages occurred in Maricopa County, the majority of which were assessed after fatal crashes. In contrast, collisions in Greenlee County made up just 0.07% of the state’s damages.

Drive Safely in Maricopa County

Based on the available 2021 crash data for the state of Arizona, it seems evident that Maricopa County had the highest rate of collisions of all severities across the region. While it is likely that the area’s sizable population played a role in the number of crashes in the county, it is still advisable to drive defensively. Pay attention to the road around you, be aware of what other drivers are doing, and minimize distractions as much as possible. Doing so will help protect you and your loved ones on the Arizona roads.