Every figure on this page comes from the Arizona Department of Transportation or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Each is labelled with the year it describes and the table it came from.
Arizona recorded 118,052 traffic crashes and 1,156 deaths in 2025, a third consecutive annual decline. Maricopa County accounts for roughly three quarters of all crashes statewide, and Phoenix alone logged 37,472 in 2024. Arizona’s fatality rate remains well above the national average. |
Arizona in 2025
ADOT released 2025 statewide totals on 27 August 2026. Fatalities fell for the third year running, though they remain close to the highest levels the state has recorded.
118,052 Total crashes Down 4.4% from 123,535 | 1,156 People killed Down 5.2% year over year | 367 Deaths in crashes involving speed 31.8% of all traffic deaths | 334 Deaths in alcohol-related crashes Down 11.2% from 376 |
ADOT restates prior-year totals as late crash reports arrive. The 2025 release puts 2024 crashes at 123,535, where the 2024 report published 121,107. Both figures are correct as of their publication date. This page uses each report’s own numbers rather than blending them.
Where the deaths happened
More people died on local streets than on the state highway system, and more died in urban areas than rural ones. That pattern matters because local streets are where most Phoenix-area driving happens.
| Category | Deaths |
|---|---|
| Local roads | 709 |
| State highway system | 447 |
| Urban areas | 685 |
| Rural areas | 471 |
| Statewide total | 1,156 |
How Arizona compares nationally
Raw death counts follow population, so the comparable measure is deaths per 100 million vehicle miles travelled. On that measure Arizona sits well above the national figure.
Traffic deaths per 100 million vehicle miles travelled
Arizona 2024 (ADOT) compared with the United States, 2024 reported and 2025 estimated (NHTSA)
Eleven years of Arizona traffic deaths
Deaths climbed steadily through the late 2010s, peaked in 2022, and have fallen each year since. The 2025 total is still higher than every year before 2021.
People killed in Arizona traffic crashes, 2015 to 2025
Maricopa County and the Phoenix area
Crashes in Arizona are concentrated in one county. In 2024, Maricopa County accounted for 72.74 percent of all crashes in the state and 50.13 percent of all fatal crashes. Phoenix alone recorded more crashes than every county outside Maricopa combined.
88,094 Crashes in Maricopa County, 2024 72.74% of the statewide total | 594 People killed in Maricopa County, 2024 48.4% of statewide deaths | 37,649 People injured in Maricopa County, 2024 |
| City | Total crashes | Fatal crashes | People killed | People injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix | 37,472 | 265 | 278 | 15,057 |
| Mesa | 8,022 | 46 | 48 | 3,531 |
| Tempe | 6,637 | 29 | 32 | 3,007 |
| Glendale | 5,218 | 27 | 29 | 2,064 |
| Chandler | 4,267 | 14 | 15 | 1,856 |
| Scottsdale | 4,219 | 15 | 15 | 2,113 |
| Peoria | 3,009 | 18 | 21 | 1,502 |
| Gilbert | 2,914 | 21 | 22 | 951 |
| Surprise | 2,110 | 10 | 10 | 856 |
| Goodyear | 1,869 | 14 | 14 | 862 |
| Avondale | 1,850 | 7 | 9 | 745 |
| Buckeye | 970 | 7 | 7 | 572 |
| Maricopa County, all jurisdictions | 88,094 | 560 | 594 | 37,649 |
Source: 2024 Arizona Motor Vehicle Crash Facts, Table 2-5. ADOT notes that individual city totals may be incomplete where an agency reported late. County totals include unincorporated areas and are not the sum of the cities listed here.
How crashes happen, and which types kill
The most common crash in Arizona is not the most dangerous one. Rear-end collisions are by far the most frequent, but left-turn and head-on crashes produce a share of deaths far out of proportion to how often they occur.
| Collision type | Crashes | Share of crashes | Fatal crashes | Share of fatal crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rear end | 38,654 | 37.51% | 91 | 11.50% |
| Sideswipe, same direction | 19,208 | 18.64% | 34 | 4.30% |
| Angle | 18,182 | 17.64% | 96 | 12.14% |
| Left turn | 16,866 | 16.37% | 127 | 16.06% |
| Head on | 2,023 | 1.96% | 83 | 10.49% |
| Sideswipe, opposite direction | 1,639 | 1.59% | 10 | 1.26% |
| U-turn | 983 | 0.95% | 8 | 1.01% |
| All multi-vehicle crashes | 103,050 | 100% | 791 | 100% |
Head-on crashes were 1.96 percent of multi-vehicle crashes but 10.49 percent of the fatal ones. Put another way, a head-on collision was roughly five times more likely to end in a death than its frequency alone would suggest.
When crashes happen
In 2024 the busiest hour for crashes of any kind was 3pm to 4pm, but the deadliest was 6pm to 7pm. Friday was the peak day for both. Weekends produced 27.53 percent of all crashes and 39.75 percent of fatal ones.
People outside a vehicle
Pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists make up a small share of Arizona crashes and a large share of Arizona deaths. The gap between those two shares is the clearest single measure of risk on this page.
| Road user | Crashes | Share of all crashes | Killed | Share of all deaths | Injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pedestrians | 2,079 | 1.72% | 263 | 21.42% | 1,912 |
| Motorcyclists | 3,036 | 2.51% | 219 | 17.83% | 2,503 |
| Cyclists | 1,379 | 1.14% | 44 | 3.58% | 1,349 |
Pedestrians
12.55 percent of pedestrian crashes in Arizona were fatal in 2024, against 3.19 percent of bicycle crashes. Of the 263 pedestrians killed, 139 were crossing the road. Maricopa and Pima counties together accounted for 79.85 percent of pedestrian deaths, with 158 in Maricopa alone.
Motorcyclists
Motorcycle crashes were 2.51 percent of all Arizona crashes in 2024 but 7.18 percent of fatal crashes. Left-turn collisions caused 38.89 percent of fatal multi-vehicle motorcycle crashes, the single largest category. Among riders in crashes, 12.75 percent of those not wearing a helmet suffered fatal injuries, against 7.11 percent of those wearing one. Arizona requires helmets only for riders under 18.
Motorcyclist deaths fell to 194 in 2025, an 11 percent decline from 218 in 2024.
Cyclists
Bicycle crashes are the one category moving the wrong way. Arizona recorded 1,640 bicyclist crashes in 2025, up from the year before, while pedestrian crashes fell to 1,999. In 2024, Maricopa and Pima counties accounted for 82.02 percent of all bicycle crashes in the state.
What contributes to fatal crashes
ADOT records contributing factors on every crash report. Three appear repeatedly in the fatal ones: speed, impairment, and not wearing a seat belt or helmet.
367 Deaths in crashes involving speed, 2025 Plus 19,831 injuries, 36.3% of all injuries | 334 Deaths in alcohol-related crashes, 2025 28% of all fatal crashes | 320 Deaths of people not using a safety device, 2025 Down from 347 in 2024 | 8,151 Drivers recorded as distracted, 2025 ADOT treats this as an undercount |
Alcohol-related crashes in detail
Male drivers were involved in 72.9 percent of Arizona’s alcohol-related crashes in 2025. Drivers aged 25 to 34 made up 31.7 percent of drivers in those crashes, the largest age group. A total of 2,397 alcohol-related crashes happened on nights and weekends, 43.57 percent of the yearly total.
ADOT counts a crash as alcohol related when the investigating officer indicated that a driver, pedestrian, or cyclist had been drinking. That designation does not require a blood or breath test and does not establish that anyone was legally impaired.
Hit and run
Arizona recorded 16,136 hit-and-run crashes in 2024, about 13.3 percent of all crashes. Those crashes included 84 fatal ones and 86 deaths.
What crashes cost Arizona
ADOT applies Federal Highway Administration crash cost figures to produce an annual economic loss estimate. The 2024 total was 20.89 billion dollars statewide, of which 11.83 billion fell in Maricopa County.
| Category | Estimated loss |
|---|---|
| Fatalities | $11.68 billion |
| Suspected minor injuries | $3.59 billion |
| Possible injuries | $2.76 billion |
| Suspected serious injuries | $1.97 billion |
| Property damage only | $0.88 billion |
| Statewide total | $20.89 billion |
These are societal cost estimates covering medical care, lost productivity, emergency response, property damage, and quality of life. They are not settlement values and have no bearing on what any individual claim is worth.
Common questions about Arizona crash data
How many people died on Arizona roads in 2025?
1,156 people died in traffic crashes on all Arizona roads in 2025, a 5.2 percent decrease from 2024 and the third consecutive annual decline. ADOT published the figure on 27 August 2026.
How many crashes happen in Phoenix each year?
Phoenix recorded 37,472 crashes in 2024, the most recent year with city-level data. Those crashes included 265 fatal crashes, 278 deaths, and 15,057 injuries. That works out to about 103 crashes a day.
Is driving in Arizona more dangerous than the national average?
By the standard measure, yes. Arizona recorded 1.74 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles travelled in 2024. The national rate for the same year was 1.19, so Arizona’s rate was about 46 percent higher.
What is the most common type of crash in Arizona?
Rear-end collisions. They accounted for 38,654 multi-vehicle crashes in 2024, or 37.51 percent of the total. They are not the deadliest type: rear-end crashes produced 11.50 percent of fatal multi-vehicle crashes.
Which type of crash is most likely to kill someone?
Head-on collisions carry the highest risk relative to how often they happen. They were 1.96 percent of multi-vehicle crashes in 2024 but 10.49 percent of the fatal ones. Left-turn crashes produced the largest raw number of multi-vehicle deaths, with 127 fatal crashes.
How dangerous is walking in Arizona?
12.55 percent of pedestrian crashes in Arizona were fatal in 2024, roughly four times the rate for bicycle crashes. Pedestrians were 1.72 percent of people involved in crashes but 21.42 percent of those killed. Of the 263 pedestrians killed, 139 were crossing the road.
When do most fatal crashes happen in Arizona?
In 2024 the peak hour for fatal crashes was 6pm to 7pm and the peak day was Friday. Weekends accounted for 27.53 percent of all crashes but 39.75 percent of fatal crashes. April was the peak month for fatal crashes, while October saw the most crashes overall.
Which Arizona county has the most crashes?
Maricopa County, by a wide margin. It recorded 88,094 crashes in 2024, which is 72.74 percent of the statewide total, and 560 fatal crashes, or 50.13 percent of the state total.
Are motorcycle crashes overrepresented in Arizona deaths?
Yes. Motorcycle crashes were 2.51 percent of all Arizona crashes in 2024 but 7.18 percent of fatal crashes. Left-turn collisions caused 38.89 percent of fatal multi-vehicle motorcycle crashes. Motorcyclist deaths fell to 194 in 2025.
How much do traffic crashes cost Arizona each year?
ADOT estimated the statewide economic loss from motor vehicle crashes at 20.89 billion dollars in 2024, using Federal Highway Administration crash cost figures. Maricopa County accounted for 11.83 billion of that total.
Where does this data come from, and how current is it?
Statewide 2025 figures come from ADOT’s release of 27 August 2026. County and city figures come from the 2024 Motor Vehicle Crash Facts report, published 9 July 2025, because ADOT has not yet published the full 2025 report with county and city tables. National figures come from NHTSA. This page is updated when ADOT publishes new data.
Using this data
Journalists, researchers, students, and public agencies are welcome to reproduce any figure or chart on this page. No permission request is needed. We ask only for attribution and a link, so readers can check the underlying ADOT and NHTSA sources for themselves.
If you need a figure that is not shown here, or a breakdown for a specific Phoenix-area city, get in touch and we will pull it from the source tables.
Sources and method
Nothing on this page is estimated, modelled, or adjusted by us. Every number is transcribed from a published government table, and the year is stated wherever a figure appears.
- Arizona Department of Transportation, “Traffic fatalities on Arizona roads decline for third year in a row,” news release, 27 August 2026. Source for all 2025 statewide figures.
- Arizona Department of Transportation, 2024 Motor Vehicle Crash Facts for the State of Arizona, published 9 July 2025. Source for all county, city, collision type, vulnerable road user, and economic loss figures. Specific tables cited in the notes beneath each table on this page.
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities and Fatality Rate in 2025, DOT HS 813 800. Source for the 2025 national estimate of 36,640 deaths and the 1.10 rate.
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2024 annual traffic fatality data, reporting 39,254 deaths and a rate of 1.19 per 100 million vehicle miles travelled.
A note on comparing years. ADOT revises prior-year totals as late crash reports are filed, so a figure for a given year can change between reports. Where this page shows a year-over-year comparison, both numbers come from the same publication.
