Four designated "Safety Corridors" across Arizona highways were put in place a year ago to help decrease collisions, but have they really had an impact?
ADOT implemented the 'Safety Corridors' in two phases: Phase I was implemented on Dec. 20, 2016, and Phase II was implemented on January 31, 2017.
Data spanning back to 2014, obtained from the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Safety, doesn't show a significant decrease in collisions since the corridors were put in place.
One of the corridors, U.S. 60 from milepost 177-190, actually saw an increase in collisions in 2017 compared to 2016.
Three of the corridors, two on Interstate 10 and one on Interstate 40, did see a slight decrease in collisions.
Click on each 'Safety Corridor' on the map to see detailed collision stats.
Both departments have yet to draw final conclusions from the first year of implementation, and ADOT said they plan to work with additional partner agencies to review findings.
Take a look at the collision charts below to see a breakdown of each corridor.
There was no word on future 'Safety Corridor' implementations, but the existing corridors could remain in place for up to another year.
When asked about the program and its effectiveness, DPS said that there was insufficient data to say whether or not it is a success.
“One fatality is too many, that’s what we’re going to say, one fatality is too many,” according to DPS spokesman Kameron Lee.
Lee said the state of Arizona has added one million drivers in the past 10 years.
Since statistics on vehicle traffic in these specific areas were not available, the numbers are not adjusted to possible fluctuations in driver traffic between years.
