In the last decade, there were 187 drivers involved in wrong-way fatalities in Arizona.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration publishes a database of nationwide crash statistics. To pinpoint wrong-way driving deaths, ABC 15 looked at fatal crashes when vehicles were traveling in the opposite direction on two-way divided interstates, state highways, or major roads. The data only includes drivers involved and does not distinguish between the victim and the perpetrator of the crash.
The number of wrong-way fatality crashes in Arizona is trending up. In 2020 there were 26 wrong-way fatalities compared to 15 the previous year. Between 2010 and 2015 the average number of annual wrong-way fatalities in Arizona was 12. The average nearly doubled to 22.4 from 2016 to 2020.
The majority, 68%, of wrong-way fatalities happen at night and in the early morning hours between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. Wrong-way fatalities mainly occur between midnight and 8 a.m., which had twice as many crash fatalities as the evening hours.
Often the drivers are younger. 58% of wrong-way fatalities are drivers under the age of 44. Of the two smallest populations of drivers, 15 to 24 and over the age of 75, the younger group of drivers had more than double the wrong-way fatalities.
Wrong-way driver fatalities are more common in rural areas of Arizona. Of the 187 fatalities, 102 occurred on highways and major roads outside of the state’s two major metro areas of Phoenix and Tucson. This was not consistent by year. Both 2016 and 2017 had more urban wrong-way fatalities, but in 2019 and 2020 there were about half.
Alcohol plays a major factor. For the entire decade of data, drivers involved in wrong-way fatalities that had no alcohol in their system remains mostly unchanged. Fatalities, where drivers had about twice the legal limit of .08%, rose considerably in 2016 and make up a majority of fatal crash statistics after that year except for 2019.
How does Arizona compare to other states in wrong-way driver fatalities? Arizona had 187 wrong-way driver deaths from 2010 to 2020. The state ranked 10th in overall deaths during that time, tied with Oklahoma. It was also 22nd per capita.
Texas had the most, 1,041 followed by Florida and California. In other states in the Southwest, Nevada had 118 and New Mexico 62.