Phoenix has about 80 traffic crashes reported every day according to the latest in-depth statistics.
The City of Phoenix, in its recent 2024 Road Safety Action Plan annual update, evaluated the complete dataset of 145,152 road accidents between 2019 and 2023. Dividing that number by 1,826 results in an average of 79.5 incidents a day, which is about one crash every 18 minutes. There were 4,220 accidents resulting in fatalities or severe injuries, and 140,932 had less serious consequences out of all the road accidents included in the dataset.
Consider this number to be only an approximation, as it indicates cases reported by the police but does not include crashes that were never reported. Many accidents still go unreported, which is why measurement methods and reporting thresholds can differ significantly.
In the city of Phoenix, traffic accidents occur on an average of 80 times a day. This is equivalent to one accident every 18 minutes which leads to many dangerous situations because of persons speeding or driving after consuming alcohol and also accidents involving pedestrians and people on bicycles.
More Detailed Information on Traffic Crashes Recorded in Phoenix
The annual statistics bring about considerable differences. In 2022, there were 24,489 crashes in Phoenix, which is about 67 incidents a day. Some 9,555 people were injured and 253 died in the accidents reported in the area. The report also states that 16% of all accidents were hit-and-runs, with 3,838 accidents, and 148 accidents occurred in construction areas.
The risk is high for pedestrians as well in the area. According to the statistics, there were 770 pedestrian accidents that resulted in 728 injuries and 110 deaths in 2022. The total number of bicycle accidents reported was 289, with 283 injuries and 15 deaths; 583 motorcycle accidents were recorded too, which brought about 498 injuries and 43 deaths.
Trend analysis conducted recently continues to testify to the concern. Pedestrians were involved in 41% of fatal crashes in Phoenix, even though pedestrian collisions make up only a small portion of the total. Motorcycle accidents accounted for 20% of fatal crashes, which is an increase compared to 15% in the previous baseline period, with the average number of fatal motorcycle crashes growing by 32% compared with the 2016-2020 period.
Another important aspect is speed. Speed was involved in 22% of crashes causing serious injuries or fatalities in Phoenix, while about 41% of those crashes occurred at signalized intersections and the remaining 59% occurred on roadway segments, including unsignalized intersections. In terms of fatal and serious-injury collision types, the predominant types remain pedestrian accidents at 29%, angle collisions at 22%, and accidents involving left-hand turns at 13%.
Vulnerable users of the roadway can be negatively impacted, and the risk of serious injury or death to a pedestrian increases sharply as vehicle speed rises.
Phoenix vs. Arizona
In 2024, Arizona experienced 121,107 accidents, of which 37,376 were accidents with injuries, 82,614 were cases of property damage, and 1,117 were fatal crashes. All the crashes combined led to 1,228 deaths, with the results indicating that the total number of crashes decreased by 1.74% from the previous year.
Of a total of 121,107 accidents, as many as 5,520 were alcohol-related, resulting in 347 deaths and 3,576 injuries. Nearly 71% of the drivers involved were male. In the whole country, the total number of deaths resulting from alcohol-impaired driving crashes equaled 13,524 in 2022, which was about 32% of all traffic fatalities, while speeding was involved in about 29% of traffic fatalities.
The significant population in Phoenix can help explain the risk, especially as the population reached 1,673,164 in 2024 across about 518 square miles, according to the Census Bureau. On the other hand, this number can be reduced through safer speeds, better crossing points, and efforts to prevent impaired driving.
