By Gordana “Gordi” Mikalacki, founding attorney, Elmm Law Group · Last updated: October 15, 2026
Arizona has about 120,000 reported car crashes a year. In 2025 it recorded 118,052 crashes, about 323 per day, and 1,156 traffic deaths, about 3 per day, according to ADOT’s Motor Vehicle Crash Facts. Deaths fell for the third straight year but remain near record highs, and Phoenix accounts for about 30% of the state’s crashes.
Sources: ADOT 2025 crash data release (Aug. 27, 2026); ADOT Arizona Motor Vehicle Crash Data, the 2025 Crash Facts dashboard and the 2024 Crash Facts report; IIHS state fatality data, 2024 based on NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Latest full year: 2025.
Arizona traffic deaths hit a record 1,320 in 2022. 2023 was the second-deadliest year on record, ahead of the 1,301 deaths in 2006. Deaths have fallen each year since, but 2025’s 1,156 is still higher than any year from 2007 through 2020.
Source: ADOT Historical Crash Facts dashboard (2022–2024, data as of June 17, 2026) and ADOT’s 2025 release. ADOT revises earlier years as late reports arrive; its printed 2024 report listed 1,228 deaths for 2024 and 1,308 for 2023.
2025 and 2024 totals and alcohol and motorcyclist figures from ADOT’s 2025 release. 2023 totals and speeding-related deaths from the ADOT Crash Facts dashboards for 2023, 2024 and 2025 (the 2025 speeding figure is from ADOT’s release; 2023 and 2024 are dashboard counts, which use a slightly different method, so no percent change is shown).
Phoenix, by far. The City of Phoenix had more reported crashes in 2025 than the next six cities combined.
Source: ADOT 2025 Crash Facts dashboard, filtered by city (data as of June 17, 2026). Share calculated against the dashboard’s statewide total of 117,932 crashes. Counts reflect crashes within each city’s limits, including freeways.
Maricopa County had 83,877 crashes in 2025, about 71% of the state’s total, and 543 deaths, about 47% of the state’s total, according to the ADOT 2025 dashboard. Pima County was second, with 10,440 crashes and 164 deaths.
Source: IIHS, Fatality Facts 2024: State by state, based on NHTSA FARS. Ranks among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. FARS counts (1,229 Arizona deaths in 2024) can differ slightly from ADOT’s.
Unless noted, figures are from ADOT’s 2025 crash data release.
Rear-end crashes are by far the most common type of multi-vehicle crash in Arizona. Left-turn and head-on crashes are rarer but far more likely to be fatal.
Source: ADOT, 2024 Arizona Motor Vehicle Crash Facts, Table 3-1 (manner of collision in multi-unit crashes). Pedestrian, bicycle and single-vehicle crashes are counted separately.
Arizona had 16,136 hit-and-run crashes in 2024, about 13% of all crashes. They killed 86 people and injured 4,202 (ADOT 2024 Crash Facts, Table 5-3). If the driver who hit you is never found, your own uninsured motorist coverage may pay.
Sources: ADOT 2025 release (road type, setting, pedestrians) and ADOT 2025 dashboard (hour and day).
Three years of data point to the same thing: the most crashes happen in the Phoenix metro, more deaths happen on local streets than highways, and speed and impairment drive the deadliest crashes. If you are hurt, get the police report early (here is how to get an accident report in Arizona) and keep the deadlines in mind: two years for most injury lawsuits, and 180 days for a notice of claim if a government vehicle or road is involved (see the Arizona statute of limitations for injury claims).
Statewide and city figures come from the Arizona Department of Transportation: its August 27, 2026 release on 2025 data, the 2025 Crash Facts dashboard (data as of June 17, 2026), the Historical Crash Facts dashboard and the 2024 Crash Facts report. National rankings come from IIHS, based on NHTSA FARS data. ADOT revises recent years as late reports arrive, so the release, the dashboard and the printed report can differ slightly; each figure on this page names its source. Per-day figures and percentage shares are calculated by Elmm Law Group.
To cite this page: Elmm Law Group, “Arizona Car Accident Statistics: A 3-Year Report (2023-2025),” https://getgordi.com/arizona-car-accident-statistics/, updated October 15, 2026. Please name ADOT as the original source of the data.
1,156 people died in traffic crashes on Arizona roads in 2025, according to ADOT. That was down 5.2% from 2024 and the third straight annual decline. The record was 2022, with 1,320 deaths.
About three. ADOT’s 2025 Crash Facts dashboard recorded 1,060 fatal crashes, averaging approximately 2.9 per day.
About 120,000 a year. ADOT recorded 118,052 crashes in 2025, about 323 per day. That is down 4.4% from 123,535 in 2024.
Phoenix, by a wide margin. ADOT’s 2025 data shows 35,008 crashes in the City of Phoenix, about 30% of the statewide total, followed by Mesa (7,838) and Tucson (5,610). Within Phoenix, the highest-risk intersections are in West Phoenix; see our Phoenix intersection rankings.
Arizona is among the deadliest states to drive in. In 2024, Arizona had 16.2 traffic deaths per 100,000 people, the 10th highest rate in the country, and 1.74 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, the 2nd highest after Mississippi. The national averages were 11.5 and 1.19 (IIHS analysis of NHTSA FARS data).
Speed, impairment, and growth are the biggest drivers. Speeding was a factor in 31.8% of 2025 traffic deaths and alcohol in 28.9%, and 320 people killed were not wearing a seat belt or helmet. Wide, fast arterial roads, a fast-growing driver population, and monsoon storms that bring sudden rain and dust also contribute.
Our team can explain your options. Gordi is directly involved in your case. Learn more about our Phoenix car accident lawyer and Mesa car accident lawyer teams. Call our team at 480-329-5084, available 24/7 in English, Spanish and Serbo-Croatian.
Different crashes raise different legal issues. See our Phoenix motorcycle accident lawyer and Phoenix truck accident lawyer pages. For fatal crashes, our Phoenix wrongful death lawyer team helps families; pedestrians hit by vehicles can turn to our Phoenix pedestrian accident lawyer page.
About this page. Compiled by Elmm Law Group, an Arizona personal injury law firm, from the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Crash Data (2022 to 2025) and IIHS’s analysis of NHTSA FARS data. These figures may be freely cited or embedded with attribution and a link to this page.
Because our firm specializes in personal injury cases and handles them exclusively, we provide one-on-one Client-Attorney contact to ensure our clients feel heard. Also, we don’t get paid unless you do! Our team can provide multilingual services in English, Spanish, and Serbo-Croatian.
If you or a loved one has been injured or experienced a car crash, motorcycle wreck, pedestrian accident, trucking collision, bicycle accident, wrongful death, slip and fall, or dog bite, call Elmm Law Group today for a FREE consultation with one of our injury attorneys. We’re available 24/7!
Take your first step towards speaking with our office by contacting us for a FREE consultation today. Call us at (480) 329-5084 or complete the form below. We look forward to evaluating your case!