PRESS RELEASES

Fewest Highway Deaths in 2009

Fewest number of people killed on Arizona Highways this past year than in each of the past 15 years

Thursday, January 07, 2010 -

Agency investigated nearly half the number of fatal collisions in 2009 that it investigated just three years prior; deaths and personal injuries sustained in collisions on state highway system also drop to level not seen in many years

The Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) investigated fewer fatal collisions in 2009 than in any of the past 15 years. This is despite the fact that the number of miles patrolled by highway patrol officers with DPS has dramatically increased during that time period along with the number of motorists who use state highways in Arizona. What is especially encouraging to DPS is that the number of fatal collisions investigated by the agency has dropped by nearly 50 percent from 2006 to 2009. Personal injuries sustained in collisions investigated by DPS have also sharply declined to a level not seen since 1995. While these statistics are highly encouraging, it is the ultimate goal of DPS that not a single person dies on state highways in Arizona.

The numbers below speak for themselves:

15 year history of DPS Investigated Collisions, Licensed Drivers, Motor Vehicle Registration

Calendar Year	Total Collisions	Fatal Collisions	Injury Collisions	Property Damage Only Collisions	Total Persons Killed	Total Persons Injured	Total Vehicles Involved	Total AZ Licensed Drivers	Total AZ Registered Vehicles
1994	16,819	247	5,108	11,464	313	8,826	28,226	2,631,218	2,786,435
1995	18,329	272	5,602	12,455	340	9,577	31,537	2,776,877	2,945,574
1996	19,238	275	5,975	12,988	347	10,185	33,246	3,127,080	3,187,190
1997	20,530	265	6,306	13,959	308	10,664	35,701	3,187,150	3,393,170
1998	22,310	293	6,551	15,466	354	11,019	39,070	3,598,325	3,683,891
1999	22,778	307	6,876	15,595	366	11,414	40,226	3,372,187	3,731,126
2000	25,504	327	7,757	17,420	414	12,738	45,309	3,529,732	3,983,860
2001	26,449	309	7,823	18,317	352	14,372	47,212	3,550,766	4,037,359
2002	29,152	326	8,662	20,164	395	13,907	52,392	3,668,704	4,089,662
2003	29,301	361	8,589	20,351	440	16,424	52,865	3,819,823	4,193,262
2004	32,144	379	9,134	22,631	466	14,791	58,587	3,784,365	4,364,857
2005	33,212	376	9,375	23,461	456	14,813	60,713	3,963,005	4,556,448
2006	33,828	402	9,390	24,036	480	18,629	61,975	4,091,789	4,748,957
2007	32,999	323	9,059	23,617	372	15,120	60,116	4,212,393	4,848,162
2008	28,109	288	7,712	20,109	345	14730	50,703	4,360,711	4,842,188
2009	23,698	213	6521	16,964	264	10,051	42,356	*4,403,942	*4,883,381

* June, 09 MVD point in time report for licensed drivers, November, 09 point in time report for registered vehicles excluding non-powered and off-road vehicles. Total Licensed Drivers and Registered Vehicles courtesy of ADOT.

15 year history of Alcohol related collisions investigated by DPS

Calendar Year	Total Alcohol Related Collisions	Alcohol Related Fatal Collisions	Alcohol Related Injury Collisions	Alcohol Related Property Damage Collisions	Alcohol Related Collision Deaths	Alcohol Related Collision Personal Injuries	Total Vehicles Involved	Alcohol Related Hit and Run Collisions	DUI Arrests From Alcohol Related Collisions	DUI Responsible For Collision
1994	1,173	59	643	471	79	1,199	1,747	104	723	740
1995	1,255	72	660	523	84	1,269	1,879	122	839	850
1996	1,237	74	684	479	96	1,248	1,893	124	836	861
1997	1,277	76	685	516	84	1,299	1,976	140	816	941
1998	1,300	57	686	557	66	1,168	1,981	155	852	985
1999	1,279	57	687	535	72	1,169	1,986	161	840	1008
2000	1,441	61	746	634	83	1,326	2,261	224	980	1145
2001	1,304	58	659	587	66	1,071	1,970	159	901	1084
2002	1,315	49	662	604	59	1,082	2,015	121	949	1108
2003	1,395	61	733	601	75	1,216	2,195	166	981	1197
2004	1,477	70	715	692	79	1,177	2,271	172	1065	1287
2005	1,534	59	729	746	65	1,210	2,408	199	1068	1315
2006	1,408	46	657	705	54	1,037	2,205	183	1011	1223
2007	1,322	43	612	667	47	978	2,014	185	998	1178
2008	1,160	42	568	550	46	875	1,768	159	892	1036
2009	876	32	384	460	34	596	1,315	137	700	800

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