Truck accident statistics for Maricopa County, Arizona (2020-2024)

Truck accident deaths in Maricopa County by year

Annual truck accident deaths rose from 37 in 2020 to 50 in 2021 and reached 70 in 2022. The count then fell to 55 in 2023 and 44 in 2024. The highest count was in 2022, while 2020 had the lowest. The 2024 count was 7 deaths higher than the 2020 count.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

The share of all traffic deaths occurring in truck accidents was 7.5% in 2020, 8.3% in 2021, 10.3% in 2022, 8.1% in 2023 and 7.4% in 2024. That share was highest in 2022 and lowest in 2024. Across the reporting period, the average was 51.2 truck accident deaths per year.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Deaths within 30 days in crashes on public roads. 2024 figures come from the FARS Annual Report File and can be revised.

Who died in Maricopa County truck accidents

People in the large truck accounted for 25 deaths, or 9.8%. People in other vehicles accounted for 188 deaths, or 73.4%, the largest person category. The row "Pedestrians, bicyclists and other people outside vehicles" recorded 43 deaths, or 16.8%, in truck accidents from 2020 through 2024.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

That quoted label denotes the FARS nonoccupant grouping, including pedestrians, pedalcyclists and other or unknown nonoccupants. It is not a literal test of whether someone was outside a vehicle: the other category can include occupants of motor vehicles not in transport, such as parked vehicles.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

The trucks involved

Fatal truck accidents in Maricopa County involved 243 large trucks during 2020 through 2024. Truck-tractors, described as semi or tractor-trailer units, numbered 109 and represented 44.9% of those trucks. Single-unit and other large trucks numbered 134. The records identified 5 large trucks as jackknifed.^{[1][2][3][4][5][8][7]}

These figures count vehicles, rather than crashes or deaths. A fatal crash can involve multiple large trucks, so the truck count is a separate measure from the 224 fatal crashes and 256 deaths recorded for the period. The jackknifed figure likewise counts trucks.^{[1][2][3][4][5][8][7]}

Counts are trucks, not crashes. One crash can involve more than one large truck.

How the fatal truck crashes happened

Manner of collision describes the first harmful event. Truck accident deaths were recorded as Angle (side impact), 76; Head-on, 25; Rear-end, 74; Sideswipe, 19; Other, 1; and Not reported, 1. "Not a collision with another moving vehicle" accounted for 60 deaths. This means no collision with a motor vehicle in transport, including events such as striking a pedestrian, cyclist, parked vehicle or fixed object, or a rollover. Vehicles stopped in traffic can be in transport.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Separately, crash configuration groups deaths by vehicle count: single-vehicle crashes accounted for 49 deaths (19.1%), two-vehicle crashes for 140 (54.7%), and crashes involving three or more vehicles for 67 (26.2%). These shares describe deaths, not crash counts.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Interstates, time of day and setting

Interstate-coded truck accident deaths numbered 69, or 27.0%. The listed route-coded counts were 51 on I-10, 16 on I-17 and 2 on I-8. These figures require an interstate route classification and a parseable interstate route number; the listed routes are a coded subset, not a full road network.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Daytime accounted for 149 deaths (58.2%), nighttime for 106 (41.4%), and unreported time for 1 (0.4%). Urban locations recorded 206 deaths (80.5%), rural locations 47 (18.4%), and unreported land use 3 (1.2%). Work-zone truck accident deaths numbered 21. Each of these counts measures deaths, rather than trucks or crashes.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Truck accident death rate compared with Arizona and the United States

Maricopa County's truck accident death rate was 1.1 average annual deaths per 100,000 residents for 2020 through 2024. Arizona's rate was 2.0, and the United States rate was 1.6. The county rate was lower than both.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Among the listed neighboring counties, rates were 5.7 in Yavapai County, 1.2 in Pima County, 2.4 in Pinal County and 38.7 in La Paz County. Maricopa County's rate was lower than each listed neighbor's rate. These population-based rates do not adjust for miles driven or visitors. For readers searching for a truck accident lawyer, remember that the deaths used here are grouped by crash location, not by where the people lived.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Rates divide deaths by the sum of annual Census population estimates, so they show deaths per 100,000 residents per year. They do not adjust for miles driven or for visitors.

About these figures

FARS is NHTSA's census of fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes. Inclusion requires a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and an occupant or nonoccupant death within 30 days. Nonfatal crashes and injuries are excluded. County counts identify where crashes happened, not where those killed lived.^[9][6][7][8]

Records for 2020 through 2023 use FARS Final Files. The 2024 Annual Report File remains subject to revision. Rates divide 2020 through 2024 deaths by the sum of annual Census Bureau population estimates from Vintage 2025, then multiply by 100,000. This yields average annual deaths per 100,000 residents. The separately displayed July 1, 2024 population estimate is not the rate denominator.^[9][6][7][8]

See also

• Truck accident statistics for La Paz County, Arizona (2020-2024)
• Truck accident statistics for Pima County, Arizona (2020-2024)
• Truck accident statistics for Pinal County, Arizona (2020-2024)

On related publications

• Car accident statistics for Maricopa County, Arizona (2020-2024) (caraccidentlawyers.wiki)