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School buses assemble in the shape of an assault rifle in Houston on July 14, 2022. The protest was organized by Change the Ref, a group that advocates for gun control. Gun deaths are driving a historic spike in child mortality rates.

After decades of steady improvement, the death rate of America’s children and teens shot up between 2019 and 2021 — and gun-related deaths represented the largest share of the increase — by far. Read more»

An estimated 7,485 pedestrians were struck and killed by drivers in 2021, the most recent full year of statistics available.

As states have seen traffic fatalities and pedestrian deaths climb in recent years, many jurisdictions are reconsidering right turns on red, and safety advocates transportation planners to reconsider a custom so ingrained that few drivers remember a time when it wasn't allowed. Read more»

Traffic fatalities in Arizona last year rose to the highest level since 2016, but the state’s 6.5% increase from 2020 was still well below the 10.5% rise nationally during the same period. Here, the Arizona Department of Transportation Traffic Operation Center monitors traffic throughout the state in this 2017 file photo.

Arizona traffic fatalities hit their highest level in 15 years in 2021, when the state saw a 6.5% increase in highway deaths that experts blame in part on bad driving habits made worse during the pandemic. Read more»

Rush hour traffic on Interstate 10 through Phoenix in a 2018 file photo. New data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that the number of traffic fatalities in the first nine months of 2021 jumped sharply from previous years, both in Arizona and the U.S. as a whole.

Arizona traffic deaths rose 18.4% in the first nine months of 2021 compared to the year before, far outpacing the national 12% increase in the same period, according to the latest numbers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Read more»

A national report card ranked Arizona among the worst states – again – for its lack of highway safety laws. But a state official pushed back, saying the report overlooks Arizona’s aggressive enforcement of its traffic laws, which makes it a safe state for drivers.

Arizona once again ranked near the bottom of states on a national report card on highway safety laws, earning a “danger” rating as a state with just five of 16 recommended laws and no primary enforcement for seat belts. Read more»

The federal government is boosting funding for states to improve their highway safety programs.

The federal government has announced that it is giving nearly $260 million in grants to states to beef up their highway safety - funding which will comes from the recently enacted bipartisan infrastructure law and be used to support a broad range of traffic safety priorities. Read more»

Bicyclist fatalities have been rising in the past decade, as have those involving pedestrians. Experts blame aggressive drivers, more speeding and an increase in distracted driving, largely caused by cell phone use.

COVID-19 has sparked a surge in cycling, as Americans have sought alternatives to crowded gyms, buses and trains, and there also has been an uptick in distracted drivers and speeding over the past 18 months, raising the risks for cyclists on the road. Read more»

A new study says that interstate highway in Arizona are in relatively good shape compared to the rest of the nation, but the state had the highest fatality rate among states in 2018. State officials say risky driver behaviors are likely to blame.

Arizona’s interstate highways are in generally good shape, but they experienced the highest rate of fatalities in the nation in 2018, according to a national report released Tuesday. Read more» 1

Oro Valley Police Cmdr. Chris Olson said Arizona’s recently enacted law banning texting behind the wheel is 'a good start' toward safer driving in the state, as distracted driving is a problem that police see all too often.

Arizona enacted a ban on texting while driving last year, after 10 years of trying, but it still wasn’t enough to pull the state from the bottom of a national report card on traffic safety laws. Read more»

A new report from the Arizona Department of Transportation shows that traffic accidents and subsequent injuries and deaths all rose last year- the sixth year of increases – causing damages in the billions of dollars.

Motor vehicle crashes, injuries and fatalities continued their steady six-year rise in Arizona in 2016, according to the most recent data from the state’s Department of Transportation. Read more»

Stephanie Dembowski, a spokeswoman for AAA, said that cellphones are one of the main distractions on the road.

Bills to restrict distracted driving, ranging from attempts to outlaw texting to banning cellphone use entirely, have failed repeatedly at the Arizona State Legislature in recent years. Read more»

Jacqueline Gillan, president of the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, said her group’s report that said Arizona had the second-worst traffic laws in the nation should be 'a call to action' for the state to pass tougher laws.

Arizona got a failing grade Wednesday from a national highway safety group that said the state has adopted fewer than five of the 15 laws the group considers basic to traffic safety. Read more» 2