Drunk Driving Accidents Archives

DUI task force fights to reduce Arizona drunk driving accidents

The West Valley DUI Task Force was out in force over the NASCAR weekend, making 39 arrests in the fight to reduce the number of serious and fatal Arizona drunk driving accidents.

Nationwide, someone dies in a drunk-driving accident every 45 minutes, according to government statistics.

“People that are impaired, it’s imperative to get them off the roadway,” Goodyear Police Officer Kory Miyazato told the Arizona Republic. “It’s just like someone that commits murder. I see it the same way. It’s someone behind the wheel, crashing into someone, killing someone.”

About one-third of all fatal Arizona traffic accidents involve a drunk driver, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. In 2008, 294 alcohol-related crashes killed 324 and injured more than 4,700.

The West Valley DUI Task Force is comprised of most West Valley law enforcement agencies, which team up and descend on a chosen city with 40 to 60 officers for a night of saturation patrols hunting for impaired drivers. Participating police departments include Avondale, Goodyear, Buckeye, Peoria, El Mirage, Glendale, Phoenix, Tolleson and Surprise, as well as the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Public Safety. The agency was formed in the 1990s and receives funding from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to pay for overtime, training and equipment.

Arizona law permits someone to be arrested for DUI even if their blood alcohol limit is below .08. In 2008, another 63 fatalities in Arizona were caused by drivers with a blood-alcohol level of .01 to .07, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

DUI arrests by the task force increased to 4,827 in 2009 from 3,788 in 2008, according to the Office of Highway Safety. Nineteen similar task forces operate statewide, including in East Valley, northern Arizona and southern Arizona.

Nationwide, drunk drivers killed 11,773 people in 2008, or one-third of all traffic fatalities. In 1,347 cases, a child younger than 14 was killed while riding in a vehicle with a drunk driver. Another 34 kids were killed in bicycle or pedestrian accidents involving someone who was driving drunk.
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Arizona Injury Lawyers review 2008 traffic data as state prepares to issue 2009 statistics

by Dave Abels

As the State of Arizona prepares to issue a comprehensive report on traffic accidents for last year, a look at the 2008 traffic report provides an in-depth look at traffic safety in The Grand Canyon State.

A total of 937 people were killed in 842 fatal Arizona traffic accidents in 2008. In all, 119,588 Arizona traffic accidents were reported, injuring more than 56,000, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. Crash statistics for last year will be released in the coming weeks. Nationwide, more than 6 million crashes killed 41,059 people, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported.Urban accidents were responsible for the majority of the state’s traffic crashes, with 81,566 accidents, compared to 23,113 in rural areas. However, more people were killed in rural accidents.

Of accident types:
–Arizona bicycle accidents accounted for 1,989 crashes.

-Pedestrian accidents in Arizona were responsible for 1,524 traffic crashes.

-Motorcycle accidents accounted for 3,531 traffic collisions in Arizona.

-24,161 single-vehicle crashes were reported.

-Multi-vehicle crashes were the primary type of traffic accidents, with 95,427 reported.

Drunk driving accidents accounted for about one-third of all fatal traffic accidents in 2008, with 294 of 842 deadly accidents blamed on impaired drivers.

Of fatal accidents:
-414 occurred in urban areas.

-523 occurred in rural areas.

-114 young drivers under the age of 24 were killed.

Other findings include:
-February was the peak month for crashes.

-More accidents occurred on Friday than any other day of the week.

-Early evening rush hour — between 4 and 5 p.m.– was the most dangerous time on the roads.

-Saturday was the deadliest day of the week.

-Rear-end collisions were the most common type of traffic accident in Arizona.

-The most common citation issued to drivers was “speed too fast for conditions.”