Arizona Fatal Bus Accident Statistics
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Arizona reported 91 fatalities involving large trucks and buses for 2015. This number is up significantly from 2013 with 63 and 2014 with 67. However, it is a significant drop from 2005 with 118 and 2006 with 136.
The number of fatal crashes for the year was 79, up from 59 in 2014. A total of 88 buses and big rigs were involved in these crashes for 2015. Of these accidents, 17 were single-vehicle accidents, which is only a slight increase over previous years. The dramatic change is in the number of multiple-vehicle accidents, which is up from 43 in 2014 to 62 in 2015.
Arizona has a rate of 11.57 fatal crashes per million people for 2015, which is up from 2010 with a rate of 8.14. This number is slightly higher than the US average of 11.19. Nationally, the majority of accidents happen during daytime hours in non-construction zones on dry pavement.
Buses may be defined as school buses, intercity transit buses, van-buses or any vehicle carrying more than nine passengers, including the driver. The majority of fatalities involving these large vehicles in 2015 occurred in Maricopa County with 21. This number is down from the previous year, which recorded 28. This is contrasted with many other counties in Arizona, such as Pima County which had six fatalities, down from 11 in 2014. Pinal County in the southern portion of the state recorded 10 fatalities involving large trucks/buses for the year. This number is down from the 13 recorded in 2014. Coconino County reported nine fatalities, which was triple the number recorded in 2014.
Other counties, like Apache County in the northeastern corner of Arizona, reported lower numbers with two for 2015. For some, these numbers are an increase over previous years, such as with Apache, which had no fatalities the year before.