Red Light Crashes on the Rise in Arizona

In 2022, Arizona saw almost 5,000 red-light running crashes. Arizona is number one in the nation for red light runners.

There are few things that make us madder than red-light runners.  Red means stop and yellow means slow down and prepare to stop, not “gun it and race through the intersection.”

In 2022, nearly 70 people died through no fault of their own because another driver did not want to stop for the red-light. According to AAA, Arizona is number one in the nation when it comes to the number of people killed by drivers blowing through a red light.

Red Light Runners Can Be Charged With Homicide

You should know that Arizona law does not consider these just “car accidents.” These are homicides and the red light runner will likely be spending years in jail because they did not want to wait 2 minutes.

The data from ADOT shows Maricopa County drivers are the highest offenders—keeping in mind that the data only tracks crashes and not total red-light runners.  You can use this link for an interactive map: This interactive map gives a great visual of red-light runners in Arizona.

It is immediately apparent that downtown Phoenix and areas along the I-17 are common hot zones for red light accidents.

The scary part of these statistics is that as we came out of the Covid pandemic, the numbers of drivers were gradually increasing. The hope was that people would be more mindful of the other cars around them, but reckless driving seems to have increased well beyond pre-pandemic numbers.

Please be more mindful while driving.  Slow down when you see a yellow light.  And if you are about to go through an intersection where the light just turned green, take a moment to look both ways and make sure no one is running the light.

Have you or someone you know has been in a red-light crash in Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe or other city in Arizona? Call the experienced car accident lawyers at Gage Mathers Law Group for a free consultation.