It’s a bronze medal we really don’t want — Arizona’s intersections ranked No. 3 most dangerous in the nation.
That’s according to a nationwide study released Friday by Burbank, Calif.-based Simmrin Law Group. They crunched the numbers for intersection accidents nationwide from 2018 to 2022.
Arizona had 4.09 intersection wrecks per 100,000 residents, a full 47% higher than the national average. According to the study, Arizona drivers were on their best behavior in 2019 but are at their worst this year.
“At intersections, drivers often speed, get distracted or fail to judge turning gaps correctly,” said a Simmrin Law spokesperson. “Pedestrians and cyclists are especially at risk, as they share the same space while vehicles navigate multiple directions of travel.”
Most of the wrecks occurred in metro Phoenix with outsized contributions from Maricopa — there were more crashes inside city limits in 2023 than five entire Arizona counties.
SR 347 intersections among most dangerous
Just a few months ago, State Route 347 intersections were ranked among the most dangerous in the western U.S.
The Maricopa Road at SR 347 intersection’s dangers might have declined since a traffic light and southbound acceleration lane was installed in late 2022, the last year of the analysis.
From 2004 to 2022 there were five fatal crashes with six fatalities at Maricopa Road and SR 347, the analysis of the T-intersection found.
Arizona Department of Transportation data shows more than two-thirds of collisions were the result of a rear-end crash, and the highest number of crashes occurred in the 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. hours.
“That really represents a commuter type of crash,” said Brent Cain, a division director for ADOT. He added that crashes are “heavy in the morning and heavy in the evening, which does match the peak traffic conditions.”
A total of 967 crashes were reported on State Route 347 from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2022, alone, the state DOT reports.
This means an average of 193 crashes occurred each year, or nearly one crash every other day.
Digging into the latest ADOT crash data, Pinal County spends $1.2 billion per year on accidents every year. Pinal County was responsible for 5,633 of the state’s 122,247 wrecks.
Of those, 505 happened within Maricopa city limits. That is more than one wreck per day.
Just 29 of those were deemed to be alcohol related.
Some of the most dangerous intersections in the city are:
![A trio of campaign signs sit on the southeastern corner of John Wayne Parkway and Bowlin Road on May 21, 2026. [Monica D. Spencer]](https://inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260521-spencer-campaign-signs-2-300x200.jpg)
