Pinal County sheriff’s deputies wrote more distracted driving citations in 2025, underscoring what traffic officials say remains a stubborn safety issue on area roads.

According to Sgt. Darin Erickson of the Traffic Vehicle Crimes Unit, deputies issued 301 distracted driving citations last year, up from 271 in 2024. That increase represents an 11% jump in distracted driving citations year over year, outpacing Pinal County’s 3.7% population growth during the same period.

“There are many other traffic stop contacts that resulted in verbal warnings or educational contacts for drivers who were using their cell phone while driving,” Erickson said in an email today. “Cellphone-distracted drivers continue to be a major problem for roadway safety.”

Police began more frequently citing distracted driving as a crash factor in statements to the press by late 2025.

A driver reportedly distracted by a dog rear-ended a stopped vehicle Oct. 28 in a construction zone on Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway, crushing the front end of a gray Kia Soul. On Thanksgiving night, another suspected distracted driver drifted into the opposite lane on Smith-Enke Road before overcorrecting into a wall, sending the driver to a hospital.

The most recent ADOT data shows that while most Arizona counties saw traffic fatalities decline or level off, Pinal County recorded a more than 19% year-over-year increase in deaths in 2024.

Grant funding has targeted the issue. Also in November, the Arizona Department of Public Safety received $25,000 in federal dollars specifically for distracted driving enforcement on State Route 347 as part of a broader traffic safety funding package.

Reader sentiment reflects the concern. In an InMaricopa poll of 2,232 people conducted following a deadly string of pedestrian crashes last week, distracted driving ranked No. 1 among eight possible causes, with 27% putting it in their top three factors.

Kate Sandell, executive director of Maricopa-based Survivors Against Distracted Driving, reacted to the tragic recent trend.

“These are not just numbers, they are lives,” she told InMaricopa today. “The numbers will continue to go up unless accountability reigns are pulled in and drivers take the fact that being behind the wheel is a privilege, not something owed. All it takes is one second to alter someone else’s life if not take it completely.”

Local and state officials continue urging drivers to put phones down and eliminate other distractions as traffic volumes rise, with Maricopa’s fast-growing population outpacing all other Pinal County cities despite its relatively poor road connectivity.