This analysis focuses on a hypothetical head on east/west collision
on Thomas Rd at 67th Ave in Phoenix in 2025.
In the example collision, plaintiff's vehicle was traveling eastbound and was struck head-on by a westbound vehicle.
Click on the icons in the map above to view some of the public data points about each crash.
A hypothetical 2025 crash occurred on Thomas Road at or near 67th Avenue in Phoenix. Plaintiff’s vehicle was traveling eastbound when it was struck head-on by a westbound vehicle that drifted out of the middle turning lane.
Using ten years of Arizona crash data, the data identical to what Arizona municipalities have access to, this analysis evaluates whether prior crash history at the same location could support a claim that the intersection or road segment had a known and recurring safety problem.
Highly similar crashes have occurred at the same location 18 times in the previous ten years, which is significantly higher than at similar intersections. This history suggests that the crash was not an isolated or unpredictable event. Instead, the data indicates a recurring pattern of crashes at or near the same intersection/road segment involving similar roadway conflict conditions.
Over the ten-year lookback period, the Thomas Road and 67th Avenue location experienced head-on east-west crashes at the following rates. The consistency of crashes across the full ten-year period supports an argument that the location had a persistent safety issue. The crash history shows that a similar crash occurred at this location approximately once every 200 days, suggesting the risk was recurring enough to be detected through routine traffic safety review, collision monitoring, or complaint-driven investigation.
Similar prior crashes
Average similar crashes per year
Years with at least one similar crash
Highest annual similar crash count
Lowest annual similar crash count
18
1.8
8 of 10
3 (2021, 2024)
0 (2020)
Compared with similar two-arterial intersections citywide, this location experienced a substantially elevated rate of similar, east-west head-on collisions. In practical terms, this means the location performed worse than approximately 80% of Similar Arterial-Arterial Phoenix intersections for this type of crash pattern.
Similar crashes at Thomas/67th
Avg similar crashes per intersection
Relative crash frequency
Percentile rank among intersections
18
6.4
2.8x higher
80th percentile
Similar crashes at this location were also more likely to result in injury than comparable crashes citywide. This suggests that the location was not only crash-prone, but also unusually dangerous when crashes occurred.
Injury Metric
Similar crashes resulting in injury
Severe injury or fatality rate
Relative likelihood of injury
Relative likelihood of serious/fatal injury
Thomas/67th
42%
7%
1.56x higher
2.33x higher
Similar Crashes Citywide
27%
3%
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Because the hypothetical incident involved an eastbound vehicle struck by a westbound vehicle, the most relevant subset is crashes involving opposing-direction or lane-departure dynamics. This intersection's unusually high tier, citywide, for both opposite-direction crashes and lane-departure crashes indicates that roadway design, traffic control, lane markings, access management, median protection, and/or signal operations contributed to repeated conflicts. The ten-year crash history showed recurring indicators consistent with opposing-direction conflicts, and the ranking of Thomas & 67th Ave in each category, for similar two-arterial intersections, including
Type of Crash
Head-on or opposing-direction crashes
Crashes involving improper lane use
Crashes involving left-of-center/ lane departure
Crashes involving left-hand turns into oncoming traffic
Crashes involving east/westbound vehicle conflict
# at Thomas/67th
18
21
14
89
256
Percentile, Citywide
80th
75th
68th
60th
82nd
The crash data also reflects recurring behavioral risk factors at the location. The presence of repeated speed-related and distraction-related crashes may support the argument that the City knew or should have known that ordinary driver error was producing recurring harm at this location. The data may support an argument that roadway design or traffic control failed to safely account for foreseeable driver behavior.
Behavior Factors
Speeding-related crashes
Distracted/inattentive driving crashes
Crashes involving failure to control speed
Crashes w/ unsafe lane change/ improper movement
# at Thomas/67th
19
23
28
17
Percentile, Citywide
75th
77th
68th
55th
The location also showed a recurring hit-and-run pattern happening at higher rates than at similar arterial-arterial intersections, citywide. A higher hit-and-run rate may indicate recurring nighttime crashes, pedestrian exposure, high-speed conditions, poor visibility, or lack of traffic calming.
Hit-and-run crashes at Thomas & 67th Ave
Similar crashes that were Hit-and-runs
Percent of similar crashes involving hit-and-run
Phoenix citywide similar-crash hit-and-run rate
Relative hit-and-run rate
101
11
61%
41%
1.5x higher
Crashes were not evenly distributed across all conditions. The concentration during afternoon/evening periods suggests that traffic volume, turning conflicts, glare, lighting, or congestion may be relevant to the location’s crash history. That dark/lighted crashes are 15% more frequent here than in the city at large, this indicates that lighting was a possible intervention not fully pursued by the city in their response efforts.
Daylight similar crashes
Dark/lighted crashes
Dark/unlighted crashes
Dawn/dusk crashes
Peak crash window
Secondary crash window
12
6 (15% higher than the City at large)
0
3
3 PM–7 PM
9 PM–1 AM
The ten-year crash history at Thomas Road and 67th Avenue shows a recurring and measurable pattern of similar crashes before the hypothetical 2025 head-on collision.
With 18 similar prior crashes, an average of 1.8 similar crashes per year, and a crash frequency more than 13 times higher than the average Phoenix intersection, the data supports the position that this location had a known and persistent safety problem.
The data further suggests that crashes at this location were more likely to result in injury than similar crashes citywide. The recurring presence of speed, distraction, improper movement, hit-and-run, and opposing-direction conflict indicators strengthens the argument that the risk was foreseeable and that reasonable safety interventions should have been considered before the plaintiff’s crash.
This intersection would be a strong candidate for further municipal liability investigation, expert traffic engineering review, and targeted discovery into the City’s knowledge of prior crashes and roadway safety concerns.
Visualizations
Intersection Risk Statistics
My report will include visualizations for any risk statistics relevant to the analysis.
Here are some examples for Thomas Rd & 67th Avenue:
My Services
I help show whether an Arizona intersection or road segment was known by the municipality to be dangerous. Using a database of ten years of statewide comprehensive crash data from Arizona Dept of Transportation, the public data identical to what Arizona municipalities have access to, I establish notice, pattern, and foreseeability on the part of the municipality for similar crashes and/or injuries. My reports show whether the roadway conditions, design or defect were contributory to the crash or risk level, based on statistics.
I build custom reports to tell you:
How many similar crashes occurred at the same intersection or on the same road segment in the ten years prior to an incident.
How frequently similar crashes occurred at the same location.
How much more likely similar crashes are at this intersection compared with all intersections, citywide.
How much more likely a similar crash at this intersection is to cause injury than similar crashes, citywide.
History or pattern of crashes caused by speeding or distracted driving at this intersection.
History or pattern of hit and run crashes at this same location.
Any other custom metric using or comparing the data points below.
I can sort and organize the data by any of the below data points, comparing individual crashes, intersections, or road segments to the municipality, Valley, or State at large:
About the Crashes:
Police Report Number
Collision Manner
Object Struck First
Light Condition
Weather Conditions
Vehicles Involved
Individuals Involved
Injuries to Each Party
Severity Level of Injuries
Fatalities to any Involved Party
Whether Vehicles Were Towed
School Bus Involvement
Work Zone Involvement
Road Worker Involvement
Alcohol or Drug Involvement
Hit & Run Status
Precise Latitude & Longitude
Position in the Road or Intersection
Municipality with Jurisdiction
Police Department who Wrote the Report
Road Characteristics & Features
Type of Intersection or Junction
Posted Speed
Road Alignment (Straight vs. Curved)
Road Grade (Flat vs. Downhill)
Road Surface Conditions
Whether a Traffic Signal was Involved and How So
About the Vehicles Involved:
Nature/Type of Vehicle
Make of the Vehicle
Body Style of the Vehicle
Direction Vehicle was Traveling
Estimated Speed Vehicle was Traveling at the Time of Crash
Whether Vehicles are Driverless
Which Lane Each Vehicle Occupied
Passengers in Each Vehicle
Which Passengers Suffered Injuries
How the Vehicle Was Moving at the Time of Impact
Whether any Road Conditions were Estimated to be a Factor in the Collision
Whether any Environmental Conditions were Estimated to be a Factor in the Collision
Vehicle License Plate State
Vehicle Registration Year
Vehicle Color
Estimated Speed the Vehicle was Traveling at Impact
Whether the Vehicle Became Disabled
Whether the Vehicle had any Relevant Defects
A Description of the Movement of the Vehicle During the Collision
What Object Each Vehicle Hit
About the individuals Involved:
Age
Gender
Injury/Fatality Status
Road User Type
Which Seat Position Each Individual was Occupying in the Vehicles
Safety Devices Deployed
Involvement of an Airbag
Whether any Laws were Violated Relevant to the Collision at the Time of the Collision
Driver's License Class
To Where Any Individuals Were Transported for Medical Attention
Maps & Visualizations
The report can include custom interactive maps, graphs, or charts that help your team visualize and easily work with the data or which help demonstrate the risk to the court. Visualizations can include any combination of the data points above. In addition to interactive maps, visualization options include bar graphs, line graphs, histograms, heat maps help to easily communicate heightened risk.
Other Public Records
My crash database contains the police report numbers and municipal PD of record for all crashes. I can request the full, original police reports for similar crashes as necessary to confirm a hypothesis or present pattern evidence in court.
Credentials
I'm a current graduate student earning dual degrees: a JD at ASU Law and an MS in Applied Econometrics & Data Analytics at the University of Arizona. I'm currently focusing on civil litigation and its intersection with big data. My current research includes municipal liability for traffic crashes in Arizona.
Contact me for pricing information.