The Truth About the “Rise” in Traffic Accidents in Cochise County

I often ask our social media audience for their opinions on problems in our area. In a recent post, our Facebook page received many comments about an increase in traffic accidents.

Since they raised it as a concern, I asked several respondents if they really thought there were more accidents than there were two or even five years ago, and why they thought that.

Without hesitation, they responded, Yes, there are a lot more traffic collisions, and opined that it's getting out of hand. They cited reasons things seem to be getting worse, like 'we have more crazy drivers here,' 'they see it on social media all the time,' 'it's getting bad,' and even anecdotes about 'seeing people run red lights all the time.'

Despite the opinions shared by our social media audience, there may be another explanation for the "rise" in traffic accidents in Cochise County.

READ: Sierra Vista Traffic Stop Leads To Brief Police Chase

Is Sierra Vista Seeing More Accidents?

You may find this hard to believe. Some of our local social media sites chase every fender bender, collision, and pedestrian incident, often reporting before all the facts are known.

However, according to recent state and county data, there's no clear statistical spike in traffic accidents across Cochise County.

In communities like Sierra Vista, Hereford, Benson, Huachuca City, and Whetstone, the numbers remain relatively steady year over year. Yes, vehicle crashes continue to be a public safety concern, but they're not actually on the rise in our county. Statistics from the Arizona Department of Transportation’s (ADOT) 2023 Crash Facts back this up.

READ: Grant Aims To Improve Traffic Safety In Sierra Vista

Hereford and Palominas, for example, are smaller communities, and their accident counts are lower than those in Sierra Vista. Sheriff’s Office logs show occasional reckless driving reports and minor incidents, but nothing statistically significant to suggest a rise.

Huachuca City and Benson are small communities that act as gateways to Fort Huachuca, Sierra Vista, and other towns, so a lot of traffic passes through from Interstate 10. Despite that, accident numbers in those towns remain modest.

ADOT’s statewide crash data doesn’t highlight Cochise County as a hotspot, and county-level reports show only scattered incidents. If you'd like accurate, real-time information about traffic accidents, check out Cochise County, AZ Accidents via NavBug.com.

So, Is There a Countywide Increase in Traffic Accidents?

No, traffic accidents haven't increased in Cochise County. If it seems like they have, you may have fallen victim to something called a frequency illusion. 

According to Wikipedia, the experience, also known as the Baader–Meinhof phenomenon, happens when you start noticing something more often simply because your attention has been drawn to it, even though its actual occurrence hasn’t increased. Like when you buy a red car and suddenly notice everyone else seems to be driving one too.

That's what happens when you see social media "live coverage" of a traffic accident on Fry Boulevard, for example. Even if you don't follow the local content creators, their posts are often shared and reshared so often that it may seem logical to assume accidents have skyrocketed in Cochise County. The good news is, they haven't; it's just an illusion.