TRIP

Arizona had the third-highest fatality rate per 100 million miles driven on rural roads.

A national study released this week shows Arizona had some of the highest fatality rates on the road in 2017, especially in rural areas.

The nonprofit transportation research group called TRIP looked at death trends on streets across the nation.

It found Arizona had almost three deaths per 100 million miles traveled on rural roads, not including interstates. That makes it the third-highest fatality rate in the country.

TRIP Associate Director of Research Carolyn Kelly said rural infrastructure often lacks safety design, like medians or wide lanes.

“The condition of the rural transportation system, the high fatality rates, really do indicate a lack of investment in the transportation system," she said. "And it’s partially due to the fact the rural roads and bridges are deteriorating, and they don’t have a lot of these safety features.”

Arizona also had the second most deadly streets across the board, at 1.31 deaths per 100 million miles traveled. That includes driver, passenger and pedestrian deaths on all other streets, including interstates and urban.