RACIAL PROFILING
COCONINO COUNTY VIOLATOR STUDY REPORT
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF I-17 VIOLATOR STUDY
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF I-40 STOP DATA

FINDINGS

     A total of 2,531 vehicles were observed during this study. Just under one-half (45.6%) of observed vehicles were seen to be violating at least one motor vehicle law. Of the 1,153 vehicles observed to be violating a motor vehicle law, 91.8 percent were speeding (defined in this study as exceeding the posted speed limit). Unsafe lane usage was observed in 6.4 percent of the violations. Other observed violations include following too closely, traveling too slow in the left lane of the highway, equipment failure, and failure to signal.

     A total of 636 commercial semi-trucks, one-quarter of all observations, were observed on the highway. 14.7 percent of observed violators were driving commercial semi-trucks. Semi-trucks comprised 33.9 percent of observed vehicles that were not violating motor vehicle laws.

     The volume of eastbound I-40 and westbound I-40 traffic is similar. In all, 1252 vehicles (49.5%) were observed traveling westbound and 1279 vehicles (50.5%) were observed traveling eastbound. A larger proportion of eastbound traffic was observed violating at least one motor vehicle law compared to westbound traffic. Within the eastbound observations, more than half the observed vehicles (51.4%) were seen violating a motor vehicle law. Within the westbound traffic, 39.5 percent of vehicles were observed to be violating a motor vehicle law (see Figure 1).

     The racial/ethnic composition of the observed violator and nonviolator populations is similar (see Table 2). 80.4 percent of violators and 84.7 percent of nonviolators are either “White, non-Hispanic” or “Probably White.” 1.8 percent of violators and 3.0 percent of nonviolators are “African American.” 6.2 percent of violators and 5.0 percent of nonviolators are “Hispanic.” Smaller percentages of “White, non-Hispanic” and “African American” motorists were observed violating motor vehicle laws and a slightly larger percentage of “Hispanics” were observed violating motor vehicle laws.

     Although differences exist in the rate of motor vehicle violations taking place within the I-40 eastbound and westbound traffic, few differences exist in the racial and ethnic composition of drivers committing motor vehicle violations in either direction. A total of 81.6 percent of eastbound drivers violating at least one motor vehicle law are “White, non-Hispanic” or “Probably White,” compared to 78.8 percent of westbound drivers violating the law (see Table 3). Minority drivers are 16.9 percent of eastbound violators and 19.6 percent of westbound violators. There are no significant racial and ethnic differences between drivers committing violations on I-40 eastbound and westbound within Coconino County.

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