SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Transportation encouraged drivers to “Summer Safely” over the past several months and are now asking Utahns to avoid falling back into bad habits.

The good news about crashes and DUI statistics? Overall, the number of crash fatalities in 2019 versus 30+ years ago is down more than 13% nationwide.

The number of people who died in alcohol-related crashes on the roads from 1990 to 2019 is also down – by 43%.

So the overall trend spanning decades is way down, according to a study conducted by driver’s education website Zutobi.

The site also singles out Utah as the state with the lowest amount of drunk driving of any state in the nation.

On their ‘DUI Severity’ scale, Utah scored a 28 — about half of what the average state scored, at 53.

The metric looks at DUI arrests and fatalities vs. population data to get the score, so Utah can see that as a small success or at least a step in the right direction.

The sobering reality is that this year could be the worst for fatal DUI crashes in Utah in recent memory.

Utah Sees Rise In Injuries & Deaths From Drunk-Driving Crashes

The 10-year average for the state is 42. So far this year, 51 people have died in alcohol-related crashes.

While crash numbers are down well below the five- and 10-year averages, Utah is on pace to lose 70 people on the roads due to drunk driving this year — which would be the deadliest in a while.