ROAD TO ZERO

After another deadly crash, UDOT says we’re ‘a long way from the road to zero fatalities’

May 16, 2022, 12:14 PM | Updated: 4:02 pm

FARMINGTON, UTAH — According to the Utah Department of Transportation, the state is a long way away from the road to zero fatalities.

Over the weekend, a crash in Davis County took the life of a motorcyclist.

The crash happened near Glovers Lane in Farmington, where state troopers said a man on a motorcycle died while driving fast.

UHP trooper Mike Alexander described the motorcyclist as going much faster than the traffic around him.

“He failed to slow down in time and struck the back of another vehicle, at which point he was ejected from the motorcycle, and then was struck by another vehicle,” said Alexander.

Reckless driving appears to be the cause in Saturday’s fatal crash

UDOT said they saw more fatalities last year on their roads than any year before in the last several years.

This year, UDOT says we’re looking like we may top last year’s number of road fatalities if things continue the way they have been.

Reckless driving, aggressive driving, and distracted driving are setting the tone for the majority of crashes UDOT is seeing.

John Gleason, UDOT’s public relations director, said these are all behaviors, and it’s our job to take a look in the mirror and ask what we can do to make our roads safer.

He said while the common understanding is distracted driving means being on a phone or fiddling with a radio, distracted driving can be anything that takes your mind off the road.

“If you had a fight with a family member earlier on, or if you have a big important meeting at work,” said Gleason.

Reckless driving, according to Gleason, isn’t totally new, as it’s been happening more so over the last couple of years.

“Everything we’ve gone through as a society, it’s understandable that the people are dealing with uncertainty and a lot of personal issues, but it’s so important that when you’re behind the wheel, you put those issues in the backseat and focus on the road ahead,” said Gleason.

He said this is especially true as warmer weather approaches and road trips become more frequent.

“This is the time of year we generally see fatalities increase. They nearly double compared to the rest of the year,” said Gleason.

Contrary to what many may think, he said during the winter months when there are snowstorms and rough driving conditions, people tend to be really focused on driving.

“Summer months we tend to throw caution to the wind, and that’s the opposite of what we should be doing,” said Gleason.

UDOT says as of last Monday, 28 people were killed as pedestrians on Utah roads in addition to six bicyclists.

There are at least 15 deadly motorcycle crashes to date.

Those numbers are fluctuating.

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After another deadly crash, UDOT says we’re ‘a long way from the road to zero fatalities’