Utah County Sheriff’s Office partnership aims to reduce speeding

SPANISH FORK, Utah — The Utah County Sheriff’s Office is partnering with the Utah Highway Safety Office to improve safety on roads in Utah County by focusing on areas that have high incidences of speeding.

The Highway Safety Office often partners with law enforcement agencies for different initiatives such as DUI prevention and the importance of wearing seat belts.

This partnership will include four blitzes where multiple officers will be stationed in areas patrolling for speeding violations. The enforcement will take place on June 16 at Spanish Fork Canyon, June 17 at Provo Canyon and 23 at Eagle Mountain and Provo Canyon.

Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Cannon said one officer was recently stationed in Spanish Fork Canyon and in less than three hours, he cited 11 drivers who were speeding — two of which were going more than 100 miles per hour.

Although there hasn’t been a huge spike in speeding, the sheriff’s office is hoping to “keep a lid on it,” Cannon said.

“When we show some focused enforcement in an area, it creates a presence where people see it and will hopefully slow down because of that,” Cannon said. “The presence there creates a deterrent effect.”

Having more officers out putting a greater emphasis on speeding violations helps drivers be more conscious of their driving. When people see multiple cops along the road, they are more likely to check their own speed and make sure they aren’t breaking any laws, he said.

“What we hope to accomplish in these different areas is a little bit more focused effort on speeding enforcement to get people to slow down and drive more carefully,” he said.

Speeding is the leading contributor in fatal crashes. @UCSO is partnering with the Utah Highway Safety Office to enforce speeding violations. We will focus on Eagle Mountain, Provo & Spanish Fork Canyons. A Deputy recently cited 11 drivers in 2.5 hours, with 2 of those 100+. pic.twitter.com/l409etZFHR

— Spencer Cannon (@SGTCannonPIO) June 1, 2023

Cannon said word of mouth gets around quickly and if cops are consistently in an area, then maybe drivers will “pay a little more attention and so all of their other driving habits will improve as well, which makes the roads safer overall.”

Cars traveling too fast can increase the risk of deadly crashes, so it’s imperative drivers stick to the speed limit, Cannon said.

“It’s a good effort. I believe in it,” Cannon said. “We don’t expect everybody to agree with us that it’s a good thing, but whether or not they like it, the effort will be there and it will be visible.”