New research says Utah has the sixth safest roads in America
Aug 14, 2024, 6:00 PM | Updated: 6:57 pm
Vehicles travel on I-15 in Salt Lake City. Utah's roads are the sixth safest in the nation. (Kristin Murphy/ Deseret News)
(Kristin Murphy/ Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — A recent study on road data from each state shows which are the safest roads to drive. Utah came out at number six.
MarketWatch Guides analyzed three main factors that contribute to what makes a road dangerous.
Factors included the physical state of the roads, how busy they are and the number of fatal accidents per state.
A score was then given to each state based on these factors. The score is a number one through 10, with 10 being the most dangerous.
Related: After a deadly weekend on Utah’s roads, UHP reiterates road safety practices
The International Roughness Index (IRI) was used to judge the quality of a roads surface. The IRI also uses a point system, the higher being the less quality roads. The study looked at the percentage of roads in each state with an IRI rating of 220 or higher, which tend to be more dangerous.
Utah made it into the top 10 safest roads. The sate came in 6th, scoring a 2.92 out of 10 on road danger.
Minnesota came in first with a 1.56 score, North Dakota in second with a 2.45 score, and Nevada in third with a score of 2.72.
Less than 0.8% of roads in each of these states have a IRI score above 220.
Louisiana, scoring a 7.55 out of 10, claims most dangerous roads in the study.
The state with the busiest roads? Hawaii. With only 4.5 billion miles of road available but 10.3 billion driven every year.
The study also noted that Rhode Island has the roughest roads out of the states. Meaning cars there receive more wear and tear and need more maintenance yearly.
