Deaths on Utah roads hold steady from 2020 to 2021

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Transportation and Department of Public Safety reported back after the summer driving season that the state’s rate of deaths remained roughly the same on Utah roads from the year before. 

Related: Utah rolls out summer driving safety tips with “Summer Safely” campaign

Deaths on Utah roads in 2021 unchanged from last year

Road fatalities for summer 2021 accounted for 101 deaths, the same number reported for 2020. Of these fatalities, 47% were males and 26% were females, with 27% unknown or unreported. 

Of the 2021 summer roadway fatalities, 76 were motorists (63 in 2020),  12 were pedestrians (13 in 2020), 12 were motorcyclists (20 in 2020) and one was a bicyclist (five in 2020). 

The summer season, which the agencies refer to as the year’s 100 deadliest days on the roads, runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day. 

This summer, Utah had 47 out of 102 days without a traffic fatality. The longest stretch of time this summer with zero fatalities on Utah roads was four days, between Aug. 14 and Aug. 17. But the state didn’t fare much better before the summer; the longest stretch of time this year, summer included, with zero fatalities was six days, between April 11 and April 16.

This year through Sept. 6th, 211 lives were lost on Utah roads. Utah marked 121 out of 249 days without a fatal accident. This same time last year, the state saw 182 lives lost on Utah roads. 

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