UHP again seeing more people driving over 100 mph, asks for vigilance
Aug 30, 2022, 1:27 PM | Updated: 1:32 pm
FILE: A 105 mph speed caught by a Utah Highway Patrol trooper. According to the Department of Public Safety there were more than 6,300 motorists stopped last year for going faster than 100 mph on Utah roads. (Utah Highway Patrol)
(Utah Highway Patrol)
SALT LAKE CITY — For the third straight year, the Utah Highway Patrol reports an increased number of drivers going over 100 miles per hour.
“Speed has been an issue for the last couple of years,” said UHP Sergeant Cameron Roden.
Roden said UP troopers would encounter 100 mph-plus driving around 3,000 times per year in 2018 and 2019. But he said that since 2020 that number has skyrocketed. Roden said in 2020 they saw people driving over 100 mph more than 5,000 times. In 2021, it was just under 5,000.
As for 2022, Roden said they’ve already contacted over 4,000 drivers going over 100 mph. That’s based on a report he saw about two weeks ago which indicated the third straight year of above-average speeding numbers.
“We’re definitely on track to outdo previous years if we continue at the same rate,” Roden said.
When it comes to why people are driving so fast, Roden said troopers are still getting a variety of answers — from being late to work or school to not even realizing they were going so fast.
For now, Roden said troopers continue to focus on potentially deadly driving behaviors, including excessive speed, impaired and distracted driving.
“We only have so much law enforcement that can only stop so many people,” Roden said.
“We need everybody to make the right choice for the right reason … we need to all work together in order to make a difference with this.”
Related reading:
- Utah Highway Patrol plans to crack down on excessive speeding
- UHP reminds drivers not to speed after citing one driver twice in 10 minutes
- Utah drivers getting worse according to UHP enforcement numbers
