100 Deadliest Days recap: July was the deadliest traffic month on record in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY ( ABC4 ) — The 100 Deadliest Days on Utah roads came to a close on Monday, Sept. 2, after a high number of summer fatalities.

According to the Department of Public Safety and the Utah Department of Transportation , 101 people died on Utah roads between Memorial Day and Labor Day this year, as opposed to 81 deaths during the same period last year.

“We came into the 100 deadliest days really encouraged seeing some improvements because we were down 14 percent on fatal crashes,” said Lt. Cameron Roden, the public information officer for Utah Highway Patrol. “Then we had a really rough summer where we had a lot of fatal crashes.”

He said not only did Utah “catch up to where we were before,” but it surpassed the previous summer’s number of fatal crashes.

Forty-nine people died from vehicle crashes in July alone, making it the most fatal month on record, according to the joint DPS and UDOT report. Roden said this was a “really deadly month for us.”

While authorities are still investigating many of the crashes, they have identified a few trends worth noting.

There has been a significant increase in pedestrian crashes this year as 15 people died compared to four the previous year. He said pedestrian crashes tend to increase in the fall “so it’s definitely something for us to be aware of.”

There were also a significant amount of motorcycle deaths, with the majority being single-vehicle motorcycle crashes. He said motorcyclists should “wear the appropriate gear, get the right training, and just obey the rules of the road” to avoid a similar situation.

This trend is mirrored with other vehicles as he said they saw “a lot of single-vehicle single occupant crashes.” When other cars are not involved, the crash tends to be due to distracted or impaired driving, fatigue, or speed.

While 58 of the fatal crashes are still under investigation, speed was determined to be a contributing factor in 37 crashes so far.

Roden said determining what contributed to the crashes can help them figure out “what behaviors we’re seeing that are killing people in Utah.” Authorities will then create messaging campaigns to educate the public and strengthen the related enforcement areas.

As winter approaches, Roden suggests preparing vehicles now by checking its tires, headlights, windshield wipers, and fluids. As speeding is often a factor in crashes regardless of the time of year, he said slowing down can help people stay safe.

“A hard way to close out the summer, especially when we started out doing so well,” Roden said. “We want to make sure that we make changes ‘though, whatever changes we can make to end the year better.”

Here are additional statistics released in the 100 Deadliest Days 2024 report:

• In the past decade, 2015 had the highest number of summer fatalities at 111 deaths. The lowest number of summer fatalities came to 61 deaths in 2018.
• Since 2014, 94.7 people on average have died each summer on Utah roads.
• This summer, 73% of the people who died were identified as males.
• When comparing January to September of 2024 with last year’s numbers, authorities calculated a 6% increase in roadway fatalities.
• As of Sept. 3, 190 people have died on Utah’s roads this year. Last year that number came to 179.

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