This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah's "100 Deadliest Days of Summer" for 2016 ended with 90 crash deaths on the state's highways and freeways, a dramatic improvement over the 110 fatalities the Utah Highway Patrol reported last year.
The Memorial Day through Labor Day period ended with two fatalities recorded by UHP for the Labor Day weekend. Labor Day weekend in 2015 recorded four accident deaths, said UHP Sgt. Todd Royce.
"From last year to this year we're down 20 fatal crashes. That's a good number and a bad number. We still had 90 too many fatalities, but at least we're trending in the right direction," Royce said Tuesday.
From Idaho to Arizona and Wyoming to Nevada, UHP troopers were fully mobilized to look for impaired drivers, seat belt violators and distracted, aggressive and speeding motorists.
In all, 7,566 traffic stops were made and 178 non-fatal crashes investigated during the Labor Day weekend, Royce said.
Troopers arrested 78 drivers for alcohol or drug impairment, and gave tickets or warnings to 4,424 speeders and 1,546 seat belt violators.
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