Officials urge caution as Utah heads into 100 deadliest days of summer driving

Riverton • With Memorial Day approaching, Utah drivers are heading into what officials call the “100 deadliest days” of summer through Labor Day. They are urging motorists to take a few easy steps to make them the 100 safest instead.

“There's a false sense of security when you have clear roads and sunshine. We tend to get distracted easier and lulled into a false sense of security,” said John Gleason, spokesman for the Utah Department of Transportation.

“This is the deadliest time on our roads, and we want to change that. We want to make it the safest time,” he said.

UDOT and the Utah Highway Patrol pushed that message to the news media at a Wednesday assembly at Riverton High School, where 100 students wore messages about 100 ways to make the 100 deadliest days safer.

Gleason noted that fatal crashes nearly double on Utah roads in the summer, and human error causes 94 percent of them.

“We’ve had about 100 highway fatalities each summer for the past several years. We can do better,” he said. “This is the time that people need to focus.”

Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Nick Street said the top cause of summer Utah fatalities is “we’re seeing increasing trends in aggressive, reckless, speeding driving.” A little patience and perhaps leaving a little earlier on trips to avoid feeling rushed could greatly increase safety.

The next leading cause of fatal crashes is failure to use seat belts and child car seats.

“Ninety percent of people are buckling up. It’s those 10% who are not who are causing the second-highest problem with fatalities in our state. The simple act of wearing a seat belt could save hundreds of lives,” Street said.

Distracted driving is another leading cause of road deaths.

“We’ve got to limit distractions when we’re driving,” Street said, “whether it is driving while drowsy, adjusting the radio or talking on the cellphone.”

Street also encouraged drivers to expect adverse conditions and constantly look down the road for them — including for pedestrians, bikers and motorcyclists.

He also urges pedestrians and bikers to take extra steps to ensure they are seen — including wearing reflective clothing. “We'd love to see people start making that a habit.”

Finally, he said a major avoidable cause of death “is motorcyclists not wearing a helmet,” and also failing to wear high-visibility gear.

“I think we can all help to get a little closer to zero fatalities,” he said.