The Utah Department of Transportation has released traffic fatality numbers for 2023. Wyatt Wooley from UDOT said Summit County saw a 13% decrease in fatalities compared to the last four years while Wasatch County saw an 11% increase.
But traffic deaths changed little over the last year. Summit County had six fatalities in 2022 and five fatalities in 2023. Wasatch County had 11 fatalities in 2022 and 10 fatalities in 2023.
Wooley said driving under the influence is always the number one cause of traffic deaths. The number two cause is distracted driving. However, distracted driving is getting close to the number one cause.
“We have a new generation of drivers now who basically their entire adult lives, they've had a smartphone," Wooley said. "They keep it with them even when they're in the car driving when they should be completely focused on the road.”
Cell phones are a serious source of distracted driving which leads to crashes. Wooley said there aren’t any hotspots for accidents.
“There's no one defining spot. If there was, we'd be all over it and see what we can do to make the road better,” he said.
Utah saw an over 12% decrease in roadway fatalities over the last year. A total of 279 lives were lost in 2023.
