Roadway deaths drop in Utah for 2nd-straight year

Roadway deaths drop in Utah for 2nd-straight year

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — New state statistics show that the number of people who died on Utah roadways decreased for the second consecutive year.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the 264 deaths on Utah roadways in 2018 were the lowest since 2014 and down from 273 the year before. The figures were released this week by the Utah Department of Transportation.

Jason Davis of the Utah Department of Transportation says one possible explanation for the decrease is that more drivers appear to be using seat belts. The number of fatalities of people now buckled up dropped to 50 in 2018, down from 86 the year before.

The state’s death rate per million miles traveled in 2018 was 0.80 — the lowest on record since 2013. The national highway death rate per million miles traveled was 1.16.