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Wondering how safe the roads are as you drive around Utah? According to data collected by the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), driving around the Salt Lake City region could be especially dangerous when compared to the state as a whole.
UDOT keeps track of all vehicle crashes that happen on the 6,000 miles of state-owned roads in Utah. The department looks at each one-mile stretch individually and sorts them by total crashes and severe crashes. Based on this, the area around Salt Lake City claimed almost every “most dangerous” spot in all three road and intersection categories analyzed.
In fact, Salt Lake had all ten of the worst one-mile stretches of freeway, with eight of those sections on a roughly twenty-mile long piece of northbound I-15 between Draper and downtown (the other two were on southbound I-15). Those top ten most dangerous pieces of roadway accounted for nearly 2,800 crashes from 2013 to 2015.
Dangerous non-freeway segments abound in the area, too. Seven of the top ten can be found in the Salt Lake Region, including four pieces of Redwood Road (and a fifth that feeds into Redwood). This category was the only one in which Salt Lake didn’t land on top. That dubious distinction fell to one section of Main Street in Logan. The remaining two places in the top ten were also on Logan’s Main Street.
The UDOT data also highlighted problem intersections, with the worst in Murray at State Street and 4500 South. Redwood Road again was conspicuous in the rankings, with both the second and third most dangerous crossings. The rest of the top ten were all in the Salt Lake area.
A UDOT spokesman pointed out that landing in the rankings does not mean a piece of road is inherently dangerous. The data focused on total crashes in each area and was not adjusted for the number of vehicles using a particular stretch of highway. Interstate 15, for instance, is one of the most heavily driven roads in the state, with upwards of one-quarter million vehicles traveling on it most days. While it accounts for a large number of crashes, it might be no less safe than other roads on a per-vehicle-mile-traveled basis.
Improving highway safety continues to be a priority for UDOT. Projects to decrease crashes in some of these locations have been proposed or are underway and the agency coordinates with the Utah Department of Public Safety to promote numerous safe driving initiatives.
Motor vehicle accidents can happen anywhere. But knowing the locations where you’re more likely to be involved in one can be helpful, as long as drivers don’t begin to feel that they can let their guard down when they’re not using a road with a known higher risk. You can review the top ten lists here to see if any are on your regular route.
Regardless of where the crash occurred, when you’ve been the victim of a traffic accident, the most important thing you can do when you seek compensation for your injuries is get an experienced legal team on your side. At Craig Swapp & Associates, we understand the complicated world of automobile accident law and we’ll be with you every step of the way. Get started now by scheduling a free consultation to discuss your case. Our number is 1-800-404-9000, or you can reach us online through the form below or launch the LiveChat feature from any page of this website.
Written By: Ryan Swapp Legal Review By: Craig Swapp