Utah Crash Summary, 2004

NHTSA · 2004 · ROSA P / Utah. Dept. of Public Safety

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Summary

The *Utah Crash Summary, 2004*, published by the Utah Department of Public Safety, addresses the trends, causes, and consequences of motor vehicle crashes in Utah. The report aims to heighten awareness among safety specialists, public health personnel, and the general public to identify areas for targeted intervention to reduce traffic-related injuries and fatalities. The data is derived from crash reports completed by law enforcement officers and entered into the Crash Analysis Reporting System (CARS), with fatal crash data supplemented by the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). The analysis excludes private property crashes, which were removed from the database in 1997. The document provides a comprehensive statistical overview of crash data for 2004, comparing it to historical trends from 1995–2004 and longer-term data from 1975. The methodology involves categorizing crashes by various factors, including occupant characteristics (age, gender, injury severity), driver characteristics (violations, alcohol/drug involvement), and crash specifics (time of day, location, vehicle type). The report is structured into eight primary sections: general persons and crashes, occupant protection, alcohol and other drug-related crashes, teenage-driver crashes, speed-related crashes, motorcycle crashes, pedestrian crashes, and bicyclist crashes. Each section includes fact sheets, trend analyses, and county-level breakdowns. Key findings indicate that Utah achieved an all-time low in the rate of motor vehicle crash fatalities in 2004, with an 8% decrease compared to 2003. Notable progress was observed in child restraint use, with increases in safety seat usage for children aged 0–8, and a drop in fatal teenage-driver crashes to a ten-year low of 16%. However, significant risks remained: rural crashes were five times more likely to result in fatality than urban crashes, and 53% of persons killed were unbelted, with unbelted occupants being 31 times more likely to die than belted ones. Conversely, the rate of motorcycle crashes increased by 16%. The "Utah Crash Clock" illustrates the frequency of incidents, noting that a crash occurred every 10 minutes, a person was injured every 18 minutes, and a fatality occurred every 30 hours. Alcohol or drug-related crashes occurred every 4.5 hours, and speed-related crashes occurred every hour. The significance of this report lies in its role as a foundational resource for highway safety policy and enforcement. By highlighting specific high-risk behaviors and demographics, such as the high likelihood of fatality in rural areas and the severe impact of non-use of seatbelts, the report supports targeted legislative and educational efforts. The data underscores the effectiveness of previous interventions, such as graduated driver licensing and seatbelt mandates, while identifying emerging concerns like the rise in motorcycle crashes. The findings provide evidence-based guidance for continuing to prioritize traffic safety through improved engineering, enforcement, and public awareness campaigns.

Key finding

Utah experienced an 8% decrease in the rate of motor vehicle crash fatalities in 2004, marking a new all-time low.

Methodology

dataset

Provenance

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Topics

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• incidence prevalence
• demographic disparities
• fatality injury trends
• comparative international

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Empirical Findings: crash risk outcomes, observational prevalence
• Methodological Resource: dataset resource