Utah Crash Summary, 2008
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Summary
The *Utah Crash Summary 2008*, published by the Utah Department of Public Safety, analyzes traffic crash trends and outcomes in Utah to inform safety programs and reduce injuries and fatalities. The report compiles data from law enforcement crash reports involving injuries, deaths, or property damage exceeding $1,000, supplemented by the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) for fatal incidents. The study aims to identify contributing factors such as occupant protection, alcohol impairment, speed, and vulnerable road user involvement to guide targeted interventions. In 2008, Utah recorded 56,367 total crashes, a decrease of 8.0% from 2007, involving 138,693 people. These incidents resulted in 24,673 injuries and 276 deaths, marking the lowest death total since 1992. The statewide death rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled was 1.07, remaining below the U.S. rate of 1.27. Significant improvements were noted in specific areas: crashes involving distracted drivers decreased by 20%, while those involving teenage, alcohol-impaired, and unrestrained occupants dropped by 15% each. However, concerns persisted regarding motorcyclist deaths, which reached their highest level since 1985, and bicyclist crashes, which increased by 25%. Speed was a factor in 43% of fatal crashes, and the number of speed-related crashes increased for the third consecutive year. Demographic and behavioral analyses revealed distinct risk patterns. Males accounted for 54.2% of all persons in crashes but 69.9% of deaths, making them 1.8 times more likely to die than females. Drivers aged 15–19 had the highest crash rates per licensed driver, while those aged 20–24 had the highest fatal crash rates. Conversely, drivers aged 65 and older, though representing only 5.5% of crash participants, were 2.8 times more likely to die than other age groups. Geographically, Salt Lake, Weber, and Utah counties had the highest crash rates per vehicle miles traveled, while rural counties like Piute and San Juan exhibited the highest fatality rates. Temporally, over half of all deaths occurred between June and October, with July historically having the highest total deaths. Fatal crashes were 1.8 times more likely to occur on weekends than weekdays, and peak fatal crash hours included early morning and late afternoon periods. The report concludes that while Utah has made significant progress in reducing crash rates through legislation, enforcement, and engineering improvements, traffic safety remains a critical priority. The estimated economic loss from crashes in 2008 was $1.53 billion. The data underscores the effectiveness of seat belt laws and distracted driving interventions but highlights the need for continued focus on speeding, motorcycle safety, and pedestrian/bicyclist protection. The Utah Department of Public Safety emphasizes a goal of zero fatalities, asserting that every statistical reduction represents lives saved and societal benefits preserved.
Key finding
Utah experienced 276 traffic deaths and 56,367 crashes in 2008, with speed contributing to 43% of fatal incidents and motorcyclist fatalities rising to the highest total since 1985.
Methodology
dataset
Provenance
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| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| extract | success | cached | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
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| enrich | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
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| verify | success | — | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.
Topics
Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.
- incidence prevalence
- demographic disparities
- fatality injury trends
- comparative international
- vru crash typology
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