Utah Car Accident Statistics

With safer vehicles, seatbelt mandates, and increased awareness, car accidents in Utah and throughout the nation declined during the last decade.  Although traffic accident rates have decreased slightly in the years following the 2020 pandemic, car accident numbers in Utah and nationwide remain alarmingly high. Car accident statistics reveal alarming trends, including an increase in distracted driving accidents and accidents involving large commercial trucks.

Call a Salt Lake City car accident lawyer from Handy & Handy today at (801) 264-6677.

Car Accidents in Utah

Unfortunately, despite emptier roads during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the nation saw a surprisingly sharp increase in traffic accident fatalities as drivers appeared to engage in riskier driving behaviors.

Data collected in 2023 shows that traffic accidents continue to be a serious problem for Utah residents and visitors to the state with 60,021 total car accidents on the Utah roadways in 2023. Utah is the 8th safest state for car accidents in the country but still sees an alarming number of car accidents. The following statistics break it down:

• Out of over 60,000 car accidents in Utah, there were 18,500 car crashes with injuries requiring medical treatment
• 250 car accidents with fatalities occurred in Utah in 2023 with a total of 279 deaths
• There were 26,637 total car accident injury victims in Utah
• 41,271 car accidents in Utah resulted in property damage only
• Teen drivers were responsible for around 12,000 Utah car accidents, with the largest number of accidents in drivers under 20
• Around 9,500 crashes were speeding-related
• Over 5,000 Utah car accidents were caused by distracted drivers
• Motorists were unrestrained in nearly 2,000 Utah car accidents
• About 1,000 accidents were caused by drowsy driving
• About 1,000 car accidents resulted from intoxicated driving
• Utah men are about 2.5 times more likely to die in car accidents than women
• Friday and Saturday evenings are the deadliest car accident days in Utah
• Between 2012 and 2021, car accident numbers in Utah increased from 49,254 to 61,406
• Around 48% of fatal accidents in Utah occur between 12:00 PM and 7:00 PM, with the highest numbers in rush hour traffic between 3:00 and 6:00 PM
• Utah’s traffic accident death rate is 8.40 per every 100,000 drivers or 0.91 deaths per every 100 million miles driven
• About 4.95% of all traffic accidents in Utah involved large commercial trucks in 2021
• There were 323 total commercial truck accidents in Utah between 2019-2021 with 232 severe injury accidents and 91 fatal injury crashes

The increase in distracted driving accidents in Utah is one of the most alarming statistics, with 27,514 distracted driving accidents between 2017 and 2021 resulting in 15,004 injury crashes and 83 fatalities.

Car Accident Statistics Across the Country

Utah is not alone in its uptick in car accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released troublesome data from 2023, the most recent full data year studied. Statistics released include the following:

• 40,990 died in car accidents in the United States during 2023, showing a 3.6% decrease since 2022 which saw 42,514 deaths nationwide
• There were 3,308 traffic fatalities due to distracted driving in 2022, with studies showing that drivers under the age of 20 are at the highest risk of causing a distracted driving accident. Driving at 55 miles per hour while taking your eyes off the road for the average five seconds it takes to read a text message is equivalent to driving the length of a football field without looking
• Nearly all 50 states now have a ban or limits on texting and driving, including in Utah under 41-6a-1716. which states that using a wireless device for communication while operating a vehicle is prohibited
• According to the National Safety Council (NSC), 5,837 large commercial truck accidents with fatalities occurred in 2022—a 49% increase in the last decade
• 70% of truck accident injuries occur to motorists in smaller vehicles involved in truck accidents rather than the truck driver

Utah residents also have to exhibit care when sharing the roadway with commercial trucks which have increased in number on the roadways since the pandemic. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), car accidents involving large commercial trucks and buses increased 18% between 2020 and 2021, with 5,904 large commercial vehicle fatal crashes nationwide.

The statistics are daunting, so being prepared if a collision occurs is essential — the expert team of Salt Lake City personal injury lawyers is ready to help you with your car accident case.

Dangers of Holiday Driving In Utah and Across the U.S

We might imagine that car accidents occur more often on icy roads during the wintery weather around Christmas, but 80% of Utah car accidents occur on dry roads. According to national statistics, Labor Day is the most dangerous holiday for travelers since 2012, with an average of 514 car accident fatalities over Labor Day weekend each year. Memorial Day weekend is the second most dangerous holiday for travelers, averaging 485 fatal car accidents per year. Around 385 car accident fatalities happen on Christmas day each year.

What Types of Car Accidents Commonly Occur In Utah and Elsewhere?

According to NSC data, two-car collisions cause more injuries and fatalities than other types of car accidents such as single-vehicle roadway departures, collisions with objects, pedestrian accidents, or rollover accidents. Statistics reveal the following information about collision car accidents nationwide in 2022:

• Angle collisions (T-bone accidents) represented 44.9% of collisions with other vehicles with 8,800 fatalities
• Head-on collisions made up 29.6% of two-car collisions and caused 5,800 deaths
• Rear-end collisions made up 17.3% of two-car collisions with 3,400 deaths
• Sideswipes and other collisions made up 8.2% of collisions with 1,600 deaths

In Utah, rear-end collisions are the most common type of car accident at 29.47% of all accidents. Side impact accidents make up about 23% of Utah car accidents and sideswipe accidents are about 11% of accidents. Head-on collisions occur in only about 1% of all car accidents in Utah.

Rural roads are safer than urban roadways in Utah with 7,956 accidents in rural regions compared to 53,450 in urban meccas where approximately 90% of Utah’s population resides.

Contact us online or call (801) 264-6677 for a free consultation today with the attorneys at Handy & Handy.