The summer months tend to experience the highest numbers of automobile accidents, including fatalities. To combat these statistics, Utah puts on a “100 Deadliest Days of Summer” campaign, which provides education, awareness, and prevention tools. The 100 days of summer campaign runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The summer months have now blended into autumn, and those 100 days are behind us. However, in looking back, on August 14, 2020, KSL reported the deaths during this timeframe for 2020 were up significantly from 2019. In fact, during the 100 days of summer in 2019, there were 46 deaths. At the time of the article posted by KSL, 2020 had already seen 71 deaths, and the 100 days were not over. This is disheartening, and I know we can all do better.
Accidents on Utah’s Roads
Unfortunately, in reviewing the news from this weekend, it appears as though tragedy is still very prevalent. For instance, I saw:
A motorcyclist lost his life on SR-35 following a crash. The motorcycle driver was unable to navigate a left-hand curve, and the motorcycle veered off the road.
A truck crashed into Burgess Owen’s headquarters on Friday night. The pictures on-line are pretty shocking as there is severe damage to the structure. The damage was so substantial that Burgess Owen’s campaign is going to have to relocate. Fortunately, given the time of this incident, no one was injured.
A woman was hit multiple times on the freeway. In this story, a 31-year-old woman was walking on the freeway on the west side belt of 1-215 at 3800 South. When officers arrived at the scene, they found the victim deceased. Upon reading the story, it was unclear as to why the woman was walking on the freeway; and
There was a single-vehicle rollover early Sunday morning on SR-196 about 14 miles south of 1-80 in Tooele County in which neither people in the vehicle were wearing seatbelts. They were both ejected from the car and killed.
A Goal we can all Live with
The website zerofatalities.com has many helpful and resourceful tips, tools, and webinars you may sign for up, including parent night webinars, educational webinars, and truck smart safety advice. It also highlights the “100 Deadliest Days of Summer” campaign. I hope everyone will look into some helpful resources, wear their seatbelts, and refrain from impaired driving. Remember, the best auto accident case is one that never occurs.
