For the year of 2018, 62,074 crashes occurred in the state of Utah. 156,357 people were affected by these accidents. 26,645 of those people were injured and 260 were killed in the accident. Alternatively, 130,352 people reported that they were uninjured in their crash.
Crash Rates by Age
Drivers between the ages of 15-24 have the highest rates of crashes as compared to other age groups. These statistics gathered required that the drivers had their license which doesn’t account for any accident caused or involving unlicensed drivers.
By Gender
In 2018, twice as many males were the drivers for drug-related crashes than female drivers. Additionally, male drivers were 1.9 times more likely to be involved in drowsy driving crashes than females.
By Day
The most common day for speed car accidents is Thursday overall, closely followed by Friday and Tuesday. As for all crashes, they most frequently occurred on Friday, followed by Thursday and Monday.
Yearly
The rate of car crashes in Utah has been steadily increasing over the last ten years. Starting at about 50,000 crashes in 2009, in 2018 we had a little over 60,000 crashes.
Deaths Per Year
During 2013, an auto accident occurred every 9 minutes. Every 23 minutes a person sustained injuries from auto accidents. Speed related accidents occurred every 46 minutes. Distracted driving accidents happened every 104 minutes. Large truck accidents occurred every 104 minutes. Every 5 hours a drunk driver got involved in an accident. And finally, every 39.5 hours an auto accident resulted in death.
In 2015, a Utah motor vehicle crash occurred every 8 minutes, resulting in injuries every 20 minutes and death every 31.5 hours.
Daylight Savings Time
A study done by Science Daily analyzed 732,000 accidents over the past 2 decades and discovered that daylight savings times affects car accident rates. A study done by the University of Colorado Boulder found the same results. Daylight savings time has an associated increase in fatal car accidents totaling up to about 6% of the entire auto accident geographic. This ends up being about 28 additional deaths relating specifically to daylight savings time changing the hour.
With Animals
In 2015, 3,381 animal collisions occurred. 60,012 auto accidents occurred that year making animal collisions about 5.6% of the total ration. Roughly that accounts for one in every 20 car crashes resulted in an animal collision.
Without Seatbelts
The statistics gathered for 2018 found that of the people killed in auto accidents 65% of those killed were not wearing their seatbelt.
Weather
According to NHTSA, 17% of all vehicle crashes occur during winter conditions. Weather-related vehicle accidents result in more deaths than large-scale weather disasters. It takes 10 times longer to pull to a stop in snow than on the dry road.
Pedestrian and Bicyclists Accidents
772 pedestrian-auto accidents occurred in 2017. 670 pedestrians sustained injuries and 42 died in the accident. Pedestrian accidents occurred in the following locations: 44% marked crosswalks, 24% on the roadway, 8% on the sidewalk, 7% on the unmarked crosswalk, and another 4% on a midblock crosswalk.
Bicycle-motor vehicle crashes, overall, resulted in 551 crashes with 517 injured bicyclists and 6 bicyclist deaths. Generally speaking, factors that contributed to these accidents include drivers failing to yield to the right of way, hit and run, improper turn, failure to keep in the proper lane, and disregarding traffic signs. Distracted driving played a role in 5% of bicycle-related crashes.
When Crashes Occur
Overall, most auto accidents occur between 3-7 p.m. Furthermore, Thanksgiving weekend has the highest fatality rate. During 2017, September and November had the most fatalities.
Additionally, distracted driving accidents occur most frequently between the hours of 3-7 p.m. Pedestrian-auto accidents typically occur between 7-8 a.m. and 3-8 p.m. Whereas, bicyclist-auto ac
Most auto-pedestrian accidents occur between 8-9 a.m. and 6-7 p.m.
Pedestrian-Auto Accidents
As of today, vehicles should not enter a crosswalk until the pedestrian(s) have completely exited the crosswalk. Utah law used to dictate that vehicles could legally enter the crosswalks as long as the pedestrian had left the half of the crosswalk the vehicle intended to enter. However, the law has changed to restrict drivers from entering a crosswalk with any pedestrians.
Have you been in an auto accident? Call 801-683-1948 to schedule a free 30-minute massage, free legal consultation or a no-cost medical exam.
