Utah Ranks In Top 10 For Safe Driving

You can celebrate, Utahans ― your safe driving practices have paid off. Utah is now ranked in the top 10 list of states that are the safest to travel by vehicle, according to a story on the 24/7 Wall St. website.

Ranked 9th for Safe Driving

The story drew on information gathered by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, based on data it collected in 2013. The study considered seat belt use, accident rates, fatality rates and reckless driving, including driving under the influence and speeding citations.

Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey took the top three spots respectively, and Illinois was No. 10. The most dangerous state to drive in is Montana, which has 22.6 road deaths per 100,000 people per year — 229 total roadway fatalities in 2013. 

Urban vs. Rural States

This fact may surprise some: The more rural the state, the more dangerous it is to operate a vehicle. In congested and high-traffic areas, cars drive at slower speeds, reducing the chance of a collision and mitigating the damage when collisions do occur.

In rural states, the roads have more lanes and the speed limits are higher. This increases the chances of both accidents and collisions, and the damage is more likely to be deadly. 

On a national level, only 32 percent of driving takes place in rural areas, but Montana drivers operate their vehicles in rural areas 69 percent of the time. Utah’s divers are in rural areas only 27 percent of the time, which perhaps has an effect on the lower number of roadway deaths.

Speeding and Alcohol

On a national level, alcohol was involved in 72 percent of car accidents that resulted in fatalities. In Utah, this was the case only 65 percent of the time. And even though Utah recently passed increased speed limit laws in certain zones, raising the limit to 70 mph in some areas, deaths that have occurred since then have not happened within those zones. 

There’s Still Room to Improve

Utah drivers can improve the state’s safe driving rank by putting on their seat belts all the time, not just some of the time. While nationally Americans use their seatbelts 87 percent of the time, Utahans are found to buckle up only 82 percent of the time.

Also, since the data was collected in 2013, Utah roadway deaths have increased. In 2014, the number of fatalities increased to 256, up from 220. By November 2015, Utah already had 249 roadway fatalities.

Stauffer’s Towing fully endorses every effort by tow truck drivers and all other motorists to take personal responsibility for driving safely all the time.

There is still room to improve safe driving skills, so take note, Utah drivers — you can help make the roadways safer by buckling your seat belt, never driving under the influence of alcohol and not exceeding the speed limit.