Focus: Utah Roads Deemed “Best” During Holiday Travel

Christmas and New Years are coming up quickly which means many Utahns will need to be careful on the roads.  

Not only do people have to deal with holiday traffic but there is black ice, snow, and other weather factors to consider. That doesn’t even account for the reckless driving, DUIs and fatigued drivers that will be around.  

The National Highway Safety Administration has data from 2017 to 2021 about the state of U.S. roads during holidays. According to that data, Thanksgiving is the most dangerous time to be driving. However, Christmas still saw 1,680 fatalities between those five years.  

Utah is supposed to be the safest state during the holidays, U.S. and World News said. The beehive state has 207 crash fatalities between November and December at a rate of .81 per 100 million miles driven.  

South Carolina was the deadliest at 1.9 fatal crashes per 100 million miles driven between those two months. There were 874 fatal crashes in South Carolina during those five years.  

In Utah, there are always crashes and fatalities reported year-round and that is bad, but the level could be worse. With the stress of the holidays and trying to get somewhere, Utahns need to be extra vigilant behind the wheel.  

There is no excuse for getting behind the wheel impaired and if you are at a holiday party, it's also your job to make sure someone doesn’t leave while impaired. Call and Uber, a taxi, a friend or relative.  

No excuses this holiday season. Be safe, be careful and be kind.