Why Are So Many Young Utahns Dying On Our Roads?

It makes you want to do something about it ... but what?

A collection of statistics -- most of them put together by the National Highway Transportation Safety Board -- brings to light a sobering fact: Young Utah drivers are dying at a very high rate.

In fact, Utah is ranked third in the United States for percentage deaths of Utah drivers between the ages of 15 and 25 vs. other age groups.

Between 2018 and 2022, 195 young people driving motor vehicles in the Beehive State lost their lives -- that's a whopping 22 percent of all deaths on the road during that time period.

Jason Mettmann, with the Utah Department of Public Safety, told KSL television that parents need to ensure their new-to-driving children know the rules of the road.

“(It) may not seem like a whole lot, but these are our kids out there. These are new drivers we need to make sure that parents are holding their teen drivers to a high standard," he said.

Additionally, way more than half of those fatalities involve drivers under the age of 21, which means driving under the influence was not likely a reason and some of the young drivers didn't even have licenses yet, only learner's permits.

"I would say speed is the biggest thing we see here, especially amongst younger drivers,' said St. George Police Officer Tiffany Mitchell. "It is definitely the biggest factor in crashes."

Lieutenant Aaron Bergquist chimed in by adding, "I saw a meme the other day that said something like 'Go ahead and pass me, I actually left on time.'"

As for how to address the issue, experts say three things have been shown to reduce the number of teens who are killed while operating motor vehicles:

1. Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL): In Utah this includes a six-month learner's permit, nighttime driving restrictions (under 17 drivers are not allowed out from midnight to 5 a.m.) and passenger restriction (under 17 drivers not allowed to have passengers except family members).
2. Driver education classes and supervised driving hours: These classes, when taught seriously, really work, and student drivers are supposed to have 40 hours of supervised driving).
3. Parent/teen relationships: Talking to young drivers really does work.

Get our free mobile app