SALT LAKE CITY-Thursday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released its early estimates for 2019 traffic facilities this week.
This reveals an increase in vehicle miles traveled but represents a decrease in roadway deaths nationwide.
Region 8, which includes Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota and South Dakota, recorded a 6 percent decrease in fatalities from 2018, per reports.
Overall, an estimated 36,120 Americans died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2019.
This is down about 440 fatalities, or 1.2 percent. The administration says this decrease came despite a nearly 1 percent increase in vehicle miles traveled. This represents an additional 29 billion miles in 2019.
This comes out to 1.1 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled per a statement from the administration.
This is also down 1.13 percent from the previous year.
Fatalities decreased the most among passengers (4 percent), drivers (3 percent), pedal-cyclists (3 percent), pedestrians (2 percent) and motorcyclists (1 percent).
Of the 10 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regions, only Region 4, comprised of Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida, recorded an increase in fatalities.
Robert Miles, the director of traffic and safety at the Utah Department of Transportation, said Utah reported a decrease of 12 traffic fatalities, or 4.6 percent, from 2018-2019.
This put Utah at about 0.75 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled.
Although deaths dipped in 2019, Miles said things aren’t looking so promising thus far for 2020.
As of Thursday morning, UDOT had recorded 72 fatalities on Utah highways in 2020 which is roughly where Utah was last year, Miles stated.
This report is a preliminary statistical projection and its numbers may be revised later in the year.
