Speed, not seatbelts account for more road deaths than DUI

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah lawmakers this year lowered the state’s DUI threshold to the strictest in the nation in an attempt to make roadways safer, but a new state reports shows drunk driving only contributed to about 13 percent of the state’s traffic deaths last year.
Speeding and unbuckled seatbelts remained Utah’s leading factors in fatal crashes, accounting for most the 281 traffic deaths reported.
The report from Utah’s Department of Public Safety shows speed was a factor in 38 percent of deaths and drivers and passengers not wearing seatbelts played a role in 29 percent of deaths.
Provo Republican Rep. Norm Thurston says the DUI law he sponsored is not the only way to make roads safer but it helps.
He says he and law enforcement looked at speeding and seatbelt use but couldn’t find immediate ways to cut those problems.