As they say in logic class, you can't prove a negative. The state of Utah spent $300,000 on an ad campaign to curtail death on the roadways, but sadly, the number of pedestrian and motorcycle fatalities went up 27 percent over the first six months of 2006.

Was the campaign a flop?

That's the unprovable negative.

Without the ads, who can say the number of deaths wouldn't have been greater? And if the ads kept just one person from being reckless and losing his life, the money wasn't a waste. There is no way to know how many lives have been saved by the ads, only how many have been lost on the roads.

When it comes to safety issues, education will always be a key component — whether it's automobile safety, food safety, water safety or fire safety. Because the highway death toll figures didn't play out as hoped is no reason to be discouraged. Utah must simply double its efforts to be more effective. The word is getting out. It simply needs to get out farther and louder.

As of July 7, some 115 people have died during the year on Utah's roads. That's 115 more than UDOT's "Zero Fatalities" campaign allows. But UDOT is right in defending the program and in saying that the year is only half over. With more education, more interest and more commitment, there is still a chance the trend can be reversed. When it comes to highway safety, wringing one's hands is OK; throwing one's hands up is not.

Utahns can help by not only being more careful when riding and walking, but by passing the word along. As of today, only three states have initiatives similar to UDOT's "Zero Fatalities." The department wants the one here to not only continue, but to expand.

We're on board.

We encourage other Utahns to jump on board as well.