The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 42,636 people died on the nation's highways in 2004, a decrease of 248, nearly 1 percent from the previous year. Two hundred ninety-six died on Utah's roads in 2004, 4 percent less than in 2003. Safety groups attributed the decrease to all 50 states moving toward a uniform standard for drunken driving and to high-visibility enforcement, which includes sobriety checkpoints.

Such checkpoints, in which police perform random driver's license checks and look for signs of impairment at pre-designated locations, Brewer said, are effective but end up being "hit and miss" depending on dates and times.

Additional federal funding permits troopers to sponsor DUI blitzes anytime before and during major holidays.

"It allows more officers to work with the sole focus of stopping vehicles for legitimate reasons and searching for impairment based on their intuition and training," Brewer said.

The decline in traffic deaths for the second straight year came as the number of motorists increased. Easton agreed that there are more people on the roads today but that fatal accidents also involve vehicles carrying more than one occupant.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said increased safety on the nation's roads can be attributed to safer cars, higher safety belt use and stronger safety laws.

"But as long as the number of highway deaths remains as high as it is, we will keep advocating for the kind of vehicles, roads and driving habits that make people safer in their cars and trucks," he said.

Contributing: Associated Press

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E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com

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