Utah lowest in DUI-related deaths

Utah had the largest reduction in alcohol-related traffic deaths in the nation last year, according to a report released Wednesday to state lawmakers.

The report by the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice said that 37 DUI-related fatalities occurred in 2005, compared with 72 fatalities in 2004. That drop also gave Utah the lowest rate of alcohol-related traffic deaths in the nation, according to the report.

Art Brown, president of the Utah chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, praised the decrease in DUI-related fatalities. His comments came during presentations Wednesday to members of the Legislature's transportation and judiciary interim committees.

"It's a tribute to people who think about this around the clock and the Legislature and law enforcement and the community working together," he said.

But Brown and other anti-DUI crusaders said more can be done. Mary Lou Emerson, director of the Utah Substance Abuse and Anti-Violence Coordinating Council, said Wednesday that her group is recommending that the legislature give another $1.6 million in the next fiscal year to an educational campaign against underage drinking.

During the last legislative session, Sen. Pete Knudson, R-Brigham City, sponsored a bill that gave $1.6 million to the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for the campaign. "We propose to you that preventing underage drinking in Utah may be one of the most powerful keys we have to reducing the incidence of driving under the influence," Emerson said.

Other efforts to curb drunken driving include a bill proposed for the 2007 general legislative session that would increase the fee to get a license reinstated after a DUI offense by $10. The transportation committee on Wednesday gave a unanimous recommendation to the bill.

"I, for one, would like to see you continue to turn up the heat on this," said Rep. Dave Clark, R-Santa Clara.

In fiscal year 2006, Utah law enforcement officers made 463 more DUI-related arrests over the previous year, according to the report. Of those arrested, 79 percent were male, while 11 percent were people under age 21, the legal drinking age in Utah.

Also, 65 percent of the arrests happened along the Wasatch Front. Drivers between ages 21 and 36 comprised 55 percent of the arrests, according to the report.

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com