Road fatalities up by 1

One year after starting a campaign to cut fatalities on Utah roads to zero, the state saw an increase in 2006 of just one person over the previous year's numbers.

In total, 283 people were killed on Utah roads last year, according to a report released Thursday by the Utah Department of Transportation. In 2005, 282 people were killed.

UDOT officials said that the increase does not mean that their campaign is a failure. Last year, the agency spent about $300,000 — from a federal grant — on advertising and educational outreach. This year, UDOT received a $500,000 grant to run the Zero Fatalities campaign.

"The point of the campaign is to say that nothing is acceptable until you get to zero," UDOT spokesman Nile Easton said Thursday. "If the numbers go down, we'll still be saying the same thing."

According to the fatality report, deaths related to behaviors such as speeding, not wearing a seat belt and driving while fatigued did decrease over 2005. But pedestrian and motorcyclist deaths were up.

In 2006, 137 people were killed because they were not properly restrained, according to the report. Another 10 were killed as a result of driving while drowsy, while 49 of the fatalities were attributed to speed.

Twenty-five motorcyclists were killed in 2006, and nine bicyclists were hit and killed.

During a media event Thursday, five girls from Tooele spoke about an accident they were involved in earlier this month. The accident, which occurred at speeds around 60 mph, was allegedly caused by a drunken driver who hit the girls as they were driving home from an indoor soccer match.

Becky DeLeeuw, 17, said she believes that she and her friends survived the crash because they were wearing their seat belts. All five were hurt in the accident, with injuries ranging from bruises to a broken collar bone.

"We're here today and will eventually be able to get better," DeLeeuw said.

The year, as UDOT begins a second round with its Zero Fatalities campaign, the agency will focus on educating teen drivers about measures such as wearing a seat belt and not driving while drowsy, UDOT director John Njord said.

"Peer pressure is not always a bad thing," Njord said. "When a teen gets into a car, then buckles his seat belt, it sends a powerful reminder to his friends about safe driving behavior, without even saying a word."

A complete copy of UDOT's fatalities report can be found at www.ZeroFatalities.com. Several other groups, such as the state Department of Public Safety, are also participating in the campaign.

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com