From Deseret News archives:
Event emphasizes need to buckle up
The push is attributed to 110 of the 270 fatal crashes last year that were due to people not wearing a seat belt.
A joint press conference Tuesday by the Utah Department of Transportation and the Utah Highway Patrol featured directors of both groups who underscored the need to follow basic safety steps.
"The good news is that it is less than last year, but the bad news is we still lost 270 people in highway crashes and that is 270 people too many," UDOT Executive Director John Njord said.
After releasing the numbers, they highlighted their Zero Fatalities campaign. The 110 deaths attributed to improper restraint were by far the highest of all the other types of traffic fatalities. The next closest numbers were 55 fatalities that were speed related and 37 that occurred on motorcycles.
Large signs with excuses like, "It's really uncomfortable," "I didn't have to go far" or "It wrinkles my clothes" were posted throughout a Murray maintenance shed to illustrate just a sample of the many excuses Highway Patrol troopers receive from people not wearing their seat belts.
"Everyone has an excuse when they are not wearing a seat belt. The only problem is that will not do you much good in the case of a crash," Utah Highway Patrol Col. Lance Davenport said. "When it comes to not wearing a seat belt, there is no excuse."
According to UDOT estimates, 88 percent of people wear their seat belts regularly, and the number seems to be holding steady over the past few years.
"I would like to know who are those 12 percent that get in their car and don't buckle up?" Njord questioned. "Who are they and why don't they buckle up?"
Another interesting piece of data from the report was that 181 of the fatalities were men, compared to 89 women who died. Also, the most dangerous holiday weekend of highway travel in 2008 was over July Fourth, when there were 12 fatalities. There were six over the Memorial Day weekend and four over Pioneer Day weekend.
Last year's 270 fatalities was a drop from 285 in 2007, and Njord says there are many reasons for that. The first was that the state saw a 4 percent reduction in travel in 2008. Njord also noted that the state spent more than $10 million in safety features like 50 miles of concrete barrier, 15 miles of cable barrier, 130 miles of rumble strips on the side of the road and almost 4,000 safety signs — features he says have helped decrease fatal accidents throughout the state.
"We have aggressively worked to make our roadways safer," he said. "Every project we do includes some element of safety improvement."
E-mail: ethomas@desnews.com
