Local News
Utah sees spike in bicycle fatalities
Salt Lake City, Utah — According to the Utah Department of Transportation, Utah has seen 11 fatalities, more than any previous year in the past decade, and there are still five months left in the year.
There were six reported deaths in 2021. In 2020, there were eight, and in 2019, there were six.
“This has been a terrible year on our roads. We’ve seen a record number of fatalities. It’s definitely concerning,” said UDOT spokesperson John Gleason. “When we are talking about the most extreme numbers we’ve seen in 10 years, that’s the focal point, but these are human stories and these are human tragic events that we need to keep in mind.”
According to Gleason, they are still trying to figure out all the reasons why this year is so bad, but they believe it has a lot to do with an increase in speeding and distracted drivers. “We are seeing a number of speeding citations and the number of risky behaviors increasing on our roads,” Gleason said. “There’s going to be a lot of studies done on what we’ve seen since the pandemic.”
Lisa Hardy ended up in the hospital and doing rehab for several months after being hit by a car on her bike in South Jordan several years ago. “I broke my pelvis in three places, my shoulder blade, and my cheekbone,” Hardy said. “I was in the bike lane where I was supposed to be and she did not see me and hit me.”
Now, she rides mostly trails and stays off the road. “I think there are more distractions — people on their phones and they are looking down quick and look back up,” she said. “That one- or two-second look down, there could be a biker right there.”
Gleason hopes messages like this can remind all drivers to pay attention. “Sometimes our minds skip over it and we’re not always looking for bicyclists. So we need to train our minds to really look for bicyclists,” he said.
-
Local News2 weeks ago
The Jewish community in the area responds to a potential Iranian invasion on Israel
-
Local News2 weeks ago
Transit will be redesigned and expanded by UTA by the potential 2034 Olympics
-
Local News2 weeks ago
Gorilla in Hogle Zoo expecting a new little bundle of joy
-
Local News2 weeks ago
After 119 years, a Salt Lake company is moving to Murray, and the structure will be demolished
-
Local News1 week ago
Significant weather changes will bring Utah rain, snow, and cooler temperatures
-
Local News5 days ago
A large number of people start running in the Salt Lake City Marathon
-
Local News1 week ago
As we come to the end of another fantastic snowy year in Utah, here is the most recent flood forecast for the spring melt
-
Local News6 days ago
Using a deck of cards, a Utah man hopes to overcome his fear of flying
Leave a Reply