Death On The Road: Utah Has a Dismal History Of Wrong-Way Drivers

Wrong-way drivers are making headlines (again) in Utah.

Two days ago, three people were critically injured when a Tesla driver seemingly purposely crashed going the wrong way on the Interstate near Holden.

Last week an older gentleman was killed near Salt Lake City driving the wrong way on the Interstate.

Last October, two people were killed and three others injured on I-15 just North of Beaver.

In the past 16 months, eight people have died on Utah roads due to wrong-way drivers.

Just ion our website, there are four different stories chronicling the tragedy of wrong-way drivers.

What the heck is going on?

Information from the 2010s tells us that Utah had only 3.3 deaths per year (with 30 crashes) during that time from wrong-way crashes. In contrast, Texas had 67.7 deaths per year with 446 wrong-way crashes and Florida had 34.4 DPY with 226 crashes.

And experts say impaired driving (DUI) is the biggest factor in wrong-way drivers.

The AAA Foundation said its research showed the odds of being a wrong-way driver increased with 1. alcohol impairment; 2. older age, and 3. driving without a passenger.

Utah is being proactive in trying to stop these type of accidents.

This year, UDOT has installed 15 wrong-way driving detection systems around the state to help prevent wrong-way driving crashes.

UDOT began installing these systems in February 2023, and is in the process of installing eight more.

The new wrong-way driver detection and alert system consists of a detector unit, which includes a radar and high definition/infrared cameras, and a series of red “Wrong Way” warning signs equipped with solar-powered, high-intensity LED lights. When a wrong-way driver is detected by the radar or the cameras, the LED signs activate to alert the driver. If the vehicle continues going the wrong way, the system sends automated alerts to the UDOT Traffic Operations Center (TOC) and the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP) so the driver can be tracked and stopped as quickly as possible.

So what should you do if you encounter a wrong-way driver?

UHP Sgt. Cameron Roden told the Deseret News that if you see a wrong-way driver that you slow down as much as possible. “A lot of these crashes we are seeing happen toward the left-hand side of the road,” he said. “And so, if you see a wrong-way vehicle coming and can maneuver to the right, get over to the right and stop.”

“Each situation is so unique and independent,” Roden emphasized. “Some of these crashes are very violent and sudden.” Drivers sometimes do not have enough time to react due to this.