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SALT LAKE CITY — Nobody died on Utah's roads over the long Pioneer Day weekend, the Utah Highway Patrol reported Monday.
Pioneer Day gained a reputation over several years for fatal DUI crashes, with nine fatalities occurring on those holidays between 2003 and 2013, more than any other holiday. Officials praised this year's non-fatal weekend as evidence that the Zero Fatalities campaign in Utah signifies a realistic goal.
"While this is one of the busiest travel holidays of the summer, our state troopers were able to see a real reduction in serious crashes," said Utah Higway Patrol Superintendent Danny Fuhr in a prepared statement. "We credit a lot of that reduction with the good choices that drivers are making by using seat belts and not driving while distracted."
We credit a lot of that reduction with the good choices that drivers are making by using seat belts and not driving while distracted.
–Danny Fuhr, UHP
Troopers also conducted 2,648 traffic stops, responded to 82 crashes and made 41 DUI arrests during the weekend, the department reported. Troopers also issued 65 distracted driving citations, handed out 1,717 speeding tickets and assisted 543 stranded motorists.
Drivers' decisions to buckle up helped minimize the effects of the dozens of crashes reported, said Department of Public Safety spokesman Dwayne Baird.
"The UHP believes that the wearing of seat belts greatly minimized the seriousness of injuries in those crashes," he said.
