- A 2022 state law penalizes speeding over 105 mph as reckless driving, punishable with jail time and fines.
- The Utah Highway Patrol reports citations for speeding over 105 mph have decreased each year since the law was introduced in 2022.
- UHP still reports six 2026 crashes involving speeds over 100 mph, with one of them fatal.
TAYLORSVILLE — The Utah Highway Patrol is urging drivers to slow down heading into the busy summer travel season — especially those going more than 100 mph.
A state law, which took effect in May 2022, increased penalties for those going that fast. It also classified speeds over 105 mph as reckless driving, which is punishable by jail time and a fine. Drivers can be arrested and have their vehicles impounded.
Data from UHP shows that since that law went into effect, troopers have issued thousands of citations to drivers exceeding 105 mph. But the number of citations has fallen noticeably each year, suggesting perhaps that some Utahns may be getting the message, according to the data:
- 2022 (May 4-Dec. 31): 897 citations
- 2023: 1,370 citations
- 2024: 1,164 citations
- 2025: 874 citations
As KSL has previously reported, UHP has credited the 2022 law with leading to a decrease in citations for excessive speeding overall.
But this form of reckless driving still happens.
"It ends one of two ways," said UHP Maj. Chamberlin Neff. "No. 1, you can meet a state trooper if you're driving over 105 mph, and that state trooper can write you a ticket or that state trooper can take you to jail. Or you could crash and really injure yourself or ultimately die."
This past weekend, a UHP trooper arrested a man reported to be going 112 mph in Murray and who allegedly told the trooper he speeds "all the time."
Just this week, prosecutors in Box Elder County charged another man with reckless driving for reportedly going more than 125 mph on I-15 in January.
Neff said he sees motorcycles traveling as fast as 150 mph or 160 mph on the freeway in the Salt Lake Valley.
So far in 2026, according to UHP data, there have been six crashes in Utah – one of them fatal – involving speeds exceeding 100 mph.
