The report shows 281 fatalities on Utah roads throughout the calendar year, a slight uptick from 279 lives lost in 2023, though the estimated fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled decreased by 2.53%.

“By reviewing these numbers every year, we not only reflect on the lost lives but seek ways to improve,” UDOT Operations Director Troy Peterson said in a release. “All of these crashes are preventable. We all are responsible for prioritizing safety and protecting one another and making this number zero.”

Lt. Cameron Roden, spokesman for DPS and the Utah Highway Patrol, said that any uptick in fatalities isn’t the ideal direction, but he added that there were some positives to be gleaned from the report.

“We always want to see movement in positive directions,” he said. “Seeing a decrease is what our goal is. Ultimately, the majority of fatal crashes are behaviors and things that can be avoided if people take the proper steps for that. Any time we see an increase, we know it’s not the right direction, but we have seen some pretty good decreases throughout the year in certain areas. We want to take the lessons that we learned off of those and build off of them and make needed improvements in others.”

The rise in total deaths is, in part, attributed to an increase in summer fatalities. That number rose from 81 deaths in 2023 to 94 in 2024.

The summer saw the highest numbers of fatalities of any season, with July losing the most lives of any single month, with 43. UDOT said drivers’ higher speeds during warm-weather months are the main culprit.

Roden said the numbers can help direct the highway patrol and other law enforcement agencies toward which areas to prioritize.

“It helps us to know where to target our messaging,” he said. “If we see increases in certain areas, such as impaired driving or teen fatalities or wherever, that helps us to know and understand what groups we need to target in order to get the right messaging to the right place.”

Motorcycle deaths, in particular, had a high concentration from June through August, UDOT said, and impacted a 15-year high of 53 motorcycle fatalities in the year. The majority of those accidents were single-vehicle crashes with one rider, often due to speed, lack of protective gear or loss of control.

Vulnerable users, which include motorcyclists, pedestrians and bicyclists, accounted for one-third of 2024 deaths.

Utah’s largest decline in fatalities came from one of the most accident-prone demographics, as the amount of teenage lives lost decreased by 50% from 2023 to 2024, from 38 to 19 reported fatalities.

Roden said this is a sign that public education efforts are paying off.

“We know that our messaging is doing well there and our focus on teen fatalities is working,” he said. “We want to continue those efforts.”

UDOT emphasized the state will continue focusing on preventing teen fatalities through education, on-the-wheel training and increased parental involvement.

Other declines were seen in unrestrained fatalities, from 81 in 2023 to 69 in 2024. However, almost 39% of crash victims were unrestrained, a higher percentage than an estimated 9.3% of Utah’s who don’t use a seat belt, according to UDOT statistics.

Speed-related fatalities also decreased from 93 to 77 people, as did alcohol/drug-related deaths, from 125 to 110. Roughly 72% of lives lost were male, a similar rate as 2023.

While data for Weber County fatalities wasn’t immediately available, Ogden and surrounding cities witnessed a slew of fatal occurrences throughout 2024, prompting city leaders and law enforcement officials to make public pleas for the public to take greater care on the roads.

Data provided by Zero Fatalities since 2016 shows the fatality rate dropped to 248 people in 2019 but rose to 276 deaths in 2020 and eclipsed the 300 mark in 2021 and 2022. Last year marked a consecutive year the death toll fell below 300 fatalities.

UDOT and DPS have an ultimate goal of zero fatalities along Utah roads. The traffic on the state’s roads continues to grow, though. UDOT estimated a 2.95% increase in vehicle miles traveled from 2023 to 2024.

Roden said, ultimately, there’s only so much UHP, DPS and UDOT can do to cut down on traffic fatalities in the year ahead and that it takes a partnership with the public.

“We’ve had several fatal crashes to start off 2025,” he said. “We want to go through the year and make improvements. It’s something we can’t do alone between law enforcement. We need everybody’s help to make a change in fatalities. If everybody starts with themselves going into a new year saying, ‘Hey, I have issues in this area,’ whether it be distracted driving or wearing a seatbelt. If they can make personal goals just to do a little bit better, that will help us tremendously.”

Standard-Examiner reporter Rob Nielsen contributed to this report.