Utah Car Accident Statistics (2026)

Utah recorded 59,437 crashes, 27,094 injuries and 277 deaths in 2024 (final, Utah DPS Crash Facts), which works out to one crash every 8.8 minutes. Preliminary 2025 figures show 264 deaths, the lowest total since 2019 (UDOT/DPS release, January 6, 2026). Utah’s 2024 rate of 7.9 deaths per 100,000 people (final, IIHS) was below the U.S. rate of 11.5.

Figure	Value	Year	Status	Source
Crashes	59,437	2024	Final	DPS Crash Facts 2024
People injured	27,094	2024	Final	DPS Crash Facts 2024
Deaths	277	2024	Final	DPS Crash Facts 2024
Deaths	264	2025	Preliminary	UDOT/DPS release, Jan 6, 2026
One crash every	8.8 minutes	2024	Final	DPS Crash Facts 2024
Deaths per 100,000 people (Utah vs U.S.)	7.9 vs 11.5	2024	Final	IIHS, Fatality Facts 2024
Crashes and deaths, five years	291,478 crashes; 1,483 deaths	2020 to 2024	Final	DPS Five-Year Crash Fact Sheet
Teen (13 to 19) deaths	18 in 2024; 31 in 2025	2024 and 2025	2024 final; 2025 preliminary	UDOT/DPS release, Jan 6, 2026

Source: Utah DPS Highway Safety Office, Utah Crash Facts 2024 (August 2025) and Five-Year Crash Fact Sheet 2020-2024 (October 2025); UDOT/DPS 2025 fatality release (January 6, 2026); IIHS-HLDI, Fatality Facts 2024: State by state (June 2026). Status: final unless labeled preliminary.

How many car accidents happen in Utah each year?

In the years DPS has published since 2016 (every year except 2019), Utah recorded between 51,629 (2020) and 62,855 (2017) police-reported crashes a year. Deaths peaked at 332 in 2021 and have fallen each year since, to 277 in 2024 (final) and 264 in 2025 (preliminary). The 2019 crash and injury counts are not published online by DPS, and the 2025 crash and injury counts are not yet published.

Year	Crashes	People injured	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Deaths per 100,000 (computed)	Status
2016	62,471	26,738	281	259	Not computed	Final
2017	62,855	25,833	273	247	Not computed	Final
2018	62,074	25,645	260	237	Not computed	Final
2019	Not published	Not published	248	Not printed	Not computed	Deaths final; crashes and injuries not published
2020	51,629	22,819	276	Not printed	Not computed	Final
2021	61,406	26,437	332	Not printed	Not computed	Final
2022	58,992	25,325	319	Not printed	Not computed	Final
2023	60,021	26,637	279	Not printed	Not computed	Final
2024	59,437	27,094	277	Not printed	7.9	Final
2025	Not published	Not published	264	Not printed	7.4	Preliminary deaths; crashes and injuries not yet published

Source: DPS Highway Safety Office: Crash Summary 2016 (2017); Crash Facts 2017 (October 2019); Crash Facts 2018 (January 2020); Crash Facts 2020; Crash Facts 2021, 2022, 2023 (web editions); Crash Facts 2024 (August 2025). 2019 and 2025 deaths: UDOT/DPS release, January 6, 2026. Population: Utah Population Committee, December 2025. Status: final for 2016 to 2024; 2025 deaths preliminary; rates computed by us.

Rate formula: deaths ÷ Utah Population Committee estimate × 100,000. For 2024: 277 ÷ 3,506,798 (July 1, 2024) × 100,000 = 7.9. For 2025 (preliminary deaths): 264 ÷ 3,551,150 (July 1, 2025) × 100,000 = 7.4. Our dataset holds UPC estimates only for those two vintages, so earlier years are left uncomputed rather than filled from a different population series. IIHS publishes 7.9 for 2024 using a Census population of 3,503,613.

Year	One crash every	One injury every	One death every
2024	8.8 minutes	19.4 minutes	31.6 hours
2023	8.8 minutes	19.7 minutes	31.4 hours
2022	8.9 minutes	20.8 minutes	27.5 hours
2021	8.5 minutes	20 minutes	26 hours
2020	10 minutes	23 minutes	32 hours
2018	8.5 minutes	20.5 minutes	33.7 hours
2017	8.4 minutes	20 minutes	32 hours
2016	8 minutes	19 minutes	31 hours

Source: DPS Crash Facts editions for each year (see the table above); 2024 from Utah Crash Facts 2024. Status: final, as printed.

How does Utah compare with the United States?

In 2024 Utah had 7.9 traffic deaths per 100,000 people and 0.77 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, compared with 11.5 and 1.19 for the United States (IIHS analysis of NHTSA FARS data, published June 2026). Motorcyclists made up a larger share of Utah deaths (19%) than of U.S. deaths (16%), and Utah’s deaths were split almost evenly between urban (51%) and rural (49%) roads, while nationally 58% were urban.

Metric	Utah	United States
Population	3,503,613	340,110,988
Vehicle miles traveled (millions)	36,160	3,294,031
Deaths	277	39,254
Deaths per 100,000 population	7.9	11.5
Deaths per 100 million vehicle miles	0.77	1.19
Car occupant deaths (share)	82 (30%)	11,769 (30%)
Pickup and SUV occupant deaths (share)	63 (23%)	10,682 (27%)
Large truck occupant deaths (share)	10 (4%)	920 (2%)
Motorcyclist deaths (share)	53 (19%)	6,228 (16%)
Pedestrian deaths (share)	42 (15%)	7,080 (18%)
Bicyclist deaths (share)	8 (3%)	1,075 (3%)
Urban deaths (share)	140 (51%)	22,905 (58%)
Rural deaths (share)	135 (49%)	16,006 (41%)
Urban or rural unknown	2 (1%)	343 (1%)

Source: Fatality Facts 2024: State by state, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Highway Loss Data Institute, from NHTSA FARS 2024 data (published June 2026). Status: final.

IIHS also reports for Utah in 2024 that 53 fatally injured passenger-vehicle occupants (36%) were unrestrained, 67 (46%) restrained and 27 (18%) unknown; that 83 deaths (30%) were speeding-related; and observed seat belt use of 91%. Nationally, 43% of fatally injured passenger-vehicle occupants were unrestrained and 29% of deaths were speeding-related (IIHS, 2024). IIHS counts 8 Utah bicyclist deaths for 2024 while DPS counts 7, a difference in FARS counting rules.

Utah car accidents by county, 2020 to 2024

Salt Lake County recorded 113,567 crashes and 383 deaths from 2020 through 2024, more than any other county, followed by Utah County (52,526 crashes, 177 deaths) and Weber County (20,201 crashes, 120 deaths). Measured per resident, the highest death rates are in small counties: Grand County averaged 71.3 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, Rich County 64.0 (from 9 deaths) and Millard County 55.4 (rates for Daggett, Garfield, Piute, Rich and Wayne rest on fewer than 10 deaths over five years and can change sharply with one crash), against 6.2 for Salt Lake County and 4.6 for Utah County.

Coverage caveat. These county rows are computed from UDOT crash-location records, not from DPS official totals. The UDOT layers hold 97.6% (2020) to 99.9% (2023) of the crashes DPS reports for each year, and their statewide death sums are within 0 to 2 of the DPS count every year (2021 and 2024 match exactly), so the statewide row differs slightly from the DPS table above. One 2024 record with no county name is excluded.

County	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2020 to 2024	Crashes per 1,000 residents, 2024 (computed)
Beaver	209	269	226	226	216	1,146	29.4
Box Elder	1,035	1,166	1,125	1,273	1,156	5,755	18.7
Cache	2,197	2,534	2,647	2,692	2,563	12,633	17.9
Carbon	360	364	369	393	353	1,839	17.3
Daggett	32	31	38	39	43	183	43.7
Davis	4,529	5,670	5,212	5,454	5,231	26,096	13.8
Duchesne	369	420	467	462	425	2,143	21.1
Emery	207	265	283	242	279	1,276	28.1
Garfield	194	170	166	165	172	867	33.6
Grand	273	329	276	219	211	1,308	21.3
Iron	891	1,033	1,019	1,087	1,041	5,071	15.3
Juab	342	364	341	431	452	1,930	34.5
Kane	213	267	211	265	231	1,187	27.6
Millard	353	406	408	495	475	2,137	34.9
Morgan	216	212	201	229	215	1,073	16.4
Piute	23	33	24	38	30	148	18.2
Rich	87	88	87	89	76	427	27.1
Salt Lake	19,918	24,610	23,435	22,733	22,871	113,567	18.6
San Juan	238	283	295	259	297	1,372	19.8
Sanpete	289	271	340	298	307	1,505	9.9
Sevier	303	394	342	331	384	1,754	17.5
Summit	880	1,068	1,025	1,084	1,057	5,114	24.4
Tooele	1,071	1,244	1,161	1,263	1,309	6,048	16.0
Uintah	474	575	641	639	627	2,956	17.3
Utah	8,670	10,679	10,729	11,394	11,054	52,526	14.7
Wasatch	644	728	760	800	773	3,705	19.9
Washington	2,619	3,264	3,145	3,181	3,153	15,362	15.4
Wayne	55	48	62	47	47	259	18.5
Weber	3,696	4,328	3,785	4,127	4,265	20,201	15.7
Utah (UDOT records)	50,387	61,113	58,820	59,955	59,313	289,588	16.9

Source: UDOT Crash Locations MapServer, 2020 to 2024 layers, statistics queries grouped by county, run September 24, 2026; population from the Utah Population Committee (December 2025), July 1, 2024 column. Status: final data years; counts are UDOT records, slightly below DPS official totals; rates computed by us.

Crashes per 1,000 residents (2024) = crashes in 2024 ÷ July 1, 2024 population × 1,000. Example, Salt Lake County: 22,871 ÷ 1,232,656 × 1,000 = 18.6.

County	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	Deaths 2020 to 2024	Population, July 1, 2025	Deaths per 100,000 per year (computed)
Beaver	2	5	5	0	1	13	7,429	35.0
Box Elder	6	18	8	12	10	54	62,911	17.2
Cache	8	11	7	11	13	50	145,865	6.9
Carbon	7	5	3	6	9	30	20,539	29.2
Daggett	0	0	1	0	0	1	959	20.9
Davis	11	18	21	10	11	71	381,339	3.7
Duchesne	5	8	2	7	1	23	20,266	22.7
Emery	3	5	6	3	3	20	9,922	40.3
Garfield	1	4	2	1	0	8	5,074	31.5
Grand	7	5	8	6	10	36	10,105	71.3
Iron	11	13	6	11	5	46	69,939	13.2
Juab	10	6	1	5	1	23	13,364	34.4
Kane	3	4	5	7	3	22	8,481	51.9
Millard	9	20	3	1	5	38	13,715	55.4
Morgan	6	2	2	2	1	13	13,341	19.5
Piute	0	0	0	0	0	0	1,625	0.0
Rich	1	3	3	0	2	9	2,812	64.0
Salt Lake	70	82	91	67	73	383	1,240,937	6.2
San Juan	6	3	10	8	7	34	14,998	45.3
Sanpete	4	4	5	4	6	23	31,454	14.6
Sevier	6	3	4	2	7	22	22,118	19.9
Summit	6	8	6	5	3	28	43,303	12.9
Tooele	11	17	13	14	10	65	84,320	15.4
Uintah	4	3	8	8	9	32	36,634	17.5
Utah	33	38	42	31	33	177	765,515	4.6
Wasatch	4	11	11	10	9	45	39,588	22.7
Washington	18	17	20	16	17	88	209,129	8.4
Wayne	1	0	1	2	1	5	2,538	39.4
Weber	22	19	23	29	27	120	272,929	8.8
Utah (UDOT records)	275	332	317	278	277	1,479	3,551,150	8.3

Source: UDOT Crash Locations MapServer, sum of the fatalities field by county and year, queried September 24, 2026; population from the Utah Population Committee (December 2025), July 1, 2025 column. Status: final data years; deaths are UDOT records (within 0 to 2 of DPS statewide each year); rates computed by us.

Five-year death rate = deaths 2020 to 2024 ÷ 5 ÷ July 1, 2025 population × 100,000. Example, Grand County: 36 ÷ 5 ÷ 10,105 × 100,000 = 71.3. Using the single 2025 population for all five years is a simplification. We publish only the five-year rate because single-year rates swing widely in small counties: twelve counties (Beaver, Daggett, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Juab, Kane, Morgan, Piute, Rich, Summit and Wayne) recorded fewer than 5 deaths in 2024.

DPS’s own analysis agrees. Its FY 2027 Statewide Problem Identification (2026 Problem ID) attributes 26% of 2020 to 2024 deaths to Salt Lake County, 12% to Utah County, 8% to Weber, 6% to Washington and 5% to Davis (in the UDOT records, Salt Lake County’s 383 deaths are 25.9% of 1,479), and names Rich, Kane, Wasatch, San Juan and Wayne as the counties with the highest fatality rate per vehicle mile.

Traffic death rates by local health district (death-certificate data)

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services counts motor vehicle traffic deaths of Utah residents from death certificates, a different basis from the DPS crash reports used above. On that basis the San Juan health district had an age-adjusted rate of 47.8 deaths per 100,000 residents for 2019 to 2023, more than five times the statewide 8.9, while Utah County (5.9) and Davis County (6.7) were lowest.

Local health district	Age-adjusted rate, 2019 to 2023
Bear River	9.2
Central	16.0
Davis County	6.7
Salt Lake County	8.4
San Juan	47.8
Southeast	20.4
Southwest	11.2
Summit	8.8
Tooele	12.1
TriCounty	23.3
Utah County	5.9
Wasatch	11.1
Weber-Morgan	9.2
State of Utah	8.9

Source: Motor vehicle traffic crash deaths, complete indicator profile, IBIS-PH, Utah DHHS Office of Vital Records and Statistics (page updated February 6, 2025; data through 2023). Status: final.

Year	Deaths per 100,000 (age-adjusted)
2016	8.8
2017	9.4
2018	7.7
2019	7.5
2020	9.4
2021	10.2
2022	9.2
2023	8.3

Source: IBIS-PH, Motor vehicle traffic crash deaths, Utah DHHS. Status: final.

Do not compare these rates directly with the county table: IBIS counts Utah residents wherever they died and age-adjusts the result, while DPS and UDOT count everyone killed on Utah roads, residents or not, without age adjustment.

Who is killed in Utah crashes? Deaths by road-user type, 2024 vs 2025

Motor vehicle drivers (125) and passengers (48) together were 173 of the 277 people killed (62%) on Utah roads in 2024; motorcyclists were 53 (19%), pedestrians 42 (15%) and bicyclists 7 (3%). Preliminary 2025 counts show motorcyclist deaths rising to 70 while total deaths fell to 264.

Road user	Deaths 2024	Share 2024	Deaths 2025 (preliminary)
Driver (motor vehicle)	125	45%	Not released
Passenger (motor vehicle)	48	17%	Not released
Motorcyclist (operator)	53	19%	70 (up 32%, per the UDOT/DPS release; count as reported by KSL and the DPS Problem ID as of December 17, 2025)
Motorcycle passenger	0	0%	Not released
Pedestrian	42	15%	41 (as reported by KSL)
Bicyclist	7	3%	7 (as reported by KSL)
Scooter or skater (other)	2	1%	Not released
Total	277	100%	264 (UDOT/DPS release)

Source: 2024: Utah Crash Facts 2024, DPS Highway Safety Office (August 2025). 2025: UDOT and DPS release 2025 statewide traffic fatality numbers (January 6, 2026), with category counts as reported by KSL.com (January 6, 2026) and the DPS 2026 Problem ID. Status: 2024 final; 2025 preliminary.

The 2025 release also reported 31 teen deaths (up from 18); news reports of the release added 53 deaths of people 65 and older (up from 37, Deseret News), 72 alcohol- or drug-related deaths, 54 unrestrained deaths and 0.72 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles (KSL). All 2025 figures remain preliminary until DPS publishes the 2025 Crash Facts. Over 2020 to 2024, DPS counts 722 driver deaths (49%), 268 passenger (18%), 218 motorcycle operator, 11 motorcycle passenger, 211 pedestrian (14%), 45 bicyclist (3%) and 8 scooter or skater deaths; 72% of the 1,483 people killed were male.

What causes car accidents in Utah?

Following too closely (19%) and failing to yield the right-of-way (18%) were the leading driver actions in all 2024 Utah crashes, but fatal crashes look different: failing to keep in the proper lane led at 27%, followed by failing to yield (13%) and running off the road (7%). Among behavior flags, unrestrained occupants were involved in 37% of 2024 fatal crashes, speed in 31% and an impaired driver in 20%.

Rank	All crashes: driver action	Share of all crashes	Fatal crashes: driver action	Share of fatal crashes
1	Followed too closely	19%	Failed to keep in proper lane	27%
2	Failed to yield right-of-way	18%	Failed to yield right-of-way	13%
3	Failed to keep in proper lane	12%	Ran off road	7%
4	Too fast for conditions	8%	Too fast for conditions	7%
5	Unsafe lane change	6%	Over-correcting / over-steering	6%

Source: Utah Crash Facts 2024, DPS Highway Safety Office (completed August 2025). Status: final.

Behavior	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Unrestrained occupants	37%	34%	45%	25%	34%
Speed-related	31%	29%	35%	33%	31%
Impaired driver (BAC 0.05 or higher, as DPS defines it)	20%	17%	21%	Not printed	17%
Distracted driving	8%	7%	7%	3%	7%
Aggressive driving / road rage	8%	8%	10%	8%	9%
Wrong-way driver	2%	2%	Not printed	Not printed	Not printed
Drowsy driving	Not printed	Not printed	Not printed	4%	Not printed

Source: Utah Crash Facts 2024 (August 2025); 2023; 2022; 2021 (revised, February 2023); 2020. DPS Highway Safety Office. Status: final, as printed; blank cells were not printed on that year’s sheet.

The 2024 sheet also reports that 47% of all crashes occurred at intersections, 80% happened on dry roads and 73% of people killed were male. Across 2020 to 2024 the DPS five-year sheet ranks the fatal-crash driver actions as failing to keep in the proper lane (30%), failing to yield (15%), running off the road (12%), over-correcting (8%) and driving too fast for conditions (6%).

When do crashes happen in Utah?

In 2024, January had the most crashes of any month (9.39% of the year), Friday the most of any day (16.41%) and 5:00 PM the most of any hour (9.2%). Fatal crashes peaked at different times: July (13.45%), Sunday (18.5%) and midnight (12.36%).

Dimension	All crashes: peak (share)	Fatal crashes: peak (share)
Month	January (9.39%)	July (13.45%)
Day of week	Friday (16.41%)	Sunday (18.5%)
Hour	5:00 PM (9.2%)	12:00 AM (midnight) (12.36%)

Source: Utah Crash Facts 2024, DPS Highway Safety Office (completed August 2025). Status: final. DPS prints only the peak period for each dimension, not the full distribution.

Earlier sheets show the same winter pattern: January (6,197 crashes) and Friday (9,875) led in 2023, December (6,084) and Wednesday (9,922) in 2022, and December (6,587) and Friday (10,587) in 2021. DPS also reports that 2020 to 2024 pedestrian crashes peaked between 2:00 and 7:00 PM and in September through November, and that 86% of motorcyclist deaths occurred from April through October.

Teen driver crash statistics in Utah

Drivers aged 15 to 19 hold 9% of Utah licenses but were involved in 21% of all crashes and 28% of serious-injury crashes from 2020 through 2024 (DPS 2026 Problem ID). Teen deaths rose from 18 in 2024 to 31 in 2025 (preliminary), which the DPS Problem ID describes as a 70% increase (31 vs 18 is a 72% rise).

Metric	Value	Period
Share of licensed drivers aged 15 to 19	9%	November 2025
Teen driver share of all crashes	21%	2020 to 2024
Teen driver share of serious-injury crashes	28%	2020 to 2024
Deaths in crashes involving a teen driver	193	2020 to 2024
Teen drivers killed	68	2020 to 2024
Teens (all road-user types) killed	143	2020 to 2024
Injuries in crashes involving a teen driver	28,933	2020 to 2024
Teen fatalities unrestrained	38%	2020 to 2024
Teen driver share of fatal crashes	12.9%	2020 to 2024
Teen deaths	18 (final)	2024
Teen deaths	31 (preliminary)	2025

Source: FY 2027 Statewide Problem Identification (2026 Problem ID), DPS Highway Safety Office; teen fatal-crash share from the DPS Five-Year Crash Fact Sheet 2020-2024; 2024 and 2025 teen deaths from the UDOT/DPS release of January 6, 2026. Status: final for 2020 to 2024; 2025 preliminary.

The 2024 annual sheet reports that teenage drivers accounted for 23% of all 2024 crashes, more than any other age group; the 21% above is the Problem ID’s figure for 2020 to 2024. The preliminary January 2025 release counted 19 teen deaths for 2024; the final count is 18.

DUI and impaired driving crashes in Utah

Utah recorded 826 alcohol-related crashes in 2024 that injured 256 people and killed 56, or 20% of the year’s 277 traffic deaths (CCJJ 23rd Annual DUI Report). A further 98 deaths (35%) involved a drug-positive driver. DUI arrests fell by 517 (4.5%) to 10,923 in fiscal year 2025 (July 2024 to June 2025).

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Alcohol-related crashes	826	Calendar 2024	CCJJ
People injured in alcohol-related crashes	256	Calendar 2024	CCJJ (up 12% from 2023)
Alcohol-related deaths	56	Calendar 2024	CCJJ (up 19% from 47 in 2023)
Alcohol-related deaths as a share of all 277 deaths	20%	Calendar 2024	CCJJ
Drug-related crashes	191	Calendar 2024	CCJJ
People injured in drug-related crashes	96	Calendar 2024	CCJJ
Deaths involving a drug-positive driver	98	Calendar 2024	CCJJ (down 9% from 108 in 2023)
Deaths involving a drug-positive driver, share of all deaths	35%	Calendar 2024	CCJJ
Alcohol-related crashes	4,408	2020 to 2024	DPS impaired driving page
Alcohol-related deaths	274	2020 to 2024	DPS impaired driving page
How much more likely an alcohol-related crash is to be fatal	15.1 times	2020 to 2024	DPS impaired driving page
Deadliest days for alcohol-related fatal crashes	Saturday, then Sunday and Friday	2020 to 2024	DPS impaired driving page
Impaired (alcohol or drug) share of deaths	21%	2020 to 2024	DPS Problem ID
Drivers under 21, share of alcohol-related crashes	14%	2020 to 2024	DPS Problem ID
Wrong-way drivers in crashes; share impaired	303; 72 (23.76%)	2020 to 2024	DPS Problem ID
Alcohol- or drug-related deaths	72 (preliminary)	2025	KSL report of the UDOT/DPS release

Source: 23rd Annual DUI Report to the Utah Legislature, Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (2025; presented November 20, 2025); Impaired Driving, DPS Highway Safety Office (2020 to 2024); DPS 2026 Problem ID; KSL.com, January 6, 2026. Status: final except the 2025 row, which is preliminary.

Fiscal year	DUI arrests
FY2021	10,619
FY2022	10,413
FY2023	11,246
FY2024	11,440
FY2025	10,923 (down 517, or 4.5%, from FY2024)

Source: 23rd Annual DUI Report to the Utah Legislature, CCJJ (2025). Status: final.

In FY2025, 68% of arrests (7,460) were made along the Wasatch Front, 74% of arrestees were male and 11% were under 21 (CCJJ); the average arrestee BAC was 0.14 (DPS impaired driving page). Arrests are counted by state fiscal year while crashes and deaths are counted by calendar year, so the two series do not line up exactly.

Motorcycle, pedestrian, bicycle and older-driver crashes

Motorcyclist deaths in Utah climbed from 42 in 2023 to 53 in 2024 and to a preliminary 70 in 2025, even though motorcycles are 3% of registered vehicles. Pedestrian deaths were 42 in 2024 and a preliminary 41 in 2025; bicyclist deaths were 7 in both years; and deaths of people aged 65 and older rose from 37 to a preliminary 53.

Group	Metric	2024	2025	Source
Motorcyclists	Motorcyclist deaths	53 (final)	70 (preliminary; up 32%)	DPS 2024 Crash Facts; UDOT/DPS release; Problem ID (as of December 17, 2025)
Motorcyclists	Motorcycle operators and passengers involved in crashes	1,291 operators; 70 passengers	Not published	DPS 2024 Crash Facts
Motorcyclists	Motorcycle crashes and deaths, 2020 to 2024	5,887 crashes; 229 deaths (15.85% of deaths as printed by DPS)	Not applicable	DPS Problem ID
Motorcyclists	Helmet use in crashes, 2020 to 2024	62% of operators; 56% of passengers	Not applicable	DPS Problem ID
Motorcyclists	Fatal-injury multiplier for unhelmeted riders, 2020 to 2024	1.78 times	Not applicable	DPS Problem ID
Motorcyclists	2024 motorcyclist deaths in Salt Lake, Utah, Weber, Washington and Davis counties combined	41 (77%)	Not applicable	DPS Problem ID
Pedestrians	Pedestrian deaths	42 (final)	41 (preliminary, as reported by KSL)	DPS 2024 Crash Facts; KSL
Pedestrians	Pedestrians involved in crashes	883	Not published	DPS 2024 Crash Facts
Pedestrians	Pedestrian crashes and deaths, 2020 to 2024	4,477 crashes; 219 deaths	Not applicable	DPS Problem ID
Pedestrians	Pedestrians killed with BAC 0.05 or higher, 2020 to 2024	24%	Not applicable	DPS Problem ID
Bicyclists	Bicyclist deaths	7 (final; IIHS counts 8)	7 (preliminary, as reported by KSL)	DPS 2024 Crash Facts; KSL
Bicyclists	Bicyclists involved in crashes	604	Not published	DPS 2024 Crash Facts
Bicyclists	Bicycle crashes, injuries and deaths, 2020 to 2024	2,575 crashes; 2,358 injuries; 45 deaths	Not applicable	DPS Problem ID
Older adults (65+)	Deaths	37 (as reported by Deseret News)	53 (preliminary, as reported by Deseret News)	Deseret News, January 7, 2026, quoting UDOT/DPS
Older drivers (65+)	Share of fatal crashes and of serious-injury crashes, 2020 to 2024	20%; 23%	Not applicable	DPS Problem ID
Older drivers (65+)	Crashes, injuries and deaths involving an older driver, 2020 to 2024	40,459 crashes; 20,189 injuries; 306 deaths	Not applicable	DPS Problem ID

Source: Utah Crash Facts 2024, DPS (August 2025); FY 2027 Statewide Problem Identification, DPS; UDOT/DPS release (January 6, 2026); KSL.com (January 6, 2026); Deseret News (January 7, 2026). Status: 2024 final; 2025 preliminary; 2020 to 2024 figures final.

Two pedestrian totals appear in DPS publications for 2020 to 2024: the Five-Year Crash Fact Sheet’s person-type table lists 211 pedestrian deaths, while the Problem ID lists 219; we cite each where it appears. The DPS Problem ID also notes that 88% of bicycle crashes occurred in six counties. Riders and walkers hurt in these crashes face different questions from car occupants; our Utah motorcycle accident and Utah pedestrian accident pages cover those situations separately.

Seat belts and rural roads

Observed seat belt use in Utah slipped from 92.4% in 2023 to 90.7% in 2024 and 89.6% in 2025; unrestrained occupants were involved in 37% of 2024 fatal crashes, and 354 died from 2020 through 2024. Rural counties produced 17% of Utah’s crashes but 40% of its deaths over those five years, and 55% of people killed in rural crashes were unrestrained.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Observed seat belt use	92.4%	2023	DPS Problem ID (annual observational survey)
Observed seat belt use	90.7%	2024	DPS Problem ID
Observed seat belt use	89.6%	2025	DPS Problem ID
Five-year average belt use	90.5%	2021 to 2025	DPS Problem ID
Unrestrained occupants killed	54	2024	DPS 2024 Crash Facts
Unrestrained occupants killed	54 (preliminary; KSL describes this as a decline from its 2024 count, which differs from the DPS final)	2025	KSL report of the UDOT/DPS release
Unrestrained share of fatal crashes	37%	2024	DPS 2024 Crash Facts
Unrestrained occupants killed; unrestrained occupants in crashes	354; 10,171	2020 to 2024	DPS Problem ID
Unrestrained share of deaths	28%	2020 to 2024	DPS Problem ID
Children 8 and under not properly restrained; child (8 and under) fatalities	36.9%; 24	2020 to 2024	DPS Problem ID
Rural counties: share of crashes; share of deaths	17%; 40%	2020 to 2024	DPS Problem ID
Fatal crash rate per 100 million vehicle miles: rural; urban	1.07; 0.68	2020 to 2024	DPS Problem ID
Rural fatalities unrestrained	55%	2020 to 2024	DPS Problem ID
EMS incident-to-hospital time: urban; rural; frontier counties	35.2; 43.9; 60.8 minutes	As reported	DPS Problem ID

Source: FY 2027 Statewide Problem Identification, DPS Highway Safety Office; Utah Crash Facts 2024, DPS; KSL.com, January 6, 2026. Status: final except the 2025 unrestrained row, which is preliminary.

Other 2020 to 2024 behavior counts from the Problem ID: 40,453 speed-related crashes (434 fatal; 33% of deaths), 25,532 distracted-driving crashes (63% of them rear-end collisions; 88 fatal), 4,879 drowsy-driving crashes (31 deaths) and 116 fatal aggressive-driving or road-rage crashes (133 deaths).

2026 year-to-date fatalities

As of September 24, 2026, no Utah agency has published a 2026 year-to-date fatality count in a static, citable form. The Zero Fatalities statistics page carries only embedded dashboards with no fixed numbers, the DPS Statewide Fatality Report was last updated with 2025 data on November 24, 2025, and no UDOT release in 2026 has reported a year-to-date total. We will add a dated 2026 figure, with its source and as-of date, once one is published; we do not estimate it.

Why Utah crash numbers differ online

Different Utah crash figures circulate for the same year because agencies publish preliminary counts first and revise them, and because DPS, NHTSA and the Department of Health count deaths differently. The clearest example is 2024: UDOT and DPS announced 281 deaths in January 2025; the final DPS count, matched by IIHS, is 277.

• Preliminary vs final. The January 2025 release counted 281 deaths and 19 teen deaths for 2024 and said “nearly 39%” of crash victims were unrestrained; news coverage also carried a preliminary count of 44 pedestrian deaths. The final 2024 Crash Facts (August 2025) show 277 deaths, 42 pedestrian deaths and 37% unrestrained, and the January 2026 release puts 2024 teen deaths at 18. The 2025 figure of 264 is at the same preliminary stage and can change when the 2025 Crash Facts appear.
• DPS vs FARS vs death certificates. DPS counts everyone killed on Utah roads from police crash reports. NHTSA FARS, used by IIHS, applies its own national counting rules, which is why IIHS counts 8 Utah bicyclist deaths in 2024 vs 7 for DPS. IBIS counts only Utah residents from death certificates and age-adjusts the rate. IIHS also reports 36% of fatally injured passenger-vehicle occupants as unrestrained, a narrower denominator than the DPS 37% of fatal crashes.
• UDOT records vs DPS totals. County counts from UDOT crash-location records run 97.6% to 99.9% of the DPS crash totals, which is why our county tables sum to 289,588 crashes and 1,479 deaths for 2020 to 2024 while DPS reports 291,478 and 1,483.
• Two DPS totals for pedestrians. DPS’s five-year sheet lists 211 pedestrian deaths for 2020 to 2024 and its Problem ID lists 219.
• Calendar vs fiscal year. Crashes and deaths are reported by calendar year; DUI arrests are reported by state fiscal year (July to June), so FY2025 covers July 2024 through June 2025.
• Population vintages. The DPS Problem ID labels 3,506,838 as the July 1, 2025 population, within 40 of the Utah Population Committee’s July 1, 2024 estimate (3,506,798); UPC’s July 1, 2025 estimate is 3,551,150 and IIHS uses 3,503,613 for 2024. Rates per 100,000 shift slightly with the denominator.
• Reporting threshold. Utah police crash reports cover crashes involving injury, death or at least $2,500 in property damage (DPS crash data page), so insurer and self-reported crash counts will differ from the DPS totals.
• Frequency statements and inflated counts. “One crash every 8.5 minutes” comes from the 2018 and 2021 sheets; the 2024 values are 8.8 minutes, 19.4 minutes and 31.6 hours. Crash counts for 2023 or 2024 above the DPS finals of 60,021 and 59,437 do not match any DPS edition.
• A printed inconsistency. The DPS five-year sheet prints “a crash occurred every 12 minutes,” but 291,478 crashes over five years is one every 9.0 minutes, so we quote the single-year 2024 sheet for frequency figures.

Methodology and sources

Every figure on this page was read directly from the source listed below on September 24, 2026. We do not estimate or extrapolate; where a figure is not yet published we say so. Per-capita rates are computed by us with the formula shown beside each table. Percentages are shown as the agency printed them.

1. Utah Crash Facts 2024. Utah Department of Public Safety, Highway Safety Office. Completed August 2025. Used for all 2024 figures.
2. Utah Crash Facts 2023, Utah Crash Facts 2022 and Utah Crash Facts 2021 (web editions; 2021 revised PDF, February 2023). DPS Highway Safety Office. Used for 2021 to 2023 totals, frequency, timing and behavior factors.
3. Utah Crash Facts 2020. DPS Highway Safety Office. Used for 2020 totals, frequency and behavior factors.
4. Utah Crash Facts 2018 (January 2020), Utah Crash Facts 2017 (October 2019) and Utah Crash Summary 2016 (2017). DPS Highway Safety Office. Used for 2016 to 2018 totals and frequency.
5. Utah Crash Facts 2020-2024 (Five-Year Crash Fact Sheet). DPS Highway Safety Office. Completed October 2025. Used for five-year totals, road-user shares and the five-year driver-action ranking.
6. FY 2027 Statewide Problem Identification (2026 Problem ID). DPS Highway Safety Office. Data through December 2025. Used for county shares, rural vs urban, teen, older driver, motorcycle, pedestrian, bicycle, seat belt and behavior figures.
7. Impaired Driving. DPS Highway Safety Office. 2020 to 2024 statistics. Used for five-year alcohol-related crashes and deaths.
8. 23rd Annual DUI Report to the Utah Legislature. Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, 2025 (Transportation Interim Committee, November 20, 2025). Used for 2024 impaired-driving crashes, injuries and deaths and FY2021 to FY2025 arrests.
9. UDOT and DPS release 2025 statewide traffic fatality numbers. Utah Department of Transportation and Utah Department of Public Safety, January 6, 2026. Used for 2025 preliminary deaths, 2019 deaths and teen deaths.
10. UDOT and DPS release preliminary 2024 statewide traffic fatality numbers. UDOT/DPS, January 7, 2025. Used only to document the later-revised preliminary 2024 figures.
11. Utah traffic fatalities reach lowest level in 6 years, but some alarming trends emerge. KSL.com, January 6, 2026, and Utah traffic deaths hit 6-year low in 2025, but motorcyclist and teen fatalities rise. Deseret News, January 7, 2026. Secondary reports of the 2025 category counts the release itself did not print.
12. Fatality Facts 2024: State by state. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Highway Loss Data Institute, from NHTSA FARS, June 2026. Used for the Utah vs U.S. comparison.
13. Crash Locations (MapServer). UDOT Traffic and Safety, ArcGIS REST service, layers for 2020 to 2024, statistics queries grouped by county, run September 24, 2026. Used for county crashes and deaths.
14. State and County Population Estimates for Utah: 2025. Utah Population Committee and Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, University of Utah, December 2025 (Table 1). Used as the denominator for all computed rates.
15. Motor vehicle traffic crash deaths (complete indicator profile). Utah Department of Health and Human Services, IBIS-PH. Page updated February 6, 2025; data through 2023. Used for local health district and statewide age-adjusted death rates.
16. Statistics. Zero Fatalities (UDOT/DPS). Page modified May 12, 2026. Checked, with the DPS Statewide Fatality Report (last updated November 24, 2025), for 2026 year-to-date figures; none published in static form.

Update cadence. Monthly: check for a citable 2026 year-to-date figure. On release: replace the preliminary 2025 row when DPS publishes the 2025 Crash Facts (the 2024 edition arrived in August 2025). Each January: the preliminary UDOT/DPS death count. Each June: the IIHS update. Each December: new population denominators and a refreshed five-year county window. Every change is listed below.

Changelog

• September 28, 2026: page published with DPS annual data for 2016 to 2024, preliminary 2025 deaths, UDOT county data for 2020 to 2024, IIHS 2024 and IBIS 2019 to 2023.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many car accidents happen in Utah each year?

Utah recorded 59,437 police-reported crashes in 2024, the most recent final year, along with 27,094 injuries and 277 deaths (Utah DPS Crash Facts 2024). In the years DPS has published since 2016 (every year except 2019), annual totals have ranged from 51,629 crashes (2020) to 62,855 (2017).

How many people died in Utah car accidents in 2025?

UDOT and DPS reported a preliminary 264 traffic deaths in Utah for 2025 on January 6, 2026, down from 277 in 2024 and the lowest total since 248 in 2019. The figure stays preliminary until DPS publishes the 2025 Crash Facts.

How often does a car accident happen in Utah?

In 2024 a crash occurred in Utah every 8.8 minutes, someone was injured every 19.4 minutes and someone was killed every 31.6 hours, according to the DPS 2024 Crash Facts.

Which Utah county has the most car accidents?

Salt Lake County had 22,871 crashes and 73 deaths in 2024 and 113,567 crashes and 383 deaths from 2020 through 2024, the most of any county in UDOT crash-location records. Utah County was second with 52,526 crashes and 177 deaths over the five years.

Which Utah county has the highest traffic death rate?

Grand County averaged 71.3 traffic deaths per 100,000 residents a year from 2020 through 2024 (36 deaths, July 1, 2025 population 10,105), followed by Rich (64.0, from 9 deaths) and Millard (55.4), compared with 6.2 for Salt Lake County.

Is Utah safer than the national average for traffic deaths?

Yes by both standard measures: in 2024 Utah had 7.9 deaths per 100,000 people and 0.77 per 100 million vehicle miles, against 11.5 and 1.19 for the United States (IIHS, from NHTSA FARS).

What is the leading cause of car accidents in Utah?

Following too closely was the top driver action in all 2024 Utah crashes (19%), followed by failing to yield the right-of-way (18%); in fatal crashes the leading action was failing to keep in the proper lane (27%), with unrestrained occupants (37%), speed (31%) and impaired drivers (20%) the most common behavior factors.

When do most car accidents happen in Utah?

In 2024, January (9.39% of crashes), Fridays (16.41%) and 5:00 PM (9.2%) were the peak month, day and hour for all Utah crashes, while fatal crashes peaked in July (13.45%), on Sundays (18.5%) and at midnight (12.36%).

How many DUI crashes and deaths does Utah have?

Utah had 826 alcohol-related crashes with 56 deaths and 191 drug-related crashes in 2024, plus 98 deaths involving a drug-positive driver (CCJJ 23rd Annual DUI Report); DUI arrests totaled 10,923 in fiscal year 2025, down 517 (4.5%) from 11,440.

How many teens die in Utah car crashes?

Thirty-one Utah teens aged 13 to 19 died in traffic crashes in 2025 (preliminary), up from 18 in 2024; over 2020 to 2024, 143 teens were killed, including 68 teen drivers, and teen drivers were involved in 21% of all crashes (DPS 2026 Problem ID).