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A regional public media collaboration serving the Rocky Mountain States of Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

Coming Soon: 100 Deadly Days Of Summer On Mountain West Roads

Judy Fahys/KUER News
The 100 Deadliest Days are coming up, beginning on Memorial Day. Distractions account for more than half of all fatal crashes.

The100 Deadliest Days for car and truck crashes starts Memorial Day and ends on Labor Day. It’s when fatalities spike the tally, leading to more than 1,400 deaths in the Mountain West.

Credit Based on data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2016.
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Based on data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2016.
Based on data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2016.

“We go out on the roads and look for those that are speeding, those that are not wearing their seat belts, those that may be driving impaired, distracted or drowsy,” said Sgt. Todd Royce, a spokesman for the Utah Highway Patrol.

AAA says the number of deadly crashes among teens surges in summer. One big reason is phones. Another is distractions from passengers in the car.

Michael Blasky, a AAA spokesman, calls cell phones a big factor.

 “It’s kind of a new territory for everybody and we’re trying to figure out the best way to minimize harm.”

According 2016 data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Utah has the lowest highway fatality rate in the Mountain West — 9.2 per 100,000 people. Wyoming is the highest in the region at 19.1 per 100,000 population.

Credit Based on data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2016.
/
Based on data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2016.

That data shows the rate in Montana at 18.2 per 100,000 population; 15 per 100,000 population in Idaho; and 11 per 100,000 population in Colorado.

This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, Yellowstone Public Radio in Montana, KUER in Salt Lake City and KRCC and KUNC in Colorado.

 

Judy Fahys has reported in Utah for two decades, covering politics, government and business before taking on environmental issues. She loves covering Utah, where petroleum-pipeline spills, the nation’s radioactive legacy and other types of pollution provide endless fodder for stories. Previously, she worked for the Salt Lake Tribune in Utah, and reported on the nation’s capital for States News Service and the Scripps League newspaper chain. She is a longtime member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors. She also spent an academic year as a research fellow in the Knight Science Journalism program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In her spare time, she enjoys being out in the environment, especially hiking, gardening and watercolor painting.
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