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When Valerie Jones’ sister died in a crosswalk in southern Utah, she couldn’t stop crying. When her brother died in the same spot two days later, her body “just shut down.”

At the end of October 2023, Mardelle Parkin, 37, and Matthew Jones, 35, both died in the intersection of Bluff Street and 500 North, the St. George News reported at the time.

“How do two people die, two days apart, in the same spot, on the same crosswalk?” Jones said.

The intersection where Jones’ siblings died stretches to seven lanes on Bluff Street, and Jones said the lights are fairly dim, making it difficult to see. One of the drivers was also charged with using cocaine before driving.

Parkin and Matthew Jones are among thousands of people who have died on the streets across Utah in the past decade – and both crashes and fatalities are on the rise (again), even as officials try to address road safety and user behavior.

The Tribune analyzed the past 10 years of traffic fatality and crash data in Utah through a state database to determine where fatal crashes happen most often and the factors that cause them.

Most of the deaths occurred on Utah Department of Transportation streets. Fatal crashes also were most common in the early afternoon – especially at 3 p.m. – and in clear weather.

Since 2020, pedestrian deaths have risen across the United States. In 2023, the U.S. pedestrian death rate rose to the highest rate in 40 years, according to data from the Governor’s Highway Safety Administration. In Utah, crashes involving pedestrians are 12.7 times more likely to result in death, and they account for 18% of the state’s fatal crashes, according to data from the Utah Highway Safety Office.

But there are solutions, advocates and transportation experts say. And cities from Salt Lake City to St. George are taking steps to make roads safer for all.

“This problem of roadway deaths is kind of a uniquely American problem,” said Peter McDonald, a member of Sweet Streets SLC, an organization that advocates for pedestrian and cyclist safety. “And a lot of that can be attributed to design choices that the government, the city, or UDOT has the ability to change if they want to focus on safety instead of speed at the expense of safety.”

The state agency has been working on infrastructure improvements, especially as it relates to crashes involving motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians, said Robert Miles, who leads the traffic and safety division at the Utah Department of Transportation.

For example, a cable barrier on Interstate 84 from Tremonton to the Idaho border led to no more severe crashes on that stretch despite a slight increase in crashes. A flashing yellow light at 700 East and 1700 South in Salt Lake City cut the number of crashes in half. And a roundabout at the intersection of two state roads near Bryce Canyon National Park led to fewer crashes.

Crashes, fatalities on the rise after a dip

The number of crashes statewide rose 35.3% between 2010 and 2019, before dropping by 20% in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Utah Highway Safety Office database.

Crashes were up again in 2021, dipped again in 2022 then rose by 8% in 2023.

There haven’t been more than 300 fatal crashes in a year in the last decade, but 2021 and 2022 came close. There were 295 fatal crashes each of those years and more than 300 fatalities – 332 in 2021 and 319 in 2022.

Looking at bulk numbers is one way to measure progress or a lack of it, Miles said, but there’s more nuance when you start looking at the fatality rate and how many people are on the road.

There’s more potential for fatalities as traffic increases, he said, but the state’s number has mostly held steady.

With the exception of 2020, people have been traveling more miles by the millions. The rate of crashes per million vehicle miles has stayed mostly between 0.8 and 1, though it dipped below that in 2019 before increasing.

The coronavirus pandemic broke a trend of fatalities holding pretty steady, Miles said, and Utah wasn’t the only state to see a significant increase.

“We saw a lot of change in risky behavior,” he said, including increased alcohol and drug use and more people driving faster than 100 mph.

Fatal crashes and fatalities then dipped in 2023 to 250 and 279, respectively, based on state data pulled on March 1.

Most fatal crashes happen along the Wasatch Front – the largest numbers are in Salt Lake, Utah and Weber counties. Many of these crashes are along Interstate 15, according to data the state provided through a public records request.

But fewer than 1% of crashes in those counties are fatal, according to overall crash statistics.

Rural counties have higher fatality rates. In San Juan County, 2.2% of crashes in the last decade were fatal. Daggett wasn’t far behind at 1.9%, and Emery and Grand rounded out the top three at 1.7%.

Nationally, the fatality rate generally is higher in rural areas than in urban areas, based on data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. A study from 2022 attributes that to a lack of safety resources, poor emergency medical services and risky driver behaviors — including not wearing a seat belt, impaired driving, speeding and distraction.

More than half of crashes – about 56% – happen during daylight, according to the data provided by the Utah Highway Safety Office. Another 23% of crashes happen in dark, unlit areas, and 13.7% happen in dark but lit areas.

Nearly ⅔ of crashes happen in clear weather, and more than 80% happen on dry roads. Roads were wet in 7% of fatal crashes, and snow and slush combined account for about 2.4%.

More than half of fatal crashes happen on state-controlled roads, the state-provided data shows. The next highest percentage is city-controlled roads in various municipalities across the state, and those account for less than 20% of fatal crashes.

Though crashes involving motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians are a smaller portion of fatalities than vehicle-only crashes, Miles said, the state has some concerns about rising numbers.

Utah used to have about 30 pedestrian deaths on average a year, he said, but that running average is now closer to 40. The state is tracking similar increases in motorcyclist and bicyclist deaths, he said.

UDOT has been working to address issues with infrastructure and behavior, he said, like installing guardrails with features that lessen the force of a motorcycle crash, encouraging pedestrians to use sidewalks and asking drivers to be attentive.

The state agency mostly spends money installing safety improvements such as bike lanes, Miles said, but UDOT also works with other offices to teach people how to use the system.

Lowering speeds can reduce fatalities

The speed at which a car is traveling and the likelihood that a pedestrian will die if hit is linked, some studies have found.

One researcher found that when a car is traveling at 23 mph, the average risk of death if hit by a car is 10% — but if a car is traveling at 58 mph, the average risk of death is 90%.

“Conventional engineers still focus on speed, and secondarily on safety,” said Reid Ewing, a professor of city and metropolitan planning at the University of Utah.

But that’s changing.

Salt Lake City is rolling out a “Livable Streets Program” that installs traffic calming infrastructure on certain streets “based on crash, speed, and demographic data.” The city council also voted in 2022 to lower the speed limit to 20 mph on about 70% of city streets.

But simply lowering posted speed limits doesn’t mean people’s driving habits will change, Ewing said,

“People tend to go the speed the street was designed for,” Ewing explained. That’s where traffic calming measures come in.

Speed cushions, speed bumps with gaps that allow emergency vehicles to still travel quickly, are all very effective at slowing cars, Ewing said. Speed tables that raise the entire height of a section of roadway also work. Roundabouts not only help slow vehicles, but also reduce the number of “conflict points,” Ewing said.

Wide pedestrian refuge islands in the middle of the crossing also make it safer for pedestrians by allowing them to cross just one direction of traffic at a time.

Road diets, or removing lanes, are another strategy. “The theory of a road diet is that the prudent driver sets the pace when there’s only one lane in each direction,” Ewing said.

Salt Lake City adopted a Vision Zero goal — a movement to reduce traffic fatalities to zero — and set aside $2 million for traffic calming measures. “I think we’re moving in the right direction,” Ewing said. “I think we will emerge as a leader in pedestrianization and Vision Zero.”

Family loss and lasting fear

Although changes are ongoing on roadways across the state, Utahns are still dying in crashes every month. There were 20 fatal crashes a month on average between 2010 and 2023, according to the state database.

For Valerie Jones, the loss of her siblings remains. She wears a necklace with her siblings’ ashes. Gold for Mardelle because “she’s gold to me,” and a circle for Matt symbolizing her eternal love, Jones explained in a text.

Mardelle Parkin “always spoke her mind,” Valerie recalled. She had a loud laugh and a knack for making others feel comfortable.

Mardelle also was constantly singing, Valerie said. Matthew Jones would play the guitar, and Mardelle would sing along. Matthew always carried around his sketchbook and pens, Valerie said, and he was great at basketball.

“When I think about all of us,” Valerie said, “I just started realizing that we all always gave and forgave.”

Jones is still struggling, and fearful of walking around St. George or riding her e-bike. About two and a half years ago she was hit while riding it around the city. “I’m afraid now,” Jones said, “because anything could happen.”

“We have seen an alarming increase [in fatalities and serious injury crash cases] in Washington County,” said Nicholas Gayer, transportation planner for the Dixie Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Washington County has had double-digit fatal crashes every year since 2020. In just the first two months of this year, there have been three fatal crashes.

That increase and the growing population spurred Gayer’s organization to apply for a federal grant to develop a comprehensive safety action plan.

“It focuses on fatalities and serious injury crash cases on our roadways,” Gayer said.

He’s working with local stakeholders to identify problems with Washington County roadways.

One such stakeholder is Kelli Prince, a mother of five and president of the Southern Utah Bicycle Alliance.

“They’re doing a great job trying to make our streets safer, build better, build shoulders better and give us space for cycling and things like that,” Prince said.

But, Prince said, she feels there also needs to be more education to truly achieve Vision Zero. “People’s condition of ‘if I’m in a hurry, I’m the only one that matters. I need to be there, they shouldn’t be there’ — that mentality of ‘it’s all about me’ needs to change,” Prince said.

Utah does focus a lot on education as part of a multi-agency effort, UDOT’s Miles said, especially when introducing new kinds of infrastructure or changes at intersections.

That education isn’t about blame, he said, but about making sure people know how to best interact with the roadway system.

There are still a lot of ways Utah can improve, Miles said, but “everyone has done a lot of work to get numbers down,” including local governments and communities across the state.

“We will continue to work to improve this until we get to zero fatalities,” Miles said. “We’re in this for the long haul to make sure we provide the best, safest transportation system we can.”

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