KEARNS, Utah — Two pedestrians were hit by cars on Tuesday night in unrelated incidents — one in Kearns and one in Kaysville — adding to the growing list of auto-pedestrian accidents that have happened in recent weeks.
“The public should be alarmed,” said Jason Mettmann, a communications manager with Utah’s Department of Public Safety. “It is very concerning that we've seen this spike in pedestrian crashes this week and this month. Unfortunately, we do expect that in the month of September and October, we usually see a spike in pedestrian crashes. This time of year, people are out trying to enjoy our good Utah weather until the daylight savings time changes.”
The majority of these crashes happen when the pedestrian is stepping off the sidewalk into the road, he said.
“The top contributing factor that we see with drivers is them failing to yield the right of way to these pedestrians, not obeying the signs and signals out there,” said Mettmann. “Folks just need to not be distracted. They need to put their phones down and focus on the task of driving.”
There have been 663 pedestrian crashes so far this year, and 26 of those were fatal, according to DPS data.
“The drivers are out trying to blame the pedestrian for misbehaving, or vice versa,” said Mettmann. “It is incumbent upon both parties to make sure that they're using the road safely. Unfortunately, whether the pedestrian is in the right or the wrong, the car is always going to win that fight.”
From Oct. 27-31, DPS will be adding statewide enforcement overtime shifts for DUI and pedestrian safety for Halloween.
