SALT LAKE CITY — Rain, shine or snow, Utah Highway Patrol troopers keep pulling over drivers going more than 100 miles per hour.
“There’s no real good answer for it," said Trooper John Morgan. "No one ever seems to have a good excuse for it. It’s just, ‘I’m in a hurry,' 'I have places to be’ or ‘I didn’t realize.’ Unfortunately, those are not good excuses because you are going to slide off the road in these weather conditions and cause more issues for traffic.”
The holiday season can bring out the worst driving behaviors.
“People are still in hurries, it’s last-minute holidays to pick up those gifts, everyone gets a little anxious," Morgan added. "So we’re starting to see even still, more road rages.”
This year, there were more than 55,000 crashes on Utah's streets and highways, a 1 percent decrease from last year, according to UHP. Of those, 284 were fatal, which is a 3 percent increase.
From a fatal crash on I-215 in October to a five-car crash in West Valley City last week, Trooper Morgan hopes drivers can bring some holiday cheer to the roads and try not to be aggressive and reckless.
“We all want to return home to our families at the end of our shift just the same way everyone else does if they’re working on these holidays as well. So as long as people can slow down, drive safe and get to where they’re going safely, we’ll be able to do the same.”
