SALT LAKE CITY — Despite recent fatal incidents, the number of wrong-way driving crashes has actually decreased on Utah roadways in comparison to the previous five years.
The Utah Department of Public Safety shared that as of Monday, there have been a total of five wrong-way driving fatalities, a number that equals those in 2024. There have been a total of 15 wrong-way crashes in 2025, down from 24 last year.
Sgt. Mike Alexander with the Utah Highway Patrol shared how calls for wrong-way crashes are often the most violent.
“It’s never a call that we want to receive, but it is a call that state troopers stand ready to intervene and intercept those wrong-way drivers if we can,” said Alexander.
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Of the 303 wrong-way drivers involved in crashes over the period from 2020 to 2024, DPS data showed that 72 of those drivers were impaired.
“[Wrong-way driving] typically involves alcohol impairment, but if it’s not impairment, it can be age related. If it’s not age-related, a lot of time it can be aggressive driving related,” added Sgt. Alexander. "If you’re driving aggressive, you’re not thinking straight, and you’re taking actions without being prepared to deal with the consequences, then we see these tragic situations arise.”
FOX 13 News previously reported that the Utah Department of Transportation has systems in place to alert motorists and UHP about wrong-way drivers, of which there are a total of 27 across the state.
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Since the systems were installed in 2023, UDOT has detected a total of 216 wrong-way drivers across those ramps. So far, there doesn’t seem to be one specific area where these crashes are more common.
“The actual number of wrong-way driving crashes, it doesn’t make up a big portion of the crashes that we see here,” said UDOT spokesperson John Gleason. "But they’re so impactful when they happen because you’re talking about freeway speeds in both directions, and the impact is just severe.”
The data from DPS reflects data from submitted crash reports, but not all wrong-way driving incidents are necessarily reported. The total number of roadway fatalities this year, which includes wrong-way driving fatalities, is 247.
The DPS definition of Wrong-Side or Wrong-Way Driving is when a driver is traveling on the wrong side of a divided highway. In 2025, the data showed five wrong-way crashes with no injury, one with possible injury, three with minor injury, two with suspected serious injury, and four fatal.
“It’s easy to talk in numbers and statistics. We’ve had 5 fatalities from wrong-way drivers in Utah this year, we’ve had 15 wrong-way driver crashes this year, but those are people,” Sgt. Mike Alexander said. "That’s why troopers stand ready to respond to those calls when they come.”
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