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Regional safety report: fatalities fell to 123 in 2024 but serious injuries rose; 2.5% annual reduction goal unmet
Summary
Kip Billings of the Wasatch Front Regional Council told committee members on June 19 that the region recorded 123 fatalities in 2024, the lowest since 2019, but serious injuries increased and the adopted 2.5% annual reduction target was not met.
Kip Billings, Wasatch Front Regional Council, presented the committee with the council’s first annual roadway safety report on June 19 and said the region did not meet its adopted target of a 2.5% reduction in fatalities and serious injuries.
"In short, we did not meet our goal of a 2 and a half percent reduction," Billings said, summarizing the region’s performance through 2024. He reported 123 fatalities in the Wasatch Front region in 2024 — the lowest regional fatality total since 2019 — but noted that serious injuries are trending upward.
Billings framed the agency’s work within the Federal Highway Administration’s safe-system approach, which the presentation listed as five facets: emergency response, safer road users, safer vehicles, speed management and safer roads. He said the regional planning agency has its greatest influence in "safer roads" through planning and project design.
The presentation identified intersections as the single largest crash risk factor, followed by roadway departures and speed-involved crashes. Billings emphasized that vulnerable road users — motorcyclists, pedestrians and bicyclists — account for a disproportionate share of severe outcomes even if they are not the most frequent crash type.
Billings reported a preliminary tally of locally implemented safety elements from an initial survey of member communities: roughly 13 miles of newly added sidewalks, about 6 miles of bike lanes, and roughly 23 miles of new safety-related facilities counted so far. He cautioned the tally is incomplete: responses had been received from about 9 of the council’s 60 member jurisdictions and staff will continue the survey through winter to expand the inventory.
Trustee Carlton Christensen and other elected officials asked about cost-effectiveness of different safety investments. Billings said WFRC’s comprehensive Safety Action Plan includes a toolkit with cost-effectiveness ratings for countermeasures and that staff can provide more detailed analysis on request.
Wayne (Wasatch Front staff) noted a federal grant for corridor roadway safety audits is on hold pending a grant agreement with FHWA; he also called attention to the Federal Safe Streets and Roads for All program application deadline (June 26) for planning and implementation grants. Andrew Gruber, WFRC executive director, added: "we have to do all of the above," stressing that infrastructure design must be paired with other strategies — education, enforcement and emergency response — to reduce fatalities and severe injuries.
Ending: WFRC staff said the full Safety Action Plan and toolkit are available on the council website and will be used as a planning resource; staff will continue to expand community reporting of implemented safety treatments and pursue grant opportunities to support corridor audits and targeted improvements.
