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UDOT reports lower statewide fatality rate so far in 2025; motorcycle deaths hit 15‑year high in 2024 as legislature considers lane-splitting ban
Summary
UDOT reported a lower early-2025 fatality rate and fewer fatalities compared with last year’s early counts, but noted that motorcycle fatalities rose to a 15‑year high in 2024. UDOT policy staff summarized pending legislation to prohibit lane splitting (motorcycles passing between moving lanes).
UTAH — UDOT operations staff reported a decline in the statewide traffic fatality rate so far in 2025 but highlighted persistent risks for vulnerable users, notably motorcyclists.
Troy Peterson, UDOT operations director, told the commission that Utah’s recorded fatality rate for 2024 finished at 0.78 per 100 million vehicle-miles traveled; he reported an early-2025 rate of 0.43 and a total of 13 fatalities so far in 2025. Peterson cautioned that 2024’s fatality total (280) may change slightly as the department completes record follow-up on about 20 crash records awaiting death-certificate confirmation.
Peterson emphasized vulnerable-user trends in 2024: 53 motorcycle fatalities, 44 pedestrian fatalities and 7 bicyclist fatalities. He said the motorcycle total represents a 15-year high and that motorcycle fatalities contributed substantially to the year’s counts.
From the podium, commissioners asked about the location breakdown (urban vs. rural) for motorcycle deaths; Peterson said UDOT tracks that data but did not have the breakdown in the meeting packet and that a summer spike (June–August) contributed to the year’s motorcycle totals.
Legislative update: lane-splitting and traction law Leif Elder, UDOT policy and legislative affairs director, briefed commissioners on bills before the legislature that affect roadway safety and UDOT’s role. He said Representative Norm Thurston sponsored a bill to explicitly prohibit lane splitting — riding a motorcycle between moving lanes when traffic is flowing — while leaving existing lane-filtering allowances (when traffic is stopped at a signal) intact. Elder said UDOT is not the bill’s sponsor but provides data and analysis to the legislature.
Elder also summarized other legislative items of interest to UDOT, including a clarification to traction law for canyon operations and proposed changes to how population data are used to allocate certain road funds. He noted that UDOT’s role at the legislature is primarily to provide technical information rather than advocate for specific bill language.
Why it matters: early-2025 reductions in the fatality rate are encouraging, but the 2024 motorcycle fatality spike and ongoing pedestrian fatalities underscore concentrated risks for vulnerable road users. Commission members asked UDOT staff to provide more detailed breakdowns (urban/rural, seasonal) when available so policy and enforcement partners can target interventions.
Ending UDOT staff said they will follow up with more detailed crash-location breakdowns for motorcycle fatalities and will continue to provide technical data to the legislature on proposed safety-related bills.
