Off the Interstate, After Dark: Where Fatal-Crash Danger Concentrated in Salt Lake County

Salt Lake County recorded 366 fatal crashes and 388 traffic deaths from 2020 through 2024. The county accounted for 26.1% of Utah traffic deaths but 46.8% of the state’s pedestrian deaths.

That mismatch is the clearest finding in Strong Law Attorneys’ original analysis of five years of federal fatal-crash records. Pedestrians represented 24.2% of Salt Lake County traffic deaths, compared with 13.5% statewide.

The records also challenge a common picture of fatal-crash danger as mainly a freeway or winter-weather problem. More than four out of five county fatal crashes occurred on roads outside the Interstate functional class. More than half occurred between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., and the 6–9 p.m. period had the highest crash count of any three-hour block.

What this report measures: This is an analysis of fatal-crash burden using the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System, or FARS. The counts are not adjusted for population, trips, vehicle miles, walking exposure, road mileage or traffic volume. They show where deaths and fatal crashes were concentrated, not each traveler’s odds of crashing.

What Are the Main Findings?

The full eight-page report and reproducible workbook are available for reporters, researchers, public agencies and community groups. The workbook contains the 366 county crash records, 388 county fatality records and 1,484 Utah fatality records used in the analysis.

Why Do Pedestrian Deaths Stand Out?

Salt Lake County recorded 94 pedestrian deaths during the five-year period. That was nearly half of Utah’s pedestrian deaths, even though the county accounted for about one-quarter of all road deaths in the state.

Pedestrians were not the only road users outside passenger vehicles who faced a large share of the fatal burden. The county also recorded 11 bicyclist deaths and 66 motorcyclist deaths. Together, pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists accounted for 171 of the county’s 388 traffic fatalities, or 44.1%.

Those deaths arose from 170 fatal crashes, representing 46.4% of all fatal crashes in the county. The distinction matters because one fatal crash can result in more than one death.

For people trying to understand the legal issues that can follow an individual collision, Strong Law has separate guides for Salt Lake City pedestrian accidents and Salt Lake City motorcycle crashes. Those service pages address claims and evidence. This report focuses on the countywide public-safety pattern.

Did Most Fatal Crashes Occur on Interstates?

No. Of the 366 fatal crashes, 305 occurred on roads that FARS did not classify as Interstates. That is 83.3% of the five-year total.

Principal arterials, minor arterials and collector roads accounted for 284 fatal crashes, or 77.6%. These road types often combine through travel with business access, driveways, intersections, bus stops and pedestrian crossings. The finding does not explain why any crash occurred, but it identifies the part of the road network where deeper safety analysis may be most useful.

The most frequent primary trafficway identifiers in the county records were US-89 with 27 fatal crashes, SR-68 with 26, I-15 with 23, I-215 and SR-201 with 14 each, and I-80 and SR-85 with 13 each.

These are raw countywide route counts. They are not adjusted for route length, traffic volume or the number of trips. They should not be used to label one road as the county’s most dangerous.

When Were Fatal Crashes Most Concentrated?

Of the 365 fatal crashes with a known hour, 208 occurred from 6 p.m. through 5:59 a.m. That is 57.0% of crashes with a known time.

The 6–9 p.m. block recorded 71 fatal crashes, more than any other three-hour period. The next-highest block was 9 p.m. to midnight, with 55.

FARS recorded 196 fatal crashes, or 53.6%, in a dark light condition. The category describes the crash scene. It does not account for how much travel occurred in daylight or darkness, so it is not proof that darkness caused those crashes.

For employers, property managers and public agencies, the timing raises a practical question: what does the trip between a building, parking area, transit stop and nearby crossing look like when an evening shift ends? Lighting, visibility, vehicle speed and safe access deserve attention alongside freeway commute time.

Was Snow a Major Part of the Five-Year Fatal-Crash Record?

Most fatal crashes were not coded to snow. FARS recorded clear weather for 279 of the county’s 366 fatal crashes, or 76.2%. Snow was recorded in three crashes, or 0.8%.

This does not mean clear weather causes crashes or that winter driving is harmless. Clear conditions are common, and the analysis does not include a denominator for the miles driven in each weather condition. The result simply shows that the five-year fatal-crash burden was not confined to snow events.

How Did the Annual Total Change From 2020 to 2024?

The series rose from 68 fatal crashes and 71 deaths in 2020 to 88 crashes and 94 deaths in 2022. It fell to 61 crashes and 68 deaths in 2023, then increased to 69 crashes and 73 deaths in 2024.

Five years is too short to establish a durable trend or produce a reliable forecast. The series shows the shape of the study period and why a single year’s movement should be interpreted cautiously.

Where Did the Raw Fatal-Crash Burden Accumulate?

Salt Lake City had 122 fatal crashes and 128 deaths, the highest raw count in the county. West Valley City followed with 52 crashes and 60 deaths. West Jordan and Murray each had 26 fatal crashes. South Salt Lake, Sandy, Taylorsville and Draper each had 19.

These figures show burden, not rate. They do not adjust for population, road mileage, traffic volume, employment centers, visitors or trips passing through a city. A large raw count does not establish that a city is more dangerous for an individual traveler.

The appropriate next step is to pair these numerators with exposure and engineering data. Transportation agencies can compare the pattern with speed, traffic volume, pedestrian activity, road design and serious-injury records. Salt Lake City’s transportation data resources provide a starting point for city-level follow-up.

What Does the Data Support, and What Does It Not?

The data supports four defensible conclusions:

1. Salt Lake County’s share of Utah pedestrian deaths was much larger than its share of all Utah traffic deaths.
2. Most county fatal crashes occurred outside the Interstate functional class.
3. Evening and overnight crashes made up a majority of crashes with a known hour, with the 6–9 p.m. block highest.
4. The five-year record peaked in 2022 and did not decline in a straight line afterward.

The report does not identify the cause of a particular crash, rank roads by individual risk or establish that darkness, clear weather or a road class caused the observed outcomes. It does not replace a full Vision Zero, engineering or exposure-based safety analysis.

The strongest prevention question raised by the data is local: what changes on surface roads could reduce pedestrian exposure and fatal-crash severity after dark?

How Was the Report Built?

Strong Law Attorneys analyzed the 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 annual national CSV files from NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System. The study universe includes every fatal motor vehicle traffic crash coded to Salt Lake County, Utah, FIPS 49-035.

A fatal crash is a crash involving at least one death. Pedestrian and bicyclist categories use the FARS person-type field. Motorcyclists use fatal-person records with body-type codes 80–90. A non-interstate crash is one whose recorded FARS functional system is not Interstate. Evening and overnight means 6 p.m. through 5:59 a.m. One crash with an unknown hour is excluded from that percentage.

NHTSA may revise the 2024 annual file in a later release. This analysis is dated August 14, 2026.

Download the Report and Data

• Download the eight-page Salt Lake County Fatal Crash Risk Report (PDF)
• Download the reproducible analysis workbook (XLSX)

Primary and supporting sources:

• NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System
• NHTSA FARS annual file downloads
• Utah Highway Safety Office crash data and statistics
• Salt Lake City transportation data
• Public ArcGIS FARS map layer

Frequently Asked Questions

How many fatal crashes occurred in Salt Lake County from 2020 through 2024?

Salt Lake County recorded 366 fatal crashes and 388 traffic deaths in NHTSA FARS records from 2020 through 2024.

What share of Utah pedestrian deaths occurred in Salt Lake County?

Salt Lake County recorded 94 of Utah’s 201 pedestrian deaths during the period, or 46.8%. The county accounted for 26.1% of all Utah traffic deaths.

Did most fatal crashes occur on interstates?

No. FARS classified 305 of the county’s 366 fatal crashes, or 83.3%, on roads outside the Interstate functional class.

What time of day had the most fatal crashes?

The 6–9 p.m. period had the highest count of any three-hour block, with 71 fatal crashes. Overall, 57.0% of crashes with a known hour occurred from 6 p.m. through 5:59 a.m.

Does this report rank Salt Lake County roads by crash risk?

No. Route totals are raw counts and do not adjust for traffic volume, route length or the number of trips. They show where fatal crashes accumulated, not the odds faced by each traveler.

How current is the data?

The analysis uses NHTSA’s annual FARS files for 2020 through 2024 and is dated August 14, 2026. NHTSA may revise the 2024 annual file in a later release.

Analysis by Strong Law Attorneys using public NHTSA records. No confidential client information was used. This article is for public information and research purposes and is not legal advice.

If you were injured in an individual collision, Strong Law’s Salt Lake City car accident guide and Salt Lake City personal injury guide explain evidence, insurance issues and possible next steps. Families dealing with a fatal collision can also review the firm’s Salt Lake City wrongful death guide.