Car accident guide and data hub for Salt Lake City

A crash on the Wasatch Front can happen in a heartbeat, on a fast arterial like Bangerter Highway or in stop-and-go traffic on I-15 through the middle of Salt Lake County. This page pulls together the local crash numbers and the roads where collisions pile up, along with the Utah rules that decide what happens after a wreck.

The statewide backdrop is grim. In 2024, 281 people died on Utah roads, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) and the Department of Public Safety reported.¹ The 2025 total dropped to 264, the lowest in six years, though motorcyclist deaths rose 32 percent and teen fatalities nearly doubled, from 18 to 31.² Most of that driving happens in the Salt Lake City area, and so does much of the crash toll.

The roads where crashes cluster

Salt Lake County holds all ten of the worst intersections for crashes on Utah's state highways, according to UDOT data reported by The Salt Lake Tribune.³ Two of those ten sit on Redwood Road, two on Bangerter Highway, and two on 3500 South.³ Over the three-year period UDOT studied, State Street at 4500 South in Murray logged 166 crashes, Redwood Road at 3500 South had 125, and Redwood at 4100 South had 120. Bangerter Highway cleared 100 crashes at both 9000 South and 4700 South.³

The freeway picture is just as concentrated. The three worst stretches of I-15 for crashes all ran northbound through the south end of the valley: 8000 South to 7200 South with 445 crashes, 9400 South to 8700 South with 424, and 11000 South to 10200 South with 290.³ If your commute runs through the Point of the Mountain or past the 7200 South merge, those are the numbers behind the backups.

Redwood Road deserves its own line. UDOT signs it as State Route 68, and it has turned into the county's most dangerous street for people on foot. At the 500 North intersection alone, police counted 22 crashes since January 2021, four of them involving pedestrians.⁴ UDOT owns the corridor and has added crosswalk striping and a "yield to pedestrians" sign at that corner, though neighbors say the wide, fast lanes are the real problem.⁴ You can look up where wrecks have happened near your own street on UDOT's public crash map at crashmapping.utah.gov.⁵

Speed, pedestrians, and Vision Zero

Statewide, an average of 45 pedestrians have been killed each year over the past five years, according to the state-led Zero Fatalities partnership.⁶ Salt Lake City has been trying to bring that number down. In 2023 the city lowered the speed limit to 20 mph on many residential and high-traffic streets, including stretches of 2100 South and Redwood Road.⁶ Lower speeds change survival odds in a direct way. A person struck at 20 mph is far more likely to walk away than one struck at 35.

The city has also committed to Vision Zero, a pledge to reach zero traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2035, announced by Mayor Erin Mendenhall in January 2023.⁷ Whether the county's arterials follow is another question, since UDOT, not the city, controls roads like Redwood and Bangerter.

What to do right after a crash

Call 911 first if anyone is hurt or the vehicles are blocking traffic. Utah law requires you to notify a law enforcement agency of any crash that causes injury, death, or property damage that looks like $2,500 or more, under Utah Code 41-6a-401.⁸ On I-15, I-80, or I-215 that means the Utah Highway Patrol. On surface streets it is usually Salt Lake City Police or the city department where the crash happened.

Exchange names, addresses, plate numbers, and insurance information with the other driver, which that same statute requires.⁸ Take photos of both vehicles, the intersection, the traffic signals, and any skid marks before anything gets moved. Get the case or report number from the responding officer so you can pull the official crash report later. If you feel fine at the scene, still consider getting checked out. Adrenaline hides soft-tissue and neck injuries for hours.

How Utah law shapes your claim

Utah is a no-fault state, so your own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage pays first, no matter who caused the crash. State law sets the PIP minimum at $3,000 per person for medical bills, plus wage-loss benefits of the lesser of $250 a week or 85 percent of your lost income for up to 52 weeks.⁹ Those limits run out fast after an ambulance ride and an emergency-room visit, which is the point where the at-fault driver's liability coverage matters.

Two things then decide most claims. First, timing. You generally have four years from the crash date to file a personal-injury lawsuit in Utah, under the four-year limit in Utah Code 78B-2-307.¹⁰ Miss it and the claim is usually dead, no matter how strong. Second, fault. Utah follows a modified comparative-negligence rule, so you can recover only if your share of the blame is less than the combined fault of everyone else. A driver found 50 percent or more at fault collects nothing, and any recovery is reduced by your own percentage (Utah Code 78B-5-818).¹¹ That is why the other side's insurer works so hard to pin part of the blame on you.

If your injuries are serious or the other driver's insurer is disputing fault, it is worth talking with a lawyer who handles Utah crash claims before you give a recorded statement. You can start with the thatcarhitme.com legal directory.

Knowing the local pattern helps too. If your crash happened at one of these Salt Lake County hot spots, the intersection's history of collisions can be part of the record, and UDOT's own crash data is public.⁵

This is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

1. KSL.com, "UDOT, UHP: 281 people were killed on Utah roads in 2024." https://www.ksl.com/article/51223905/udot-uhp-281-people-were-killed-on-utah-roads-in-2024

2. Utah Department of Transportation and Department of Public Safety, "UDOT and DPS release 2025 statewide traffic fatality numbers," Jan. 6, 2026. https://connect.udot.utah.gov/2026/01/06/udot-and-dps-release-2025-statewide-traffic-fatality-numbers/

3. The Salt Lake Tribune, "Driver alert: Here are Utah's most crash-prone intersections, freeway stretches" (UDOT crash data, 2013-2015). https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=4036147&itype=CMSID

4. KSL.com, "Advocates call for change on Redwood Road after man hit by car." https://www.ksl.com/article/news/traffic-roads/redwood-road-safety/51591643

5. Utah Department of Transportation and Utah DPS, public crash mapping tool. https://crashmapping.utah.gov

6. KUER, "Salt Lake City and Moab's slower speed limits are proving safer for pedestrians," Jan. 16, 2026. https://www.kuer.org/politics-government/2026-01-16/salt-lake-city-and-moabs-slower-speed-limits-are-proving-safer-for-pedestrians

7. Salt Lake City Transportation, "Vision Zero SLC." https://www.slc.gov/transportation/safety/salt-lake-city-vision-zero/

8. Utah Code 41-6a-401, Accident involving property damage. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title41/Chapter6A/41-6a-S401.html

9. Utah Code 31A-22-307, Personal injury protection coverages and benefits. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title31A/Chapter22/31A-22-S307.html

10. Utah Code 78B-2-307, Within four years. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title78B/Chapter2/78B-2-S307.html

11. Utah Code 78B-5-818, Comparative negligence. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title78B/Chapter5/78B-5-S818.html