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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Highway Patrol troopers had another reason to celebrate this Fourth of July weekend.
This holiday weekend was the state's first with the new seat belt law in place. At the peak of the 100 deadliest days for road travel, 2015 went much more smoothly than years past.
Reports show only one traffic-related death statewide over the weekend.
The UHP reminded drivers that not wearing a seat belt is the leading contributor for death in car crashes.
“Regardless of how good of a driver you are, bad things happen,” said UHP Major Michael Rapich. “And when something really tragic or horrible happens, that seat belt may be the last line of defense to make sure that you survive that event.”
One death is still too many on the road to zero fatalities, but a significant improvement over recent years.
“Last year during the same period, Friday through Sunday, … there were 10 traffic-related fatalities over the Fourth of July weekend,” Rapich said.
UHP investigated two fatalities on Thursday leading into the weekend.
They arrested just under 50 people for DUIs over the weekend.
