Motor Vehicle Accidents in Utah v. California. Where are the safer drivers?

Utah drivers get a bad rap. We wanted to settle the debate, once and for all. Are you safer driving in California or Utah? We’ve taken a look at several categories of statistics for motor vehicle accidents in both states. We’re doing a side-by-side comparison of the number of motor vehicle accidents per capita in each state. We’ve chose these categories to help us decide:

• Motor Vehicle Fatalities
• DUI Accidents
• DUI Fatalities
• Motorcycle Accidents
• Pedestrian v. Automobile Accidents
• Bicycle v. Automobile Accidents

We figure whichever state has the least amount of these motor vehicle accidents on its roadways, the safer that state is to drive in . . . and, the better the drivers are in that state.

These categories include motor vehicle accidents between 2013 and 2017. The data was gathered from the Utah Department of Public Safety and the California Office of Traffic Safety. All data is calculated for per capita results.

Motor Vehicle Accident Fatalities Per Capita

UTAH WINS! If you want to have a better chance at avoiding a fatal motor vehicle accident, you’re better off driving in Utah.

DUI or Drunk Driving Accidents Per Capita

CALIFORNIA WINS! If you want to avoid an encounter with a drunk or impaired driver, you’re better off driving in California. As a side note, it would be interesting to see how these statistics have changed since Utah lowered its BAC limit to .05 grams.

DUI or Drunk Driving Fatalities Per Capita

UTAH WINS! Surprisingly, although there are less DUI motor vehicle accidents in California, there DUI accidents tend to me more deadly. Stay in Utah if you want to avoid seeing a DUI fatality.

Motorcycle Accident Per Capita

UTAH WINS! This one may be closer than what the numbers suggests. Our guess is there are more motorcyclist enjoying the warmer California weather throughout the year than in Utah, making this category a close toss up.

Bicycle v. Automobile Accidents Per Capita

UTAH WINS! If you want to avoid getting hit by a car while riding your bike, stay in Utah. This, of course, doesn’t count the number of bicycling accidents that happen off the roadways and in the mountain trails of Utah and California.

Pedestrian v. Automobile Accidents Per Capita

UTAH WINS! If you’re a pedestrian in the roadway, watch out if you’re in California! Your chances of being hit by a motorist is higher than if you’re walking the streets of Utah.

So, which state has the least amount of motor vehicle accidents?

According to these stats, Utah has the safer roads. Utah scores better than California in five of the six categories. I guess you could also say, then, that Utah has the better drivers. Whether you’re in California or Utah, we hope you make it safely to your next destination!

Let us know what you think – who are the safer drivers? Californians or Utahns? Leave your comments below.