My 'Utah Motor Vehicle Collision Prevention' Public-Safety Letter Tonight to Utah State House of Representatives Majority Leader Mike Schultz:

 I hope this public safety letter of mine to Utah State House Majority Leader Mike Schultz:

----- Forwarded Message -----

From: "John McMillan" <mcmillanj@att.net>

To: "Mike Schultz" <mikeschultz@le.utah.gov>, "Mike Weichers" <mweichers@ch.utah.gov>, "Murrayschools Info" <info@murrayschools.org>, "anielson@murrayschools.org" <anielson@murrayschools.org>, "mayor@murray.utah.gov" <mayor@murray.utah.gov>, "Gay Lynn Bennion" <glbennion@le.utah.gov>, "mballard@le.utah.gov" <mballard@le.utah.gov>, "marie.stewart" <marie.stewart@slcgov.com>, "todd.mitchell" <todd.mitchell@slcgov.com>, "Cameron Roden" <croden@utah.gov>, "jessanderson@utah.gov" <jessanderson@utah.gov>, "scott.stuck" <scott.stuck@slcgov.com>, "Drew Hadley" <drew.hadley@slcgov.com>, "mike.brown" <mike.brown@slcgov.com>, "chad.atkinson" <chad.atkinson@slcgov.com>, "Mayor Wilson" <mayor@slco.org>, "slcpdpr@slcgov.com" <slcpdpr@slcgov.com>, "communications@utahbar.org" <communications@utahbar.org>, "Attorney General of Utah" <uag@utah.gov>, "Uag" <uag@agutah.gov>, "Utah League of Cities 2022" <lthrailkill@ulct.org>, "Deseret News 2022" <dnweb@deseretnews.com>, "University of Utah Student Newspaper 2022" <press@chronicle.utah.edu>, "UT_Webmanager" <ut_webmanager@hud.gov>, "Utah Restaurant Association 2022" <info@utahrestaurantassociation.org>, "Aaafoundation Info" <info@aaafoundation.org>, "Utah Safety Council" <safety@utahsafetycouncil.org>, "American Traffic Safety Services Assn 2022" <customerservice@atssa.com>, "ryanwilcox@le.utah.gov" <ryanwilcox@le.utah.gov>, "mgwynn@le.utah.gov" <mgwynn@le.utah.gov>, "jburton@le.utah.gov" <jburton@le.utah.gov>, "khall@le.utah.gov" <khall@le.utah.gov>, "shayes@le.utah.gov" <shayes@le.utah.gov>, "shollins@le.utah.gov" <shollins@le.utah.gov>, "Joel Briscoe" <jbriscoe@le.utah.gov>, "Jplumb" <jplumb@le.utah.gov>, "tlee@le.utah.gov" <tlee@le.utah.gov>, "karilisonbee@le.utah.gov" <karilisonbee@le.utah.gov>, "astoddard@le.utah.gov" <astoddard@le.utah.gov>, "swhyte@le.utah.gov" <swhyte@le.utah.gov>, "jfeinauer@le.utah.gov" <jfeinauer@le.utah.gov>, "County Council Member Bradshaw" <ARBradshaw@slco.org>, "Cyprus Credit Union" <shauna.denos@cypruscu.com>, "Utah Medical Association 2021" <info@utahmed.org>, "Utah Peace Officers Association 2022" <homeupoa@gmail.com>, "University of Utah Student Newspaper 2022" <press@chronicle.utah.edu>, "Utah Hospital Association 2021" <jill@utahhospitals.org>, "Utah Public Radio 2022" <tom.williams@usu.edu>, "llstringham@slco.org" <llstringham@slco.org>, "suharrison@slco.org" <suharrison@slco.org>, "Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall 2021" <mayor@slcgov.com>, "Salt Lake City (UT) City Council" <council.comments@slcgov.com>, "Ryan Bartlett" <ryan.bartlett@schools.utah.gov>, "Paul A. Cutler" <pcutler@le.utah.gov>, "Angela Romero" <angelaromero@le.utah.gov>, "Internships" <internships@romney.senate.gov>, "Joel_wellum" <joel_wellum@lee.senate.gov>, "Utah Republican Party" <info@utgop.org>, "utahdistrict02@gmail.com" <utahdistrict02@gmail.com>

Cc: "contactudot@utah.gov" <contactudot@utah.gov>, "Office of Gov. Spencer Cox" <govcomm@utah.gov>, "Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson 2021" <beckiepage@utah.gov>, "Utah State Univ Communications 2022" <ucom@usu.edu>, "Molly Sween" <mollysween@weber.edu>, "mediarelations@weber.edu" <mediarelations@weber.edu>, "Utahtourism Info" <info@utahtourism.org>, "jyl.hall@utahtech.edu" <jyl.hall@utahtech.edu>, "amy.stutzenberger@uvu.edu" <amy.stutzenberger@uvu.edu>, "Westminster College Legal-Risk Mgment-Safety2022" <bbuckley@westminstercollege.edu>, "Utah Public Radio 2022" <tom.williams@usu.edu>, "Utah State University Provost 2022" <provost@usu.edu>, "byu-info@byu.edu" <byu-info@byu.edu>, "sociology@byu.edu" <sociology@byu.edu>, "Fox News SLC 2022" <news@fox13now.com>, "National District Attorneys Assn Crime Prevention" <nbunn@ndaajustice.org>, "Salt Lake County (UT) District Attorney 2022" <districtattorney@slco.org>, "Rori Andreason" <randreason@midvale.com>, "Kimberly Foster" <kimberly.foster@wvc-ut.gov>, "leo.abila" <leo.abila@slcgov.com>, "nbauer@abc4.com" <nbauer@abc4.com>, "Jennifer Gardiner" <jgardiner@abc4.com>, "CBS News '60 Minutes' Editors and Reporters" <60m@cbsnews.com>, "safety.program@dot.ca.gov" <safety.program@dot.ca.gov>, "DenverPostEditors" <newsroom@denverpost.com>, "Las Vegas Sun newspaper 2022" <feedback@lasvegassun.com>, "jsweeney@sltrib.com" <jsweeney@sltrib.com>, "Utah Chiefs of Police Assn 2021" <vshupe@utahchiefs.org>, "Joe Dougherty (DHHS)" <joedougherty@utah.gov>, "transportationcommission@utah.gov" <transportationcommission@utah.gov>, "Utah Educational TV 2022" <resources@uen.org>, "transportationcommission@utah.gov" <transportationcommission@utah.gov>, "Utah Press Assn Director Brian Allfrey 2022" <ballfrey@utahpress.com>, "Him-roi" <him-roi@umail.utah.edu>, "foundation@imail.org" <foundation@imail.org>, "nytnews@nytimes.com" <nytnews@nytimes.com>, "accessibility@allstate.com" <accessibility@allstate.com>, "State Farm" <info@statefarm.com>, "Utahia Info" <info@utahia.org>, "Westminster College Provost 2022" <rbadenhausen@westminstercollege.edu>

Sent: Sun, Jan 14, 2024 at 8:04 PM

Subject: Are Speed Limits on UT Highways Excessively High?

https://www.fieldinglaw.com/2023/06/28/common-accidents-utah/c

January 14, 2024

Dear Utah State House Majority Leader Mike Schultz,

One additional concern about Utah that you kindly authorized me to share with you in your December 6, 2023, reply letter to me relates to posted speed limits along highways in our state and an addiction to speeding on roadways that is exhibited by all too many motorists in our state.

Please note the following exactly quoted statement  from the above recent copyrighted online report by first-rate Utahn Personal Injury attorney Mitchell Fielding of the "Fielding Law Firm"  in Taylorsville, Utah:

"Speed often plays a role in collisions (in Utah). The higher the posted speed, the greater the number of accidents, with half of all accidents occurring on 70 or 65-mile-per-hour sections of road..."

The following online link to a webpage at the official copyrighted website for the  Utah Department of Public Safety state law enforcement agency  contains these very alarming  statements:

Speed-related crashes resulted in 5,550 injuries in Utah in 2016

Speed was a factor in 105 deaths in Utah in 2016; that is 38% of traffic-related deaths

https://highwaysafety.utah.gov/other-focus-areas/speeding/

According to the following (directly below)  copyrighted  online report, the  enlightened  State Government  of Oregon  posts a maximum speed limit of 65 miles per hour along state highways in Oregon and 55 miles per hour along Urban Interstate highways in Oregon.

https://wisevoter.com/state-rankings/speed-limits-by-state/

It is also worth emphasizing that according to the above online report by Utahn  attorney Mitchell Fielding,  rear-end collisions in 2021 accounted for 30 percent ----nearly one in every three--- of all motor-vehicle collisions in Utah.

I might add that I myself feel very sure that a significant percentage of the rear-end collisions in Utah occur because the motorist  crashing into a vehicle from behind was himself exceeding the speed limit.

The very helpful online statement from Utahn attorney Fielding also stated that single-vehicle accidents in Utah in 2021 accounted for nearly  28 percent of all motor- vehicle accidents in Utah that year:

"According to the latest statistics from the Utah Department of Public Safety, there were 61,406 motor vehicle accidents in Utah in 2021, causing over 26,437 injuries. Rear-end accidents were the most common type, accounting for 29.97 percent of all collisions. Single-vehicle accidents came a close second with 27.97 percent."

Utah House Majority Leader Schultz, do you yourself believe that lowering the posted speed limit along many of the state or county highways in Utah would help save lives and also conserve gasoline, a dwindling fossil fuel, here in the Beehive State?

I would also like to raise the question of whether you believe that additional installation of Utah State House-approved Speed Limit signs along highways in Utah would help to remind motorists not to exceed that speed limit. 

I  sense that many motorists in Utah might currently  believe that "the only reason I exceeded the speed limit was because I didn't see any posted speed limit along the highway I was driving on here in Utah."

Numerous possibilities for successful deterrence of speeding on highways of  Utah are suggested in the following copyrighted online report  by a first-rate "Buckingham & Vega" Personal Injury Law Firm that maintains law offices  in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and in  Midland, Texas, respectively:

https://www.medmal-law.com/blog/2021/november/finding-creative-ways-to-crack-down-on-speeding/ 

Among the options for our own state as indicated in this report might be  increased use of Radar (directly below is exactly quoted text from the above online report) by law-enforcement officers in Utah to identify and issue citations to or arrest motorists driving in excess of the speed limit in our state:

"Radar. The speed guns one often associates with police cars parked on the sides of roads usually make use of radar technology to assess speed. This involves bouncing radio waves off the surface of a moving object (your car) and analyzing them."

Utah House Majority Leader Schultz, I hope this brainstorming letter is helpful to you and your colleagues in the Utah House as you strive to explore public-policy options for addressing  the current motor-vehicle  collisions crisis caused by drivers  in Utah exceeding the speed limit and driving recklessly.

Sincerely and Best Wishes,

 former Texas DPS full-time employee John Kevin McMillan, 535 South 200 East, Apt. 912, Ninth Floor, Salt Lake City, UT 84111. My cell phone: (512) 993-7305. My home phone: (801) 355-0850.

I am the youngest biological  son of Murray (UT) native Dr. Calvin McMillan, who proudly stated to me in person in  the 1990s that he himself over a multi-decade period  had driven hundreds of thousands of total combined miles in Utah, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Iowa, and numerous other  states, as well as  in several  foreign countries,  "without ever once  having had  any motor- vehicle accident when I (Dr. Calvin McMillan) was behind the wheel."