Road deaths are spiking

Living in Wyoming requires an acceptance that simple tasks like driving to the store can be difficult or even dangerous during the winter months. We’re used to snow, ice, wind, polar temperatures and even the occasional blizzard. But by any measure, this winter has been especially brutal for travel. On March 3, Wyoming recorded its 31st crash death of 2023. At that time last year, only 12 people had died in crashes here. In 2021, that number was 18.

Some of the carnage can be attributed to this winter’s severity. We’ve experienced more storms than normal, more snow than we’d typically expect. Multiple times this year, nearly the entire state’s highway system was either shut down or severely impacted by storms. Icy roads have caused cars to slide into oncoming semi-trucks, resulted in massive pile-ups and left drivers struggling to see the road in front of them.

We’ve also witnessed wrecks that are difficult to prevent. Most notably, five young people died in a chain-reaction crash that authorities say was triggered by a man driving the wrong way on Interstate 80 while high.

The tragically high number of road deaths this year should give us pause and put a renewed focus on steps that can be taken to keep travelers safe as they navigate Wyoming’s highway system. We’re always going to have to contend with the snow, wind and ice. But there are steps we can take to minimize the loss of life.

As drivers, we can make the choice simply not to go. When the roads are an ice rink, we can postpone travel until the outlook improves. Yes, there are trips that cannot be put off: health care being a prime example. But we can weigh the value of a trip to watch a concert or sporting event, for example, versus the risk of a winter-related crash.

We can also drive at the right speed for the conditions. Many of us know the frustration of driving carefully on a snowy highway only to have someone tailgate us as they speed down the road. Or a semi-truck passing us in dangerous conditions, kicking up snow and making it almost impossible to see for several moments. Look through Wyoming Highway Patrol reports on this year’s fatal crashes and you will see a common refrain: driving too fast for the conditions.

It’s also worth asking whether there are things we can do as a state to better improve road safety. The Wyoming Department of Transportation offers a helpful app and website for road conditions. Could it be improved upon to provide drivers with more information ahead of a trip?

There’s also the question of money. We recently discussed the ongoing shortage of Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers, with a quarter of the positions currently vacant. Those vacancies are the result of multiple factors, one of which is pay. Keeping our highways safe requires an investment in the people responsible for that safety. Those include troopers, but also snowplow drivers, road workers and those who communicate road and weather conditions to the public.

As Wyomingites, we tend to spend a lot of time behind the wheel. The population of our state is spread out and there is very little public transportation. That makes road safety especially critical. As individual drivers, let’s do what we can to reverse the deadly trend that we’ve seen this year.

-Casper Star Tribune