POLICE have been left baffled after two separate wrong-way drivers entered the freeway within minutes of each other in a major city.
With one causing a serious head-on collision, the event brings the total number of wrong-way driving incidents in the state up to seven in 2025 alone.
The crash was captured by a witness travelling on the freeway[/caption]
Police are taking measures to try and manage this growing trend of reckless driving[/caption]
Naturally, this has prompted serious concern for law enforcement.
The scene that unfolded on at the weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Interstate 15 – just north of downtown Salt Lake City – saw two separate drivers eventually arrested.
The first incident occurred near mile marker 312, as the vehicle approached 2300 North.
A witness captured the moment the vehicle, travelling northbound in the southbound HOV lane, collided head-on with another driver.
Lt. Cameron Roden of the Utah Highway Patrol told KSL news: “It’s very scary to show you.
“Drivers travelling with that vehicle coming right at them had little reaction time.”
Roden claimed that roughly 20 minutes later, responding troopers encountered yet another wrong-way driver on the same stretch of the freeway.
He said: “Luckily, they were able to get that second vehicle stopped without any issues before it crashed.”
Investigators believe the first driver entered I-15 at 400 South and think the second driver likely did the same.
Roden added: “Both of these drivers were impaired drivers, both of them were arrested.”
Among the seven wrong-way driving incidents Utah police have attended this year, there have tragically been two fatalities.
Roden also pointed to the efforts of UHP’s task force to prevent these incidents and said they’re seeing more citations issued for wrong-way driving but fewer crashes and fatalities.
Roden said: “Hopefully that shows some of the things we’re doing are working.
“The enforcement we are doing, the technology we’re using to detect these vehicles, but also the messaging for people, helping them make proper choices up front with a sober ride planned.”
He added: “These are situations that are 100 per cent preventable and don’t need to happen.”
With the “100 Deadliest Days” of summer well underway – a period between Memorial Day and Labor Day when traffic fatalities historically spike – troopers are urging drivers to make safe choices.
HOT PROPERTY
This comes as a dealership in Utah nearly lost $51,000 after a man attempted to sell them a stolen truck.
The company was prepared to hand over cash for a Chevrolet Duramax truck until an employee noticed a tiny detail.
The dealership in St. George, Utah, had its sights set on a dark blue 2023 Chevy Duramax pickup, according to the St. George Utah News.
However, the car was later discovered to have been stolen in California.
A dealership employee caught on when they spotted a suspicious vehicle identification number during the transaction.
After they double-checked, the code came back as invalid.
New driving laws in 2025
Drivers across the United States are having to adjust to a slew of new road rules that take effect in 2025. Some of those include:
- Daylighting law prohibiting drivers from parking their cars within 20 feet of any crosswalk in California
- Stricter street racing penalties in California
- Changes to car seat age and weight requirements in Colorado
- Fines for failing to follow designated enter and exit areas for express lanes in Colorado
- Bans on handheld devices while driving in Colorado and Missouri
- Drivers allowed to have a digital copy of their license on their cell phones in Illinois
- Yield right of way to emergency vehicles in Illinois
- Drivers required to take a vision test to renew licenses in Kentucky
- School bus safety law in Oregon
- Vehicle safety inspections scrapped in Texas
