St. George is by far the worst place I’ve ever had the misfortune of driving in. Every time I buckle up, I wonder if today is the day I get the opportunity to be part of an absolutely real and terrifying statistic.
Growing up in St. George, I’ve seen a lot of changes, especially a huge population increase. Since 2005, the population has more than doubled, with major migration coming within the last few years.
St. George has been one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country, and the city was not prepared. Utah consistently ranks high in worst driver polls, Utah being ranked third place for worst drivers in the nation.
St. George plays its role in contributing to that third-place ranking, which I would mostly attribute to a local population that wasn’t prepared for the mass migration of out-of-state drivers.
In 2024, the St. George Police Department reported over 2,000 accidents resulting in nine fatalities. Although data isn’t yet available for 2025, it’s estimated that we’re seeing a significant increase in accident fatality rates from 2024 to 2025.
Things have gotten so bad that the St. George Police Department has started posting Traffic Tuesdays and Thursdays on their Instagram page, where they inform drivers about basic traffic laws.
Snowbirds
Poor driving in the city can be attributed to a lot of things, a major one being an older population. Due to the moderate winter weather in St. George, elderly residents, known as snowbirds, will live here for at least half the year.
Driving at an older age brings natural impairments, such as slower reaction time, worsened eyesight and stiffened joints and muscles. Those impairments, paired with a rapidly growing population, are a recipe for disaster.
Texting while driving
Outside of the older residents, distracted driving is just as big an issue. Every time I drive down Bluff Street, it seems like the person next to me is always on their phone.
Studies show that distracted driving is the No. 1 cause of automobile accidents, even higher than driving under the influence or speeding. Thousands of deaths in the United States can be attributed to distracted driving, and it’s a shame that this issue hits so close to home.
Pairing the elderly, rapidly growing populations and distracted driving with a city that’s trying to rebuild an accommodating infrastructure is always going to lead to a hazardous environment.
Many of the accidents you hear about around town are caused by people misjudging left-hand turns at yellow lights. With the amount of traffic we see, more lights should be forced left turns, especially off of major roads like Bluff and River Road.
Unreliable public transportation
Improved public transportation to combat the amount of traffic on the road would be a major step in the right direction. Currently, the only public transportation offered in St. George is the Suntran, which offers seven unique in-town routes that run every 40 minutes, Monday through Saturday.
Although the Suntran is an option, it isn’t a viable form of public transportation. With a stop only being visited every 40 minutes, it’s an unreliable resource for a lot of people. If the Suntran were able to run every 10 to 15 minutes, it would be a much more valuable resource to city residents.
After living in Ogden for a year, I experienced what reliable public transportation looks like after using the Ogden Express to get around every day. Even though Ogden is closer to the more heavily populated Salt Lake City metro area, traffic didn’t seem as bad, with individuals opting to use public transportation.
As dangerous as St. George driving is, all it takes is simple changes.
Improved infrastructure to eliminate those lethal left turns and improved public transportation to make it a more reliable option are an excellent start in making St. George a safer place.
Outside of the changes the city can make, the individual resident can implement changes to make St. George a safer place to drive. If everybody would put down the distractions, practice more patience and freshen up on basic road laws, we could combat the scary driving statistics we currently face.
