Wednesday, September 3, 2025 |
Summer driving season turned deadly in July when state highways became congested with tourists, repeating a trend in recent years.
This past July, 20 people died on roadways in the Cowboy State. 2020 was even worse with 21 fatalities reported.
For some, it’s a matter of numbers.
“More traffic equals more opportunities for crashes,” according to Wyoming Department of Transportation Public Relations Specialist Cody Beers.
Wyoming highways see the highest traffic numbers in summer.
This July, five of the 20 deaths on Wyoming roadways included non-residents. Not wearing a seatbelt or a motorcycle helmet accounted for 13 of the deaths, or more than half.
Many of the crashes—15 of 20—involved a single vehicle, with 12 unbuckled and one crash where investigators could not determine if a seat belt was in use or not.
It’s a simple matter of physics and attention to what you’re doing.
“Anything that distracts you in that vehicle can cause you to go off the road, overcorrect and collide with a fixed object.”
Cell phones are often a contributing factor in highway fatalities.
Eliminating distractions, especially your cellphone is key to avoiding dangerous highway situations.
According to the WHP, 71 crashes have occurred on state roadways this year, compared to 102 in 2024, 121 in 2023 and 118 in 2022.
Most crashes occur at the height of travel season—July and August.
