Source: CVDaily Feed
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LOGAN — It is one of the busiest sections of roadway in Cache County and one of the most dangerous. Accident reports from Utah Department of Transportation show the two-blocks of Main St. between 200 N and 400 N have some of the highest numbers of crashes in the state.
UDOT Communications Director Vic Saunders said even after collaborating with Logan City, expanding that stretch to six lanes with a center median, there still is a high number of accidents.
“It has had a really good impact,” said Saunders. “It seems like traffic is moving more smoothly but we still have a lot of people who are distracted, who are not paying attention when they drive, and we’re having some crashes there, rear-enders, people side-swiping and cutting off other vehicles. Those kind of things, we think could be eliminated, if people would put down their phones and pay more attention to their driving.”
Reports show that an average of 30,000 vehicles travel along Main St. each day.
Saunders said in addition to avoiding distractions, motorists should also drive defensively and watch out for others around them.
“You never know if someone in front of you or the side of you is going to suddenly recognize, ‘hey I’m in the wrong place,’ and without looking, suddenly come over and cut you off. That is where a lot of these crashes occur.”
Of the accidents in the past year, failing to yield was the most common reported cause. Following too closely and driving too fast for conditions were the second and third causes.
Saunders said Main St. can’t be widened further because businesses are built right up next to the curb, making expansion impossible.
“I know that Logan City is looking now at various options, what are called one-way couplets, perhaps making Main St. one way in one direction and combining it with another street as one way in the other direction, to try and open that flow a little more.”
Saunders also recommends that drivers use alternate routes, like 1000 W. or 200 E.
will@cvradio.com