SALT LAKE CITY — Drunk driving deaths have jumped since the beginning of the pandemic while DUI arrests have dropped. However, Utah is bucking some of that trend.

The number of arrests for drunk driving dropped from over 1.3 million in 2010 to about 788,000 in 2023, according to the Wall Street Journal. That’s a drop of about half.

Utah bucks drunk driving trend

Utah stands out from other states because its number of arrests of people driving drunk has increased steadily over the last two decades. That comes from data updated earlier this year. 

“In 2023, we arrested more impaired drivers than we have over the last six years,” said Col. Michael Rapich, Utah Highway Patrol, at a January legislative hearing. “Over 11,000.”

Data from the Utah Department of Public Safety shows DUI arrests in Utah hit 11,246, or “an average of 31 arrests per day.” That adds up to 833 more than 2022.

In 2022, 174 people died on Utah roads from alcohol-related accidents. That’s a rise of about 61 from the year before.

From 2010 to 2022, deaths from crashes involving a DUI increased from about 10,000 to 13,500.

What the national numbers show

Nationwide, the data shows drunk driving arrests hit a turning point during the pandemic. 

According to the WSJ, police pulled drivers over less frequently to avoid catching COVID-19. In addition to that, the in-custody death of George Floyd, which prompted protests against police across the country, and again, a reduction in traffic stops. Police departments coast-to-coast also say the unrest greatly affected their recruitment and retention. 

More empty roads during lockdowns reportedly also convinced drivers to engage in reckless behaviors, like skipping their seatbelts and driving far over the speed limit.

How to curb drunk driving

The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administation is eyeing a new technology it hopes will stop DUIs before they happen: Blood-alcohol readers in cars.

The NHTSA is exploring built-in devices like breathalyzers or skin sensors that will shut down the vehicle if the driver is impaired.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends two strategies more than others: sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols.

The sobriety checks involve officers camping at a visible area and checking passing cars in a fixed sequence, say every fourth vehicle.

For saturation patrols, police publicize they will be out in force during a certain time and increase the number of officers looking for erratic driving behavior.

“Just like sobriety checkpoints, the goal of saturation patrols is to increase the perceived likelihood that impaired driving will be identified and penalized, leading to a reduction in impaired driving,” wrote the CDC on its website.

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SANDY, Utah — Sydney Leroux and Clair Emslie both scored in the first half and Angel City held on for a 2-1 victory over the expansion Utah Royals on Friday night.

It was the third win in four games for Angel City (3-3-1, 10 points), which has played a schedule front-loaded with some of the NWSL’s top teams before its meeting with the Royals.

Leroux scored on a header in the 29th minute and Emslie doubled the lead with a penalty kick in the 41st. Emslie leads the team with five goals this season.

Alyssa Thompson’s assist on Leroux’s goal was the 19-year-old’s third straight game with an assist, making her the youngest NWSL player with three in three games.

Dana Foederer scored her first NWSL goal in the 51st minute to pull Utah within 2-1 as the Royals (1-5-1, 4 points) pressed for a home win before heading out on the road for the next three matches.

Angel City goalkeeper DiDi Haracic stopped Amandine Henry’s free kick through the wall in the 73rd minute then stopped a rebound attempt from Madison Pogarch to preserve the victory.

“It was gritty, we ground it out. I think we need to be better to be honest, two-nil up, need to be better in the second half,” Emslie said.

After living in Los Angeles for two decades, “Grey’s Anatomy” star Katherine Heigl decided to raise her family outside of Hollywood, swapping the fast-paced lifestyle for small-town living in Summit County, Utah.

Heigl and her husband, musician Josh Kelley, have made their primary residence in Oakley, where they live in “a big stone-and-wood mountain home,” she recently told Architectural Digest. On her property, you’ll also find a 50-by-50-foot organic garden and an art studio — the Emmy Award-winning actress is preparing to unveil her first solo art exhibition at Park City’s Gallery MAR on May 31, she recently shared on X.

Oakley, a town with a population under 2,000, is roughly a 30-minute drive from Park City and a 50-minute drive from Salt Lake City. Heigl recently opened up about her day-to-day life in the small town, and shared in a Food Diaries segment with Harper’s Baazar where she likes to eat in Utah.

Katherine Heigl shares her favorite restaurants in Utah

In the Harper’s Baazar Food Diaries segment, Heigl reveals her love of Frosted Mini Wheats — saying she sometimes has a bowl for breakfast and lunch.

Since she lives “in the middle of nowhere” and “can’t order anything in,” she said, having cereal for lunch is the easy route — her kids are at school, she doesn’t have to cook and it doesn’t require a lot of cleaning up.

When she goes into the city for groceries, Heigl said she makes a day out of it. Her family will typically dine at Bartolo’s in Park City, an Italian restaurant she described as “simple, but really good.”

Whenever her family makes a trip to Salt Lake City, they always plan on getting sushi at Chopfuku.

“There aren’t like tons of sushi places in Utah, but there are a couple really exquisite ones down in Salt Lake,” she said in the Harper’s Baazar video, which has 655,000 views on YouTube. “So if I’m going to make the trip down to Salt Lake, which is a good hour drive, I always make sure we plan for Chopfuku.”

At home, Heigl said, her husband is the main cook, typically handling breakfast and lunch. But she will usually take care of dinner — chili, spaghetti bolognese and her mother’s meatloaf recipe are some of her go-to meals. Heigl said she also makes a lot of chicken tikka masala and butter chicken because she has “not found great Indian food in Utah.”

“They are probably not as authentically amazing as a restaurant version, but doable,” she said. “I love Indian food.”

After dinner, the “Firefly Lane” star has a go-to treat: a FatBoy ice cream sandwich, which comes from Utah’s very own Cache County.

“I never used to be much of a sweets person, but now every night after dinner, I have to have a FatBoy. … Is that just a Utah thing?” she said with a laugh.

Katherine Heigl on living in Utah

Heigl has lived with her family in Utah for more than a decade — and it’s a life she said she wouldn’t trade for the world.

“I think my children sometimes wish they were in more of a hubbub-y exciting city,” she previously said on an episode of “Today with Hoda & Jenna.” “But I said to them, ‘I understand that you are sacrificing that in some ways but I still think it was the right choice for us as a family because I am more centered and aware of what’s going on in your life.’

“‘It’s a smaller town, I know who your friends are, I know who you are spending time with, I know what’s up with school,’” she continued. “It’s just easier to keep my finger on the pulse.”

It’s a busy season for Heigl’s family in Utah. All of the proceeds from Heigl’s upcoming art exhibit will support the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation, which is “dedicated to ending animal cruelty and abuse” and honors the memory of her late brother, per Park City’s TownLift News.

Heigl’s husband, Kelley — who is the older brother of Lady A singer Charles Kelley — will perform at the Park City Song Summit in August as part of a robust lineup that also features Mavis Staples, My Morning Jacket and Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats.