Failure to Yield No. 1 Reason for Traffic Accidents in St. George

St. George Utah Police

ST. GEORGE – A two-vehicle accident just before 8 a.m. this morning slowed traffic to a crawl on Sunset Boulevard.

Sgt. Craig Harding said a gray Toyota pickup truck going northbound in the left turn lane allegedly failed to yield to a vehicle going southbound and the driver was ticketed. He said the pickup was following a vehicle in front of them instead of looking to see if they were safe to also make the left turn.

“Failure to yield is the No. 1 reason for crashes in St. George,” Harding said. “People are distracted and just following the other vehicle.”

Harding said it is good practice to take your foot off the gas anytime a driver is going through an intersection so the driver will be prepared to stop if another driver isn’t paying attention.

He said another St. George officer had an instance just this morning where the officer witnessed a female driver texting at a red light, then enter the intersection on a green light while texting, and continue texting for a block before pulling her over. The driver then allegedly swore at the officer several times for giving her a ticket for texting and driving.

“People aren’t getting the idea that they need to be back in the vehicle, with their heads in the attitude of driving,” he said. “[Accidents] will keep happening until people decide to change their behavior and we will keep taking their money out of their pocket until they do.”

Harding said the No. 1 location for accidents in St. George is 250-280 South River Road. No. 2 is East Boulevard with North Bluff coming in third. Sunset is the No. 4 area for car accidents with over 250 accidents each year.

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1 Comment

  • Debbie Simmons February 22, 2011 at 4:56 pm

    Personally I think it should be big $$ tickets for texting and driving. Maybe that will get through to people. I can’t believe the number of people that I see texting and driving. Most are at a stop sign or a signal (cause they think it’s OK??) If it is that important to you, pull over and check and text if you need to! I pray you never kill anyone while doing this…YOU have to live with that your whole life!

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