SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS) is urging motorcyclists to change their riding habits after July became the deadliest month on record for motorcycles in the state. Fourteen riders died in July 2025, breaking an 11-year record and bringing the year’s total fatalities to 44.
DPS data shows that half of the deaths this year were single-vehicle crashes, a trend that officials say highlights the critical need for riders to improve their skills and reduce speeds. Less than 10 percent of the fatally injured riders had taken a skills course, and only 36 percent had a motorcycle endorsement on their license.
Officials are calling on both riders and drivers to “share the road, drive calm, and drive alert.” The announcement comes as the state is on track to surpass the 2024 record of 53 annual motorcycle fatalities.
The warning came days after a 19-year-old Preston, Idaho, man was killed in a motorcycle crash in Blacksmith Fork Canyon on July 24. Teagan Swanepoel was on a black Kawasaki, travelling westbound along SR-101, when he failed to negotiate a turn and ran off the road, plunging approximately 12 feet into the Blacksmith Fork River.
Despite wearing a helmet, Swanepoel died at the scene of the crash. Troopers report speed and inexperience were likely factors in the crash.