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Show rt i i iiipi i n iim m a i b u 1465 IK!.- vi:;;UTAH DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY UTAH DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION m By GARY R. BLODGETT Utah's "Arrive Alive" program, co-sponsored by the Utah Department Depart-ment of Public Safety and Utah Department De-partment of Transportation in cooperation with the Utah Highway High-way Patrol, has received a certificate certifi-cate of achievement from the National Na-tional Highway Safety Administration. Administra-tion. Arrive Alive, which officials have credited with reducing highway high-way speeds and saving lives of local residents, has been in operation about ab-out one year, according to Louis De Carolis, Highway Safety Administration Adminis-tration regional administrator. The program, which uses the dual strategy of tougher law enforcement en-forcement of traffic laws as well as improved education efforts, has proven to be very successful in Davis County and throughout Utah, according to Lt. Gary E. Gunrud, Davis County supervisor for the Utah Highway Patrol. The bright yellow and brown bumper stickers stress driving within the 55 and 65 miles-per-hour speed limits enforced throughout the state. "The program identifies the problems and then implements countermeasures," said Mr. De Carolis. "It gets to the heart of the issue with sure, swift enforcement and at the same time gets the message mes-sage to the public." Lt. Gunrud puts emphasis for success of the program on the educational edu-cational aspects of the program, especially the support of local newspapers. "We couldn't have done it without the support of the press and the cooperation of our local motorists," he said. Launched a year ago this month, Arrive Alive has been instrumental in bringing speeds down to federal compliance standards and reducing . Utah Highway deaths, according to Gary Whitney, Utah Public Safety Department spokesman. "A year ago the state was on the verge of losing millions of dollars in federal highway funds because of excessive speed on our highways," he said. "Now the number of motorists exceeding the speed limit has dropped below 50 percent." He added that Utath had been on an upward trend of fatal accidents on Utah highways since 1983. "But since the implementation of Arrive Alive the trend has reversed." Department of Public Safety records re-cords show that there were 283 highway fatalities in 1983; 315 in 1984; 303 in 1985; 313 in 1986 and 297 in 1987. He emphasized that state troopers troop-ers are spending a lot more time in the educational aspects of highway safety, including visits to schools and public functions and even to motorists on the road. Arrive Alive is a program that focuses on four areas of highway safety; (1) the need for wearing seat belts; (2) courteous driving prac-"- tices; (3) compliance with existing state speed limits; and (4) keeping drivers using drugs and alcohol off the highways. |