From December 12-15, 2023, the City of Provo Traffic Management conducted a traffic study at the request of a private citizen. Traffic was analyzed on Carterville Road in Provo.
Traffic Manager Vern Keisslar presented the traffic studies during the fourth Provo Borough meeting in March.
The Carterville Road traffic study revealed unusual crash and speed data, according to Keeslar. Carterville Road is a collector road, meaning it accesses residential areas and serves to connect those areas to higher traffic roads.
Speed data
The posted speed limit on Carterville Road is 25 mph. During the four days that Keeslar recorded data, the highest recorded speed was 60 mph.
“There will always be people who drive twice the speed. You’ll see that on Carterville Road as well,” Keislar said.
He explained that sometimes people call and say “someone is driving 50-60 mph to my house.” Keeslar said the data supports those claims.
Northbound drivers drove an average of 28 mph, and southbound drivers drove an average of 26 mph. However, Keeslar said the 85th percentile speed shows a more accurate representation of traffic patterns, which is the speed at which 85 percent of drivers are observed to be traveling.
85% of northbound drivers drove at 33mph and 85% of southbound drivers drove at 29mph. Keeslar said he’s getting a little concerned about any data that shows consistent speeds that are 5 mph and more over the speed limit.
To curb speeding, Keeslar presented a number of solutions, one of which was the installation of three more 25 mph speed limit signs.
“I realized that (Carterville Road) only has one sign, one speed limit sign on that entire stretch. So I did something about it,” Keeslar said.
Crash data
In 2023, in Provo, 201 reported car crashes were related to speed, according to the Utah Crash Summary. This represents about 12.5% of all reported car accidents.
From 2021-2023, there were five car crashes on Carterville Road.
Keeslar presented crash data from 2021-2023 and found that four out of five crashes involved drivers hitting parked vehicles.
“This is not normal,” Keeslar said during the meeting.
Two of those incidents happened at night, so Keeslar initiated a study of street lighting. He contacted the energy department and they fixed a light pole.
Keeslar said they are currently looking for a place to install another light pole. He hopes this will help with lighting and prevent more parked car collisions.
Volume data
An average of 156 vehicles travel on Carterville Road per hour, or about 4,109 vehicles per day, which is about 3.62% of Provo’s population.
These numbers are nowhere near road capacity. Keeslar said Carterville Road can still handle that level of traffic.
The community sentiment at the meeting was appreciative but still very concerned about the amount of speeding that occurs on Carterville Road.
A woman commented at the meeting after Keeslar’s presentation. She said she lives on Carterville Road and shared an experience where her dog was hit and killed on Carterville Road by someone speeding. She said that makes her even more worried about the safety of her young children.
Keeslar encouraged everyone to report what they see and reach out.
“You’re my eyes and ears out there on the road,” Keislar said.
If you have a traffic complaint or comment, you can contact Traffic Manager Vern Keeslar at or +1-801-852-6783.
