Truckers, retired UHP trooper say bad driving is getting worse

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The case of a young man on a bullet bike, accused of going 140 on the freeway, is not an isolated case of "insane’ and nuts" driving, according to truckers and a retired UHP trooper who spoke to 2News Friday.

“That’s just stupid,” said David Curtis, a veteran truck driver, who said local driving is getting worse, not better. “It’s horrible in this valley.”

His sentiments seemed to be echoed by other truckers.

RELATED: Teen arrested, accused of fleeing from deputy at 140 mph on I-15

“Oh, I get cut off on a daily basis,” said Mike Bond, adding it takes a long stretch of road to stop his rig. “You kind of become numb to it.”

“I forgot the state I was in, but the person was going about 120, no lights on, no nothing,” said Raymond Thompson of Ohio, who thinks if not for CB radios to warn other truckers in the dead of night, that incident could have become a catastrophe.

Another trucker said he looks down from his cab and sees people texting or reacting to posts on social media, while driving—both against the law in Utah.

Lee Perry, a retired Utah state trooper and former state legislator, said he keeps in touch with friends on the UHP force.

“I visit with them, and and they’re like, ‘I just can’t believe that compared to before you left and retired, the number of 100 mile per hours speeders we would catch in one day or a week, has gone up exponentially,” Perry said.

Within several days, the Davis County Sheriff’s Office said the 140 mph case happened, as did a motorcyclist in West Point weaving in and out of traffic, running lights,, and darting from deputies.

In the former, 19 year old Spencer Reid Leland was eventually arrested. In the latter, the motorcyclist is still at large. Thankfully, no one was hurt.