“As many fatalities as we have seen, it has been an increased amount of time that we are upon these scenes,” Sgt. Cameron Roden, Utah Highway Patrol spokesperson, said Tuesday.

On Halloween night, a car veered off Interstate 15 in Farmington, crashing into a Utah Department of Transportation motorist assist vehicle, killing both people in the car, UHP said. The UDOT incident management truck, or IMT, was stopped on the shoulder, the driver having helped another motorist, who had just pulled away when the crash occurred. The UDOT driver suffered minor injuries.

Roden said that as of Monday, there have been 277 crash fatalities in Utah so far this year, one more than in all of 2020 — which already was a historically terrible toll.

UHP and other first-responder agencies on Monday kicked off Crash Responder Safety Week, a time used to call attention to crash scene safety issues and emphasize safe driving tips with motorists. Participants include UHP, UDOT, the Unified Fire Authority and the Utah Professional Towing Alliance.

“There is a danger not only to first responders but also to the public who drive around crash scenes,” Roden said.

If you’re involved in a crash, especially on the freeway, drive off the road or onto a ramp, Roden said, adding that state law allows drivers to get out of danger in such situations. He also counseled that after a crash, occupants should stay buckled up in the vehicle, because pedestrians are in danger of being hit.

Drivers approaching a crash scene? “We just want them to be more cautious and follow the move-over law,” he said, mentioning the statute that requires drivers to move over a lane if possible while passing emergency vehicles.

As for why fatalities have risen so sharply this year, Roden said, “It’s not just one reason.” He said impaired drivers are involved in many of the fatalities. Wrong-way driving crashes also have increased, many of those also involving impairment.

Roden said pedestrian fatalities are up as well, 35 so far this year. “Don’t assume a driver sees you and don’t cross a street in the middle of the block in the dark,” he said. Speeding and driving distracted in school zones also are killers.