Colorado – Fatal Car Crash Statistics

Colorado - Fatal Car Crash Statistics

Colorado fatal car crash reports are kept by both the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the United States Department of Transportation. CDOT keeps detailed statistics by both city and county. Fatal crashes are detailed to include the number of people who died in an incident when impairment was related to the crash and the number of people killed in impaired related accidents.

Another report provides information detailing holiday road fatalities for specific important holidays of the year including Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. According to the statistics, the holidays with the highest numbers of fatal accidents are Memorial Day and Labor Day.

According to the Colorado State Patrol, Department of Public Safety, there have been 168 fatalities on Colorado roads thus far in 2017. CSP has put in place a strategic plan performance measure which is to reduce all fatal, and injury crashes statewide by 5% over last year. The plan also includes a reduction of DUI-caused fatal crashes by 5% and a reduction in unrestrained occupant fatalities by 5%.

Colorado Fatalities on the Roads

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) reports the number of fatal car crashes every year by state. In 2015 more than 32,000 people died nationwide in motor vehicle crashes. Colorado reported 506 fatal crashes that resulted in 546 fatalities in 2015. Based on the population, that number equals 10 deaths per 100,000 of the population. These numbers are calculated, in part, so that comparisons with other states can be more easily made. The information provided for the report is from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

Safety Initiatives

The Colorado State Patrol (CSP) has a statewide initiative in place to fight fatal, and injury crashes. Drunk, drugged and distracted driving are leading causes of deaths and injuries in the Metro Denver area, according to the CSP. 26% of crashes in the nation involved the use of cell phones that led to distracted driving accidents. The CSP partners with others across the state to provide educational outreach programs and other initiatives to reduce fatal and injury crashes. The Fight Fatals initiative is active in all five districts across the state.

Some accidents occur because of crashing into another vehicle that was already involved in an accident. To reduce the incidence of these secondary accidents, Colorado Revised Statute 42-4-1602 was put in place. This law requires vehicles involved in a crash on a divided highway to move to a safe location if they can do so. The law applies only to accidents where there are no injuries and where drugs or alcohol are not factors. It is still a requirement to contact police after the crash. Every ten minutes that a road is blocked with an accident causes a potential traffic delay of up to sixty minutes.