Fatal Bus Accidents in Colorado
The Colorado Department of Transportation maintains records about crashes and fatal accidents that occur in the territory of the state. Finding information about bus collisions that have a lethal outcome, however, is a bit more difficult because segmentation by vehicle type doesn’t take place. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has records as far as such statistics go and these can be used to establish statewide trends over the years.
Fatal Accidents in 2015 to 2017
FMCSA’s reports suggest that Colorado doesn’t rank among the states that have the biggest number of crash-related fatalities. Figures for the period from 2015 to 2017 suggest that such collisions are low:
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buses involved | 195 | 228 | 56 |
| Number of Crashes | 194 | 227 | 55 |
| Fatalities | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| Injuries | 43 | 83 | 12 |
Data for 2013 and 2014 provides additional evidence about the downward trend for crash mortality. In 2013, there were five buses involved in fatal crashes and five individuals killed. In 2014, the number of crashes was four, and the fatalities were the same.
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics has a rather detailed state-by-state report for 2010. In 2010, The state had four fatal collisions, representing 0.6 percent of all such accidents.
The number of fatalities for 2010 was five, which is 1.1 percent of all deaths that occurred on Colorado roads. Regarding non-fatal collisions, there were 178 buses involved in such and 59 injuries.
Overall Fatalities
The Colorado Department of Transportation publishes detailed reports about fatalities on the road every single year. Taking these into consideration and looking at the figures pertaining to bus crashes can paint an even more convincing figure as far as the risks related to this mode of transportation.
In 2012, there were 433 vehicle crashes that caused death in the state. These caused the death of 472 individuals. The number represents a mortality rate of 1.01 persons per 100 million vehicle miles traveled.
The most common factor that contributed to these collisions was speeding (in 162 of the cases).
According to Colorado State Patrol, there were 255 fatal crashes and 283 individuals killed on the road in 2014. If these numbers are related to the FMCSA bus reports, it’s evident that bus crashes caused the death of solely four individuals during the year.
Recent Fatal Crash Cases
The newest instance of a person getting killed in a crash is from the summer of 2017. Three vehicles, including a bus, collided into each other west of Denver. The bus had 13 passengers, and 10 of them sustained injuries. Later on, a 61-year-old man died because of the severity of his wounds.
The driver of one car was responsible for the accident. According to Colorado State Patrol representatives, careless driving caused the car to veer into the southbound lane. It hit the bus at high speed, making it roll on one side.