Statewide traffic deaths down for the first time in years, CDOT reports
Roads throughout Colorado saw an annual decrease in traffic deaths for the first time since 2019, according to a preliminary report from the Colorado Department of Transportation.
According to CDOT officials, the state saw a total of 716 traffic deaths in 2023, amounting to a 6% decrease in traffic deaths since 2022.
Additionally, Colorado roadways saw a decrease in both motorcycle and impaired-driving fatalities in 2023, amounting to a 10% decrease in motorcycle deaths and a 21% decrease in impaired-driving fatalities.
El Paso County, however, saw the most traffic deaths countywide in Colorado, recording 78 traffic deaths in 2023.
CDOT attributes the overall decrease in traffic deaths to the newly established Advancing Transportation Safety Initiative.
Launched in 2023, ATV, “allowed CDOT to come together with a diverse network of stakeholders to create tangible action items and strategies to improve safety.”
According to CDOT officials, the new intuitive works to take a “comprehensive approach,” to road safety by looking at five key areas of emphasis including safe road design, safe driving practices, personal driver safety, post-crash care, and cultivating a positive culture around safe driving.
However, the annual report was not all good news.
In looking at fatal crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists, the state saw a total of 153 pedestrian and bicyclist traffic deaths, representing an 18% increase compared to 2022.
“These vulnerable road users account for 21% of all traffic deaths,” CDOT officials said.
According to CDOT officials, the department’s focus on protecting this vulnerable population of road users in 2024 will be informed by the Vulnerable Road Users Safety Assessment, which will work to improve safety by evaluating signage, crosswalks, intersections and other factors that impact the safety of vulnerable road users.
CDOT said the evaluations will lead to recommendations regarding roadway enhancements and mitigations to promote awareness surrounding transportation safety and address inequities that exist throughout Colorado.
“A key component of transportation safety is understanding that people make mistakes,” said Keith Stefanik, chief engineer at CDOT.
“That is why we strive to build resiliency and redundancy into the transportation system to prevent those mistakes from being deadly ones. This means roundabouts instead of four-way intersections, increased use of cable rail and rumble strips to keep vehicles on the road, improved striping, and more.”
As a means to combat increases seen and further promote safe driving practices, CDOT announced a new campaign in 2024 titled Shift into Safe as a way to both inform and motivate drivers to change harmful behavior on state roadways.
Additionally, the department’s highway safety office will award over $13.5 million in federal funds from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to a series of local partners who engage in education, awareness, and crash-prevention efforts throughout the state.
“We are pleased to see the progress we’ve made this past year in reducing fatalities on our roadways and we want more drivers to jump on board with making daily positive choices to move Colorado into the forefront of being one of the safest states to travel,” said Col. Matthew C. Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol.
“Conscious choices can become habits. Modeling daily actions like driving at posted speed limits, putting devices or food out of reach, and refusing to drive after drinking or taking other impairing substances, makes a difference in that moment and speaks volumes to family and friends around you.”
Construction crews next week will begin upgrading about 18 lane miles along South Academy Boulevard from Bijou Street to Jet Wing Drive. These are the first major upgrades to the roadway since it opened in 1969, city officials said. The project, estimated to be complete in 2025, will provide a smoother driving surface, ponding water will be significantly reduced or eliminated, and it will be easier for pedestrians and bicyclists to travel, officials said.
