The Colorado Department of Transportation and the Colorado State Patrol recently set a goal of reducing the number of traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries statewide by 22.5 percent by fiscal year 2027 compared fiscal year 2023.
[Above photo by Colorado DOT]
The Colorado DOT said it plans to deploy several strategies to help achieve that goal.
First, to improve traffic safety in construction zones, the agency will launch a Speed Safety Camera Program to reduce crashes involving excessive speed.
As part of this plan, speed safety cameras will be installed to increase safety for law enforcement officers and CDOT maintenance crews, help reduce congestion that may result from traffic stops, and more. Those cameras are estimated to reduce fatalities and injuries by more than 20 percent.
Second, the agency said it plans efforts this year to improve motorcycle safety by encouraging helmet use, support enforcement programs aimed at impaired drivers and establish speed limits that ensure the safety of all road users.
[Editor’s note: The Colorado DOT recently took home four awards from the Colorado chapter of WTS for its efforts to help women find opportunity and recognition within the transportation industry.]
Colorado DOT noted that preliminary data indicates traffic fatalities decreased by 5 percent on state roadways in 2024 compared to 2023. While that recent data is promising, the agency said motorcyclist and construction zone deaths increased last year.
In 2024, 162 motorcyclists lost their lives, marking a 23 percent increase over the previous year and accounting for 24 percent of all traffic deaths. Deaths in construction zones resulted in 31 lives lost, up from 16 the year before. Additionally, a third – some 210 – of overall traffic fatalities statewide involved an impaired driver, while 183 fatalities were unbuckled.
“While it’s promising to see a reduction in fatalities on our roadways these last two years, we continue to see careless and reckless driving behaviors on our roadways,” noted Colonel Matthew Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol, in a statement.
Colorado DOT noted that, in 2024, it launched a new awareness campaign called “Shift into Safe” to raise awareness about seat belt safety, distracted driving, child passenger safety, and more.
“Colorado has some of the most robust, straightforward Slow Down, Move Over laws in the country – and still law enforcement officers, emergency roadside technicians, Colorado DOT crews, and all the folks who keep Colorado moving face extreme peril at the roadside every, single day,” said Skyler McKinley, regional director of public affairs for AAA.
New 2025 laws aimed at reducing crashes in the state include the Colorado Hands-Free Law which prohibits the use of hand-held phones while driving, though hands-free accessories are permitted.
Additionally, enforcement of weaving in and out of Express Lanes is being expanded in 2025, Colorado DOT noted. Drivers who enter and exit Express Lanes outside of designated areas in the following corridors will face $75 fines or more on the following roadways: Central 70 (between I-25 and Chambers Road); I-25 South Gap (between Larkspur and Monument); and US 36 corridors.
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MoDOT Says Roadway Fatalities Down Statewide
February 7, 2025
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