Crash Trends

As the only statewide traffic enforcement agency, the Colorado State Patrol investigates approximately 30 percent of traffic crashes in Colorado, including about 70 percent of all traffic crashes involving fatalities.

In 2008 the Patrol investigated a total of 27,213 traffic crashes across the state; this is a 3.8 percent decrease from 2007, when the Patrol investigated a total of 28,273 crashes.

Five years of crash data for the Colorado State Patrol only is shown below:

Each crash investigated by the Colorado State Patrol is assigned a causal factor; the error which caused the crash to occur. For 2008, the majority of fatal accidents investigated by the Patrol were due to inebriated drivers.

Inattentiveness to driving (a category that includes many behaviors, such as talking on cell phones or eating while driving) also contributes heavily to fatal and injury accidents.

Speeding is frequently a factor in fatal and injury crashes; exceeding safe or lawful speed (when considered together) are the second most common cause of fatal and injury accidents.

Aggressive driving behaviors such as lane violations also result in significant numbers of fatal and injury crashes. Other aggressive driving behaviors include following too closely, failure to yield right of way, improper passing, disregarding stop signs, and driving on the wrong side of the road.

 
Other crash statistics are provided in the spreadsheets below. These statistics address only Colorado State Patrol enforcement activity. Statistics for the entire state are available from the Colorado Department of Revenue (click here). Statewide citation statistics are not available.

• Crash Statistics by County
• Crash Statistics by Month
• Crash Statistics by Hour