DUI-related crashes hit 21-year high in Colorado

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Deadly crashes have reached a 21-year high in Colorado.

Colorado Department of Transportation tells 11 News more than half of those crashes have been caused by impaired drivers. CDOT tells 11 News the majority of these crashes are caused by drivers who are drinking or on drugs. A quarter of them are on both.

According to CDOT, last year, there were 745 deadly crashes on Colorado roads. Of those, nearly 250 were caused by impaired driving. It has not been this high since 2002, when there were 276 people that lost their lives from impaired driving.

You can see the chart down below.

CDOT wants all drivers to think about the lives of others before they drive impaired.

“Drinking and driving doesn’t just affect the person who is the offender,” said Sam Cole, traffic safety manager for CDOT. “It often affects people on our roadways who are innocent drivers that are just trying to get home and see their families. They are then hit by an impaired driver and their life is sadly taken. This happens time after time again.”

According to CDOT, so far this year, there have been 41 deadly crashes on our roads across the state. Last year, we saw nearly 800. Of the 800, 83 people were killed in El Paso County. 27 of those crashes involved drinking and driving. Compared to 2004, nearly two dozen people were killed in the county from impaired driving.

Troopers say drivers should think about their life and others before drinking and getting behind the wheel.

“If you kill yourself, somebody else or seriously injure somebody else, having to live with that in the back of your mind knowing that your decision cost those consequences is the bigger of the issues,” Sgt. Troy Kessler, public affairs, Colorado State Patrol.

Troopers say if you are pulled over for drinking and driving, expect to pay at least $13,000 in fines, potentially lose your license, have your car impounded, and have to pay court costs.

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