Some driving statistics are up in Colorado, but not the ones you want. After a year in decline, 2025 saw another increase in Colorado Traffic Deaths.
Many had hoped that the passage and implementation of a law making it illegal to operate a hand held device while operating a motor vehicle would have possibly curved that. While cell phones are the #1 form of distracted driving…the law made it almost impossible to enforce it. The officer must observe the use of the phone in “careless or imprudent manor”. Most reasonable people would ask…what is a prudent way to text and drive”
Colorado Department of Transportation officials said that, while the increase is small, they see troubling trends and plan to refocus safety efforts around impaired driving and deaths involving pedestrians and bicyclists.
Lawmakers did introduce a bill in 2025 to make distracted driving resulting in death a felony, where it is now a misdemeanor. That bill was watered down and did not pass as written due to the leadership or lack thereof from Senators such as Julie Gonzales, and the Denver Defense Bar Association who still feel that penalties or the possibility of jail will not do anything to prohibit reckless
driving on the roadways, and a $1000 fine is adequate punishment for taking a life. They did offer to leave open the possibility to have a second offense be charged with a felony. Let that sink in.
A total of 701 people died on Colorado roads in 2025, an increase of 1.7% over the 689 fatalities reported in 2024, the data show. The number is still below the a record-setting 764 fatalities in 2022.
Impaired driving remains a leading factor in traffic deaths, CDOT officials said in a news release. CDOT recorded 234 deaths in crashes involving an impaired driver in 2025. Since 2022, impaired driving-related fatalities have decreased by 18%, state records show.
A breakdown of CDOT’s 2025 numbers shows the fatalities included 124 pedestrians, 18 bicyclists, and 146 motorcyclists. Car and truck crashes accounted for 392 fatalities.
Nationwide the final numbers are not in yet, but VRU, (Vulnerable Road Users, ie cyclist, pedestrians, and construction workers) compromise about 20% of all traffic fatalities. Preliminary numbers look to exceed 7000 pedestrian deaths and over 1000 cyclist deaths. Another 60,000 pedestrians and 42,000 bicyclists are injured in roadway crashes annually
CDOT and the Colorado State Patrol plan increased patrols aimed at “removing impaired drivers from our roads,” Col. Matthew Packard, chief of the patrol, said in a statement. “Even if you think you’re OK to drive, the consequences of impaired driving are never worth the risk. Use a ride-share service, public transportation, or call a sober friend. Your commitment to sober driving could save a life.”
