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The vast majority of the accidents that are happening on the roads of El Paso County, are due to dangerous driving behaviors, NOT dangerous road conditions, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
As CDOT Traffic Safety Manager Sam Cole puts it, “It’s not the roads, it’s the drivers. Over 90 percent of crashes on our roadways are related to people’s poor choices.”
So far this year, El Paso County has had 65 traffic fatalities. These are substantially larger numbers than what has been seen in Denver and Arapahoe Counties, which are both in the 30-40 range.
These are also similar numbers, almost on par with what was seen last year. And that’s concerning, because due to the Coronavirus pandemic, overall traffic volume has largely gone down across the state.
In a statement to KOAA News5, Colorado State Patrol Master Trooper Gary Cutler said: “People are just not paying attention enough and caring enough about their own safety as well as everybody else’s.”
The problematic behaviors causing these accidents, are by and large the same ones that counties around the country are being troubled by, including distracted driving and speeding.
But according to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, one of the biggest problems in this county is drunk driving. In fact, El Paso County is regularly one of the worst counties in the state for impaired driver traffic related fatalities.
El Paso County DUI Accidents
According to statistics from the Colorado Department of Transportation, in the past few years, El Paso County has been one of the worst counties in the state of Colorado for drinking and driving accidents.
In 2019, DUI arrests in the county went up by 160% over the previous year, which is a testament to the hard work put in by, and the diligence of, the county’s Traffic Enforcement Unit, which was reestablished in order to help combat this issue.
But it also gives you an idea just how many people in the county are regularly drinking and driving. CDOT keeps track of the number of drivers charged with DUI, and drivers suspected of DUI, by crashes for each county, and El Paso’s numbers over the most recent years there are records for, has the county regularly in the top five worst for all of Colorado:
El Paso County Vehicle Operators Charged with DUI in Crashes:
- Year 2016 – 560 drivers/128 injuries
- Year 2017 – 727 drivers/73 injuries
- Year 2018 – 656 drivers/154 injuries
El Paso County Vehicle Operators Suspected of DUI in Crashes:
- Year 2016 – 3897 drivers/712 injuries
- Year 2017 – 965 drivers/173 injuries
- Year 2018 – 857 drivers/164 injuries
These types of accidents result in numerous injuries each year, multiple fatalities and thousands of dollars in damages. And sadly, this type of driving behavior is happening at the same time that there are more options than ever for finding alternate ways to get home if you’re out drinking. Valuable methods of transportation that have long been available, are not buttressed by new companies now made readily available by the prevalence of smartphones, such as Uber and Lyft.
Master Trooper Cutler suggests that you start to drive and think more defensively behind the wheel. By paying extra attention to your surroundings and how the drivers around you are behaving, you may buy yourself some critical extra moments to get your vehicle out of the way, should an intoxicated, distracted or speeding driver, swerve into the path of your vehicle.
Further Reading: Five Traffic Accident Fatalities Over Two Days in Colorado Springs Area
Contact Our Colorado Springs DUI Accident Lawyers Today
Have you or a loved one been injured by the negligent actions of an intoxicated driver? Are you concerned you won’t have the money to pay medical bills and lost expenses? If so, you need an experienced Colorado Springs car accident lawyer on your side to help you fight for justice.
Contact the dedicated attorneys at the Green Law Firm, P.C. today by calling (719) 694-8515, or by filling out the contact form on this page, to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation and discuss your case.