It has been a deadly year so far on Colorado Springs roads. A record-setting number of fatal crashes have happened through mid-December.
There have been 38 so far in 2017 — that’s a number that surpasses the previous record by ten in 2013.
It’s not just fatal wrecks on the rise; all other crashes are increasing too.
Here’s a look at traffic crashes for past five years. There’s a 2.1 percent increase from 2016 to 2017.
2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
8,014 | 8,534 | 8,867 | 9,132 | 9,325 |
According to the Colorado Springs Police Department, some of the top reasons drivers crash include cell phone use, which is up by 12 percent from last year.
There are a few other factors police say have gone up too, including falling asleep at the wheel, aggressive driving, and trying to evade law enforcement.
Contributing Factors For Traffic Crashes:
Contributing Factor (Officer Opinion) | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
01 – ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL | 55 | 57 | 62 | 55 | 70 |
02 – DRIVER FATIGUE | 58 | 63 | 54 | 51 | 63 |
03 – ILLNESS / MEDICAL | 77 | 71 | 38 | 60 | 42 |
04 – DRIVER INEXPERIENCE | 594 | 576 | 529 | 499 | 447 |
05 – AGGRESSIVE DRIVING | 199 | 111 | 102 | 192 | 163 |
06 – DRIVER UNFAMILIAR WITH AREA | 202 | 191 | 217 | 219 | 150 |
07 – DRIVER EMOTIONALLY UPSET | 34 | 50 | 42 | 31 | 33 |
08 – EVADING LAW ENFORCEMENT | 19 | 23 | 21 | 27 | 33 |
09 – PHYSICAL DISABILITY | 12 | 26 | 22 | 19 | 14 |
10 – DUI, DWAI, DUID | 573 | 520 | 534 | 544 | 609 |
11 – DISTRACTED BY PASSENGER | 127 | 91 | 85 | 96 | 70 |
12 – DISTRACTED BY CELL PHONE | 97 | 113 | 135 | 119 | 133 |
13 – DISTRACTED BY RADIO | 29 | 34 | 35 | 28 | 26 |
14 – DISTRACTED BY OTHER | 641 | 514 | 419 | 394 | 362 |
“Focus on your driving. It’s so easy to be distracted especially in the city limits that so many things are happening on the side of the roads or on sidewalks,” said Lt. Howard Black with CSPD.
According to police, some of the most common areas for traffic crashes in Colorado Springs all line up with Interstate 25.
Top 25 Crash Locations by Frequency Only – 01/01/17 to 10/31/17
01/01/17 to 10/31/17 – Top 25 Traffic Accident Locations by Frequency | ||
Rank | Location | Amount |
1 | I 25 / W CIMARRON ST | 132 |
2 | I 25 / S NEVADA AVE and S TEJON ST | 98 |
3 | I 25 / W BIJOU ST | 89 |
4 | I 25 / W GARDEN OF THE GODS RD | 87 |
5 | I 25 / E WOODMEN RD | 78 |
6 | I 25 / W UINTAH ST | 71 |
7 | I 25 / N NEVADA AVE, CORPORATE DR, S ROCKRIMMON BL | 69 |
8 | I 25 / W FILLMORE ST | 57 |
9 | N POWERS BLVD / BARNES RD | 57 |
10 | N ACADEMY BLVD / E PLATTE AVE | 44 |
11 | N POWERS BLVD / DUBLIN BLVD | 43 |
12 | I 25 / S CIRCLE DR | 40 |
13 | I 25 / W FONTANERO ST | 40 |
14 | N ACADEMY BLVD / AUSTIN BLUFFS PKWY | 40 |
15 | N POWERS BLVD / STETSON HILLS BLVD | 39 |
16 | N ACADEMY BLVD / N CAREFREE CIR | 37 |
17 | I 25 / W USHY-24 | 34 |
18 | S ACADEMY BLVD / AIRPORT RD | 33 |
19 | W CIMARRON ST / S 8TH ST | 33 |
20 | N POWERS BLVD / CONSTITUTION AVE | 31 |
21 | S ACADEMY BLVD / E FOUNTAIN BLVD | 30 |
22 | AUSTIN BLUFFS PKWY / N UNION BLVD | 29 |
23 | E PLATTE AVE / N MURRAY BLVD | 29 |
24 | N POWERS BLVD / S CAREFREE CIR | 29 |
25 | N ACADEMY BLVD / DUBLIN BLVD | 27 |