It's the deadliest year so far on Colorado Springs roads

It’s the deadliest year so far on Colorado Springs roads

Posted: Dec 18, 2017 / 07:52 PM MST / Updated: Dec 18, 2017 / 09:28 PM MST

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