The new year has come, but there’s still time for sober-driving resolutions. Whether you’re calling a friend to come pick you up or you’re the friend answering the phone, start the conversation about impaired driving. From Jan. 12–25, the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Colorado State Patrol (CSP) and local law enforcement agencies are kicking off the first of 16 DUI enforcement periods this year with increased DUI patrols. The campaign is called Winter Blitz DUI enforcement.
There were 271 impaired driving fatalities on Colorado roads in 2022, an increase from the 255 lives lost in 2021. The counties with the highest number of fatalities involving an impaired driver were: Adams, El Paso, and Arapahoe counties.
“There is no reason to get behind the wheel while impaired,” said Col. Matthew C. Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol. “Even if you think you are okay to drive, it only takes one poor choice to make a life-altering decision that can end in a fatal crash. The lives lost in 2022 due to impaired driving could have been spared. We need to do better this year — lives depend on it.”
Among the 736 fatalities on Colorado roads in 2022, impaired driving was a leading contributing factor, with alcohol being the most common drug involved.
“Take a moment this year to reflect on your choices and pledge to never drive impaired in 2023,” said CDOT’s Office of Transportation Safety Director Darrell Lingk. “Find a designated driver, a Lyft or Uber, whatever it is — just make sure your ride to and from your destination is safe and sober.”
The recent New Year’s Eve enforcement period saw 143 arrests across 77 participating agencies. The agencies with the highest number of arrests were Colorado State Patrol (32), Colorado Springs Police Department (23) and Fort Collins Police Department (8). The total number of DUI arrests from 2022 heightened enforcement periods was 4,507.
For yearly impaired-driving crash and fatality data in Colorado, visit https://www.codot.gov/safety/traffic-safety/data-analysis/fatal-crash-data. For local law enforcement agency plans, visit https://www.codot.gov/safety/traffic-safety-reporting-portal.
About The Heat Is On
The CDOT Highway Safety Office provides funding to Colorado law enforcement for impaired driving enforcement, education and awareness campaigns. The Heat Is On campaign runs throughout the year, with 16 specific high-visibility impaired driving enforcement periods centered on national holidays and large public events. Enforcement periods can include sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols and additional law enforcement on duty dedicated to impaired driving enforcement. Find more details about the campaign, including impaired driving enforcement plans, arrest totals and safety tips at HeatIsOnColorado.com. More information about DUI laws in Colorado can be found at NoDUIColorado.org. Learn more about CDOT’s dedication to keeping Colorado roads safe, including impaired driving enforcement objectives, arrest data and safety information at codot.gov/safety.
About CDOT
CDOT’s Whole System-Whole Safety program has one simple mission — to get everyone home safely. Our approximately 3,000 employees work tirelessly to reduce the rate and severity of crashes and improve the safety of all modes of transportation. The department manages more than 23,000 lane miles of highway, more than 3,000 bridges and 35 mountain passes. CDOT also manages grant partnerships with a range of agencies, including metropolitan planning organizations, local governments and airports. It also operates Bustang, the state-owned interregional express bus service. Gov. Jared Polis has charged CDOT to further build on the state’s intermodal mobility options.
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