Summer will soon come to a close, but driving impaired is never in season. The Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado State Patrol and local law enforcement agencies are coming together for a late summer DUI campaign from Aug. 18 to Sept. 6. Additional patrols will be stationed statewide to remove impaired drivers from the roads ahead of and during the Labor Day holiday weekend.
“We are aware that late summer is a chance for people to enjoy summer activities before fall arrives later in September,” said Col. Matthew Packard, Chief of the CSP. “Unfortunately, we see a spike in impaired driving fatal crashes during the summer. These occasions can easily end with a fatal crash due to the careless and entirely preventable decision to drive impaired. Please hold your loved ones accountable to help keep our roads a safe place to travel.”
This year, there have been 133 traffic fatalities that have involved a suspected impaired driver. That is 36% of all traffic fatalities so far this year. Counties with the highest number of impaired fatalities are: Denver (14), Adams (12), Arapahoe (11), Jefferson (11), El Paso (10), and Pueblo (10). Last year 212 traffic fatalities involved a suspected impaired driver on Colorado roads in 2020. There were 622 traffic fatalities overall.
During the same enforcement period last year, 104 participating law enforcement agencies arrested 694 impaired drivers.
“Choosing when to get behind the wheel can be a life or death decision,” said CDOT’s Office of Transportation Safety Director Darrell Lingk. “When alcohol or marijuana is present, there is always a choice to make, and the decision affects more people than just the driver. Please be mindful of the decision at hand to never drive impaired — lives depend on it.”
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. 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.
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