Colorado is among the 10 states that the National Governors Association will assist in improving data collection around impaired driving, using a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

“Through the learning collaborative, states will learn and share strategies to strengthen and better leverage data to address impaired driving, including tools for data collection and standardization,” wrote the NGA in its announcement. Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, Vermont, Virginia and Wyoming are the other states involved in the initiative, which take place in September and October.

The Colorado Department of Transportation’s Highway Safety Office reported last year that while Colorado has seen significantly-reduced traffic fatalities over two decades, the progress has been uneven. In 2002, the fatality rate was 1.71 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. Although the number dropped to 1.17 in 2018, that was still above the one fatality per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2014.

Of the 632 fatalities in 2018, 30% involved a driver whose blood alcohol concentration exceeded the legal limit. The state has several interventions in place, including “The Heat is On” campaign of enhanced enforcement windows and DUI courts that provide case supervision and treatment.

“Colorado law enforcement agencies participated in all seven national high visibility enforcement (HVE) campaigns as well as eight other statewide HVE campaigns during the year,” the office wrote in its report. Agencies use local data to determine when and where to deploy their enforcement tactics, and then report their arrest and citation outcomes to the state.