While deadly incidents of road rage understandably get banner headlines, a far greater number of traffic fatalities on Colorado roads each year are due to ordinary auto crashes. Of course, there’s nothing ordinary about the number of resulting deaths – averaging over two a day.

In fact, the 754 lives lost in traffic crashes statewide last year reflect a 12% surge over Colorado’s 672 traffic deaths in 2022 and represent a 41-year high.

Those stats and other grim truths were rolled out at a Wednesday news conference hosted by Colorado law enforcement partners and led by the State Patrol.

In a bid to ensure the press and public grasp the gravity of the situation, the event was held at Crown Hill Cemetery in Lakewood. Not the cheeriest way to make the news cycle, but fully warranted.

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“People are dying on Colorado roads at a rate we have not seen in decades,” said Col. Matthew Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol.

“We all have to come together to make sure we are doing everything we can to save lives on our roadways.”

Packard pointed out the State Patrol responded to 745 crashes over the four-day Fourth of July sweep – and seven people died in those crashes. To repeat: That was in just four days.

“It is just appalling to think about how regular this loss of life has become,” he said.

Steps taken by law enforcement in response to the carnage will include maximizing law officers’ visibility. For all too many motorists, the well-established dangers of driving don’t seem to be enough to prompt care and caution behind the wheel. A prominently placed police cruiser provides added motivation.

Expect that, and more, as part of what law enforcement agencies are calling an “unapologetic approach toward enforcement and education” on the matter. We welcome the crackdown.

“We will be strict enforcers of the law,” Packard promised. “If you get stopped by a trooper, you can expect to be held accountable.”

The leading causes of Colorado traffic deaths are depressingly familiar: impaired driving, excessive speed, careless lane changes and distractions while driving.

Authorities’ concern about impaired driving in particular is all the more justified in a state that not only legalized recreational marijuana use and sales but that also has taken an all-too-casual approach toward the regulation of those sales.

Pot use is taking a big toll on our roads. An extensive analysis of 26,000 impaired-driving cases in Colorado in 2019 showed 45% of drivers tested positive for more than one substance, according to the state’s Division of Criminal Justice.

The most common combination was alcohol with THC – the psychoactive chemical in marijuana – followed by alcohol combined with other drugs.

Added Packard, “There is simply no excuse to get behind the wheel of a car when you’ve been drinking or when you’ve been using some other substance that impairs your judgment.” Amen.

The State Patrol followed the news conference by issuing a news release noting its new campaign will extend throughout the year to bring awareness to the deadliest driving behaviors on Colorado roads.

As part of this new Drive Safe campaign, the patrol will be sharing with the public its dash-cam footage of troopers pulling over suspected traffic offenders to highlight the kinds of dangerous driving that most urgently needs to stop.

Bring it on.

Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board