Seven hundred and fifty-four people died in traffic crashes in Colorado in 2022 – a 41-year high for the state. 

“One of the challenges we have is that it’s a difficult number to pinpoint,” Col. Matthew Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol, said in a press conference on Wednesday. “So many people are dying on our roads, that we struggle to keep up and count that number.”

The Colorado State Patrol – along with local police departments – have continued yearly efforts to lower these harrowing numbers. Some of the tactics involve enforcement surge operations in specific areas and sprucing up patrol units to help find distracted, impaired or dangerous drivers.

CSP will be conducting a statewide surge patrol on Friday , working with local law enforcement agencies to increase patrols on state roads and highways. They provided a warning to drivers about the enforcement day in a press conference Wednesday.

Packard noted that CSP has done several surge enforcement operations this year, leading to an increase in finding “poor drivers” along with stolen vehicles, stolen property and people carrying illegal narcotics. 

“We are about saving lives. That’s what we do here at the Department of Colorado State Patrol,” Packard said. “We know this methodology – this operational posture – works.”

Packard stated that there is a 5% year-to-date reduction in statewide traffic fatalities in 2023. There has also been a 34% reduction to fatalities in Mesa County. 

Speaking of the 5% decrease, Packard added that it is still an impactful amount of lives saved.

“I’m proud to say, as we go into the fall and holiday season, that those are people who are going to get to sit around with their family and loved ones.”

Though efforts have helped reduce crash fatalities, pedestrian-automobile deaths are on pace to break 2022 numbers. There were 115 pedestrian deaths in 2022. There have been 87 so far this year.