Colorado traffic fatalities down 9% in first half of 2024 compared to 2023

Traffic fatalities involving pedestrians were down 24% and overall traffic fatalities were down 9% for the first half of 2024 compared to the same time period in 2023, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

From Jan. 1 through June 30, 2024, there were 47 fatalities on Colorado roadways involving pedestrians compared to 62 in the first six months of 2023, CDOT said in a news release Thursday. The state also saw decreases of about:

• 23% for children and teenagers, ages 19 and younger (47 in 2023, 36 in 2024)
• 63% for bicyclists (8 in 2023, 3 in 2024)
• 16% in traffic deaths involving an impaired driver (from 108 in 2023 to 91 in 2024)
• 6% among drivers and passengers not wearing seatbelts (96 in 2023, to 90)
• 5% for motorcyclists (55 in 2023, 52 in 2024)

“While these improvements are encouraging, even one death is still too many, and we still have a lot of work to reach our ultimate goal of zero fatalities on Colorado roads,” Darrell Lingk, CDOT’s office of transportation safety director, said in the news release. “The data from the first half of 2024 shows our collective efforts are making a difference, but every driver and road user must continue to prioritize safety and make responsible choices behind the wheel.”

More: Fort Collins to use red-light traffic cameras for speeding tickets

Contact reporter Kelly Lyell at KellyLyell@coloradoan.com . You can follow him at x.com/KellyLyell and facebook.com/KellyLyell.news.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado traffic fatalities down 9% in first half of 2024 compared to 2023