Colorado recorded one of the largest declines in traffic fatalities among all states last year, tying Minnesota with a 12 percent drop, according to federal traffic safety statistics released Monday.
New Hampshire and the District of Columbia scored best with 23 percent drops in the number of people killed in motor-vehicle crashes when compared with 2005, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.
Missouri had a 13 percent decline, NHTSA statistics show. Nationally, fatalities were down 2 percent.
Colorado’s strong performance reflects the focus of law enforcement and other agencies on critical “causal factors” for crashes such as excessive speed, following too closely, aggressive lane-changing and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, said Col. Mark Trostel, chief of the Colorado State Patrol.
Strengthening Colorado’s teen-driving laws also has helped reduce the state’s traffic fatality rate, Trostel said.
“We waged war on what we thought were appalling statistics on teen injuries and deaths,” said Terry Campbell, the State Patrol’s legislative liaison.
Colorado would see further reduction in its traffic fatality rate if state legislators passed a primary seat-belt bill, Trostel said.
Currently police officers can cite a driver for not wearing a belt only if they make a stop for another infraction.
The Colorado General Assembly has repeatedly refused to pass primary seat-belt enforcement.
Staff writer Jeffrey Leib can be reached at 303-954-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com.
