There were 701 traffic fatalities on state roads in 2025 — a roughly 2% increase from 2024, the Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado State Patrol and Department of Revenue announced at a news conference Friday.

Officials noted that last year ended a period of declining deaths and reflected warm November and December weather that boosted motorcycle activity and crashes.

“Traffic deaths hit near records in those last two months of the year. Especially hard hit were motorcyclists, where we saw a 167% increase in the number of fatalities,” said Shoshana Lew, executive director of CDOT.

Lew called for intensified action to reduce crashes statewide and stressed the human cost of the toll.

“Every one of the 701 deaths last year represents a member of our community,” said Lew. “Each one is a mother, a father, a son, a daughter, a friend, somebody who didn’t make it home.”

Despite the surge in motorcycle deaths late in the year, overall motorcycle fatalities fell 11%, said Sam Cole, traffic safety communications manager at the Colorado Department of Transportation.

He also said construction zone deaths decreased while impaired-driving deaths increased.

He credited safety measures with fewer construction zone deaths but flagged the rise in impaired-driving crashes as an ongoing problem.

Chief Matthew Packard of the Colorado State Patrol spoke with visible emotion as he described standing at a recent fatal crash scene with a grieving father.

“It is absolutely preventable and unacceptable and the only way that we can move this needle is if we all agree on those two points: Traffic deaths are absolutely preventable and they are tragic,” Packard said.

Packard cited examples of pedestrian crashes involving dark clothing in unlit areas, cyclists without helmets or lights, and drivers who fail to slow down or move over.

“This is not a problem that we can point a single finger at,” Packard said. “This is a systemic issue that we all need to lean into and recognize that it is all of our responsibility to solve these problems.”

Packard urged drivers to plan ahead before consuming alcohol or drugs and stressed that checkpoints and DUI teams will continue statewide enforcement.

“About 30% to 35% of people killed in car crashes in Colorado are at the hands of an impaired driver,” Packard said. “Impaired driving is the single most preventable and absolutely the most selfish act that happens in this state on the state’s roads.”

Lew detailed seven 2026 safety initiatives, including expanding automated speed enforcement cameras in work zones, reducing uninsured motorists, promoting the Move Over law, closing infrastructure gaps for pedestrians and bicyclists, and doubling wildlife crossings to more than 70 structures.

Lew cited the new Greenland wildlife overpass as a prime example. The structure, one of the largest in North America, spans six lanes of Interstate 25 near the Greenland Interchange between Larkspur and Monument in Douglas County and cost $15 million to build.

Such crossings reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions by about 90%, CDOT officials said. The Greenland overpass reconnects roughly 39,000 acres of habitat on both sides of the highway.

Lew urged drivers to take nine seconds before each trip: three seconds to buckle up, three seconds to put down phones under the hands-free law and three seconds to check the roadway for oncoming traffic before pulling out. While seat belt use reached a record 91% in 2025, about half of the deaths involved unbelted individuals.

Packard reported notable rises in pedestrian and bicyclist deaths. Speed was a factor in nearly 40% of vehicle crashes. Distracted driving persisted as a problem despite the new hands-free law for electronic devices.

The Colorado State Patrol plans to add 50 to 100 troopers in 2026 and enforce laws more strictly on speed, distraction and impairment, said Packard.

Electra Bussell, senior director of the Division of Motor Vehicles, described 2025 driver education updates that added content on child passenger restraints, distracted driving, zipper merging, courtesy and vulnerable road users. Comprehensive driver education becomes mandatory for those under 20 in January 2027.

The ignition interlock program, which requires convicted impaired drivers to install breath-alcohol devices to prevent engine start if alcohol is detected, averaged nearly 35,000 active devices last year and recorded almost 80,000 instances where it stopped someone from driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08% or higher.

Officials emphasized shared responsibility across drivers, agencies and communities to reverse persistent trends in preventable crashes.