Colorado saw 68,215 car crashes this year so far — of which 391 were fatal.

And there are three months left in the year.

The Colorado State Patrol said speeding remains the leading cause of vehicle deaths in both Colorado and the nation and urged drivers anew to slow down.

The state agency noted that speeding isn’t socially frowned upon as distracted driving, for example, but it is deadly.    

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“While driving under the influence and distracted driving are looked down upon socially, speeding isn’t always looked at negatively. Yet, hundreds of families are devastated by loss every year due to speeding drivers,” Colonel Matthew Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol, said in a news release.  

“Speed limits are not suggestions; they’re designed to keep everyone as safe as possible as we all travel to our destinations,” Packard said.  

While technology, like smart cruise control, has helped lower some driver’s speed, driving faster or slower than the limit still rests upon the shoulders of the operator, the agency said. “Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the driver to ensure they are following the law and not exceeding safe and prudent speeds.”

In 2022, traffic incidents claimed the lives of 754 in Colorado traffic fatalities, the most roadway deaths the state has seen in the last 41 years, according to state data.

The Colorado State Patrol is teaming up with the Weld County Sheriff’s Office and Severance and Ault police departments for a speeding surveillance on Highway 14 between Fort Collins and Ault. The speed enforcement focus will occur on Sept. 26 between 1 and 7 p.m., officials said. 

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