Colorado drivers aren’t awful at driving in the snow. But that doesn’t mean they’re particularly good either, reports the Denver Post.
The state is the 34th safest place to drive in the snow, according to a report by SafeWise. But when it comes to driving in the rain, Colorado is the fourth safest. Report authors analyzed National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data from 2016 on the number of fatal car crashes due to snow and rain in each state.
“We work very hard to make our roads as safe as we can during inclement weather,” said Amy Ford, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Colorado had 13 reported crashes caused by snow meaning the chance of being in a crash caused by snow in Colorado is 0.24 per 100,000 people. Wyoming was the most dangerous wtih a 1.54 chance of a crash in snowy weather. 12 crashes were caused by rain in Colorado, meaning the chances of being in a car crash in Colorado caused by rain are 0.22 per 100,000 people. South Dakota is the safest state for rain while Arkansas is the most dangerous.
“One death is too many on our roadways and we are very conscious about how we are trying to reduce fatalities on our roads. CDOT works ahead of, during and after storms to keep roads safe” Ford added.
Colorado’s landscape and mountain passes can make driving in the snow challenging. Ford said drivers should remember that the safest way to drive in the snow is behind a plow, at a safe speed and with proper tires. Across the United States, there were 2,368 fatalities from crashes in the rain and 482 from crashes in the snow in 2016.
Living in Colorado, I’d goes as far to say that it’s not the Coloradans who don’t know how to drive in snow, it’s the out-of-staters visiting, thinking their 4×4 truck can still drive on anything, at 70mph, on regular tires. I’d like to see the stats on those accidents, see how many involved Colorado license plates. /rant
