CSP Says 36% Decline In Impaired Motorcycle Fatalities In 2023
On the coast road in the Pacific Northwest.
OK, what happened in 2023 might seem like old news but you have to understand that pulling all these statistics together and analyzing them is time consuming and reports on highway fatalities and such are always released well into the following year. It’s the best information we’ve got so we just have to go with it.
So anyway, it seems like pretty good news that the Colorado State Patrol has released 2023 data showing that drunk- or drugged-riding fatalities went down a whopping 36 percent in 2023. That correlates very nicely with the latest overall traffic fatality data just released by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) that shows traffic fatalities in Colorado decreased by by 5.8 percent in 2023, 764 down to 720.
According to NHTSA, about 14 percent of all US traffic deaths are of motorcyclists so if that percentage is carried through on the Colorado figures that would mean about 101 motorcyclists were killed here in 2023. A lower number is good but that still means 101 of your friends or my friends or somebody’s friends and family members died. Better is better but it’s not good.
Restating what we all know, Col. Matthew C. Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol, said “Experienced riders don’t take unnecessary risks. Whether consuming alcohol, marijuana or another substance, intoxicated riders are more likely to lose control of their vehicles and crash.”
At the same time, better truly is better, and a 36 percent drop is amazing. Maybe people really are changing their thinking. I know it used to be a common thing with the OFMC that soon into the day’s ride John was sure to pull off somewhere and pull out his pipe. And stopping somewhere along the way to have a beer was totally normal. It has been years since we’ve done either of those things so if our thinking has changed it makes sense that many other peoples’ thinking has done so as well.
Let’s all keep up the good work. I wonder if a year from now the 2024 numbers will show a similar improvement.
<3>Biker Quote for Today
A motorcycle is like a drug but it doesn’t clog your arteries, impair your brain function, or send you to a rehabilitation center. Plus, it’s completely legal – if you have a license.
