Colorado Springs Traffic Accidents

Written by Jeremy D. Earle, JD

February 7, 2023

The Best Traffic Accident Attorneys in Colorado Springs

It is no exaggeration to state that traffic accidents abound on Colorado Springs’ roadways. Every day, residents and tourists to Crescent City face the terrible and terrifying prospect of suffering catastrophic injuries or losing loved ones in traffic accidents involving cars, trucks, motorbikes, bicycles, and pedestrians.

As a result, I’ve chosen to devote this blog article to discussing the numerous sorts of traffic accidents that might occur in Colorado Springs. I hope that by informing you about these accidents, you will prevent them. Of course, suppose you have been injured in a Colorado Springs traffic accident and want legal assistance. In that case, an experienced Colorado Springs car accident law office is just a phone call or chat away.

OVERVIEW OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS IN COLORADO SPRINGS

The Center for Analysis and Research in Transportation Safety at LSU offers a massive Colorado traffic accident information database. Information regarding accidents in Colorado Springs is one of them (well, in Orleans Parish, precisely).

The most current year for which data is available, LSU’s data indicates 6,344 traffic accidents in and around Colorado Springs, 40 of which were fatal and another 6,304 resulting in injuries to drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. Another 13,680 collisions resulted in simply property damage, according to our records.

According to LSU, the cost of these accidents was $965.76 million, or $4,794 for each licensed motorist in Orleans Parish. Of course, not all of those sums represent damages for accident victims, but make no mistake: Colorado Springs’ yearly traffic accident toll is astronomical.

Let’s take a deeper look at the many kinds of accidents in Colorado Springs.

INTERSECTIONAL TRAFFIC COLLISIONS

More than half of all traffic accidents in Colorado Springs occur at intersections is one of the most striking pieces of data available from LSU. Only roughly a third of all accidents occur at junctions each year statewide, which is a STUNNING figure. I haven’t found a study that explains why traffic accidents in Colorado Springs are so much more serious than the state average at intersections. Still, I suspect it has something to do with the city’s narrow, congested streets, alcohol use by drivers, and aging city infrastructure that makes getting around more difficult and frustrating with each passing year.

 

What kind of collisions occurs at Colorado Springs intersections? Broadside crashes and cars impacting pedestrians are two of the most prevalent.

Collisions on the broadside (also known as T-bone)

You may depend on accidents involving one car colliding with the side of another whenever traffic lanes meet at right angles. In fact, over two-thirds of junction accidents on city streets in Orleans Parish featured a side contact, with broadside collisions accounting for roughly seven out of ten intersection accidents resulting in injuries.

Although these are significant figures, I do not believe they are particularly shocking. The goals of cars, motorcyclists, bicycles, and pedestrians collide at intersections, which are notoriously deadly “points of confrontation.”

Intersections focus on traffic engineers’ work, and they spend their lives figuring out how to make them safer. However, redesigning or overhauling junctions is not an option in a city like Colorado Springs. This area’s physical change is limited due to the small streets and old structures.

Seeing other cars, bikes, and pedestrians at the same crossing is difficult at congested crossroads with narrow sightlines.

Following often unclear or failing traffic signals

Predicting the behavior of those road users (provided the driver can see them at all) (and hope others do the same)

Determining whether it is safe to cross the street.

What’s more, guess what? Those duties are often performed incorrectly by drivers. They misjudge whether it is safe to approach an intersection due to alcohol usage, exhaustion, disorientation, poor vision, or plain old irresponsibility, and then—bam—a broadside crash occurs.

The injuries suffered by the drivers and passengers in these accidents have the potential to ruin lives. It is normal for the passengers of a car impacted on its side to have catastrophic injuries such as head trauma and spinal cord injury. After all, unlike the car occupants that collided with them, these passengers had essentially no car body material between them and the moment of contact. Seatbelts provide very rudimentary protection in side-impact collisions.

So, while you’re driving in Colorado Springs, be careful at intersections, ya’ hear?

ACCIDENTS INVOLVING PEDESTRIANS

 

Remember how I stated that broadside collisions account for a large proportion of traffic accidents resulting in injury at Colorado Springs intersections? However, when it comes to deadly accidents at junctions, the same cannot be said. there were 17 deaths at big easy crossroads in a recent year, yet just three of them were due to broadside crashes. the data does not specify why this is the case, but i have a theory. i’m guessing it’s because many of those killed were pedestrians.

many people, many people, many people, many people, many people, many people, many people, intersections are very dangerous for them since the human body is always the loser in a collision between a car and an unprotected human body. the tremendous trauma of being catapulted into the air and/or to the ground due to a collision with a car is fatal. catastrophic injuries such as serious fractures, brain, and spinal cord injuries, and organ damage may occur even if a pedestrian survives a collision with a car or truck.

ACCIDENTS INVOLVING MOTORCYCLES AND BICYCLES

Here’s some “fantastic” news. In Colorado springs, very few motorcyclists and bicyclists were killed in traffic accidents in the most recent year, for which data are available (which isn’t always the case). however, like in the rest of Colorado, riding a two-wheeled car, whether motorized or pedal-powered, has significant risks.

driving into an accident while riding a bike implies colliding with an unforgivingly hard item or surfaces at high speeds, such as a car, a road, or a concrete barrier or sidewalk. as a result of the collision, there is a significant danger of death or catastrophic injuries such as severe road rash, brain, and spinal damage, complicated fractures, and orthopedic problems, to mention a few.

a particularly pernicious sort of mishap for two-wheelers, doorings occurs when someone opens a car door right into their travel lane. bikers of all hues who ride on the big easy’s tiny, packed streets (especially bikers) must also face the possibility of doorings. according to this bike safety website, three people have died in dooring accidents in Colorado springs. still, i’m willing to assume that hundreds of others are injured every year in crescent city.

our streets are just too small and busy for these collisions to avoid occurring. but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t attempt to avoid them. by making a simple alteration in how they reach for their door handle, motorists may help to safeguard passengers. it’s known as the dutch Reach, and it simply entails reaching across your body for a door handle, forcing you to turn your torso in such a way that it’s easy to see if opening your door would create a sudden, deadly obstacle for a biker.

ACCIDENTS INVOLVING COMMERCIAL CARS

Colorado Springs’ roadways are challenging to traverse for trucks and other commercial cars. Unfortunately, they are increasing without a choice. Residents in Crescent City

 

require delivery of packages, and business owners require supplies and inventory to keep their shelves and kitchens stocked. accidents increase as truck traffic increases.

the smaller car or pedestrian involved in a truck accident does not farewell. Trucks are large and heavy. They do massive damage in a collision, and when they spill their cargo, they make a large mess (at the very least). Truck collisions frequently result in serious injuries.

ACCIDENTS CAUSED BY DISTRACTED DRIVING

Here’s something more that I’m sure won’t surprise you. In Colorado Springs, distracted drivers are responsible for many traffic accidents. Even though texting and driving are banned in Colorado, the possibility of a ticket does not always deter residents and tourists to the Big Easy from looking at their phones while driving. Even though it should be obvious to everyone by now that paying attention to a screen and the road at the same time is almost impossible, drivers continue to attempt and end up creating accidents that kill and hurt people.

now i will tell you something you probably didn’t expect to hear. smartphones are dangerously distracting for drivers, but they are far from the only sort of distraction that may lead to disaster on colorado springs roadways. in fact, according to lsu’s research, non-screen- related elements both inside and outside of cars divert drivers’, bicyclists’, and pedestrians’ attention away from safe choices considerably more often than screens do. what do you mean?

instead of paying attention to traffic signals and incoming traffic, how about turning around to chat to youngsters in the back seat, reaching for something you left on the floor, or taking in the sights and sounds of colorado springs as you step off the sidewalk? each of these all- too-common actions may be a deadly distraction.

as a result, pay attention. there are times when you should be distracted from what’s going on on the road, but it’s not while you’re driving.

AFTER A CAR ACCIDENT IN COLORADO SPRINGS, YOU MAY NEED ASSISTANCE.

I hope my ramblings on the many sorts of traffic accidents in Colorado Springs and the human tragedies that follow them haven’t scared you. On the other hand, I don’t mind if I’ve scared you a bit since, although I earn my profession helping people recover from accidents, I would always prefer that no one suffers a catastrophe and needs my aid.

Even though we do our hardest to prevent road accidents, the unpleasant fact is that they do happen. An expert Colorado Springs traffic accident injury attorney will be the best ally in your quest for justice and fair compensation when this happens. Victims of other people’s negligent or reckless behavior in Colorado are entitled to seek compensation for the suffering

 

and damage they have suffered. Victims and their families must move immediately and retain the services of a knowledgeable legal counsel familiar with Colorado’s relatively unusual and intricate legal system.

The right lawyer can gather evidence about your Colorado Springs traffic accident, determine who caused you injury and whether they have the financial means to compensate you for your losses, and pursue those parties to the end of the Earth to ensure justice is served for you and your loved ones, even if that means taking your case to a Colorado Springs judge and jury.

Begin by calling an attorney who can assist you in understanding your legal rights.

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