Common Winter Accidents In Colorado

Hazards When Driving In Colorado In The Winter

According to the Colorado Crash Data Dashboard, Colorado had 236,483 traffic accidents between December 1, 2022, and November 30, 2023. Of these, 58,991 occurred during the winter, which the state defines as December 1, 2022, through March 1, 2023.

Interestingly, winter is not the most treacherous time for driving in the state. Summer and autumn each had more crashes than winter in the 2022–23 driving season. 

One explanation for this difference is that winter is shorter since it includes February. However, road use also falls during winter months, and less traffic congestion usually translates into fewer crashes.

Nevertheless, drivers face different hazards when driving in the winter than in other seasons. Some risks you may experience between December and March include the following:

• Poor visibility due to snow and fog, particularly in Denver and the suburbs
• Slick roads due to freezing conditions and lack of plowing in rural areas
• Steep grades in the Front Range and mountain passes
• Heavy traffic when storms strike during commuting times

Unfortunately, your ability to navigate these conditions will not necessarily determine whether you have an accident. In many situations, car accidents in the snow occur because of the other driver’s lack of care, experience, or ability to drive safely in winter conditions.

Common Winter Traffic Crashes

According to the Colorado Crash Data Dashboard, the following crashes were some of the most common during the 2022–23 winter driving season.

Rear-End Collisions

Rear-end crashes were the most common type during the 2022–23 winter. Nearly 12% of all crashes that winter occurred when one vehicle slammed into the back of another. These crashes happen for several reasons, including:

• Following too closely
• Passing unsafely
• Traveling too fast for the conditions

In winter conditions, drivers should slow down and leave extra space. Slowing down will reduce the risk of slamming on your brakes and sliding into another vehicle. Driving with more distance to the vehicle ahead of you will give you additional time and space to react to their brake lights when visibility is poor and roads are slick.

In most situations, the rear driver is liable for a rear-end collision. They must follow at a safe distance and speed based on the conditions. When they collide with the vehicle ahead of them, an auto accident attorney has a reasonable argument that they failed to exercise reasonable care.

Distracted Driving Crashes

Common causes of winter crashes, according to the Colorado Crash Data Dashboard, include careless driving and “looked but did not see.” These causes are usually associated with distracted and inattentive driving.

Distracted or inattentive driving does not occur more frequently in the winter months. However, winter driving conditions are less forgiving of these dangerous behaviors. For example, summer months have longer daylight hours and drier roads. The odds that a distracted driver will recover and stop are probably higher in summer than in winter.

Speed-Related Accidents

Speeding is particularly dangerous in the winter. This is partially because your vehicle takes longer to stop in poor road conditions.

It also happens because many drivers do not buy snow tires and instead try to drive on summer or all-season tires unsuitable for cold, icy, or slushy conditions. Moreover, many drivers drive on worn tires. Tires without deep treads or additives to keep them pliable can skate across the snow rather than digging into it.

Intersection Collisions

The second-most common type of winter collision is a T-bone or side-impact crash. These crashes typically happen when a driver fails to yield to another vehicle with the right-of-way. This violation can result from impatience or ignorance of the rules.

In winter, however, it can happen when drivers try to stop but slide into the intersection. Speeding, driving too fast for the road or weather conditions, and distractions can prevent a driver from stopping at a traffic light or sign.

Proving Liability For Winter Car Accidents

The same legal rules apply to car accident liability regardless of the season. Specifically, Colorado laws on car accidents impose liability for car crash injuries on negligent drivers. To prove negligence, your auto accident attorney must prove that the other driver’s failure to exercise reasonable care caused your injuries.

The other driver’s actions are evaluated objectively. It does not matter if they do not know how to drive in the snow. Instead, the only question is whether a reasonable driver in the same situation would have handled things differently. Thus, any of the following might constitute a breach of the duty of care:

• Driving on bald tires in a snowstorm or foggy weather
• Failing to scrape the snow and ice from the vehicle’s windows
• Exceeding the speed limit in wet or icy conditions
• Tailgating other vehicles when road or weather conditions are poor
• Driving faster than other drivers when roads are slick, or visibility is bad

Causation is also governed by the same rules in the winter as in other seasons. A driver’s negligence causes a crash when an accident is a natural and foreseeable outcome. Importantly, your attorney does not need to prove that the other driver foresaw the exact crash.

Thus, suppose a speeding vehicle slid off the road and hit a barrier that flew across the median and into oncoming traffic. You swerved to miss the barrier and hit another vehicle.

Even though the sequence of events was unlikely, you can still trace the accident to the speeding driver’s actions. Therefore, the liability for your injuries and the injuries of the people in the car you hit may fall on the driver who started the chain of events.

Contact Bachus & Schanker Personal Injury Lawyers To Learn More

Our attorneys have decades of experience fighting insurers and at-fault drivers for compensation after winter car crashes. 

Citations:

Colorado Crash Data Dashboard. (2024).
Critical Reasons for Crashes Investigated in the National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey. (2015).
Vehicle and Tire Safety. (2024).
Winter Driving Preparedness. (2024).