Accidents on CR 5 increase significantly since 2006

RBC — The Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office recently conducted a study of accidents that occurred on County Road 5 between 2001 and March 2008, and there has been a significant increase.
In 2001, the sheriff’s office investigated nine property damage accidents and one injury accident on County Road 5, for a total of 10 accidents.
During 2002, the number of accidents decreased to five accidents with property damage and one injury accident, for a total of six accidents. The number of accidents decreased further in 2003, with only two property damage accidents and one injury accident occurring that year, for a total of three accidents.
In 2004, the number of accidents on County Road 5 increased dramatically during 2003 with 13 accidents with property damage and one injury accident, totaling 14 accidents. During 2005, accidents on County Road 5 rose 14 percent, with 13 property damage accidents and three injury accidents, with a total of 16 accidents. The increased accident trend continued in 2006 with two hit and run accidents, 15 accidents with property damage and four injury accidents, totaling 21 accidents. In 2007, the number of accidents investigated by the sheriff’s office rose 52.4 percent above the 2006 numbers, with 26 property damage accidents and six injury accidents on County Road 5 alone totaling 32 accidents.
The first quarter of 2008 shows the number of accidents already at 43.75 percent of 2007’s totals with 13 accidents with property damage and one hit and run accident, for a total of 14 accidents year-to-date.
Between 2001 and March 31, 2008, the sheriff’s office investigated 116 accidents on County Road 5 alone, which included three hit and run accidents, 17 injury accidents and 96 property damage accidents.
The Colorado State Patrol investigated an additional 137 accidents during the same time period on County Road 5, which included four fatal accidents, 37 injury accidents and 96 property damage accidents.
For the year-to-date, the Piceance Creek Basin incidents, which includes activity from 27 county roads in that area, are down slightly. The total number of incidents in the first-quarter of 2008 came in at 383, which is 22.8 percent of the 1,675 total incidents in 2007.
However, with increasing traffic and activity that the warmer months bring, an expected jump in the number of incidents is anticipated through summer and into fall. For the period between January 1, 2008 through March, 31, 2008, the classifications of calls that are above pace compared to 2007 numbers are motorist assists at 80 percent of 2007 totals, criminal mischief incidents at 50 percent of 2007 totals, suspicious incidents at 37.5 percent of 2007 totals, accidents with property damage at 36 percent of 2007 totals, assist Colorado State Patrol at 35 percent of 2007 totals, traffic complaints at 27.4 percent of 2007 totals and thefts at 26.7 percent of 2007 totals.
The incident classifications at are on pace with 2007 levels, or at 25 percent year-to-date, include abandoned vehicles, assaults, harassment cases and traffic hazards.