LITTLETON – With this weekend’s unofficial start of summer, thousands of Coloradans will find themselves at two of the state’s most dangerous places – roads and lakes.
State troopers and park rangers launched their Summer of Safety campaign Friday, seeking to reduce the body count during the three-month span that turns tragic for many families.
Despite the warm weather and absence of icy roads, a third of all traffic fatalities in the state occur in the 100 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day, according to state police.
The reason: alcohol.
Col. Scott Martinez, chief of the state patrol, said his troopers will show no leniency toward drunken drivers.
“The Colorado State Patrol enforces zero tolerance for impaired driving. This is not a gray area for our troopers,” Martinez said.
Martinez and Rick Cables, director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, assembled several of their officers at Chatfield State Park on Friday to launch the safety campaign.
“To us, a life jacket on the water is like a seat belt. And drinking and boating is just as dangerous as drunk driving,” Cables said.
Last year, Colorado Parks and Wildlife recorded 64 boating accidents, slightly less than the average of 70. Eighty percent of the accidents involved alcohol. Nine people died in boating mishaps in 2012. None of them was wearing a life jacket.
Rangers on boats patrol Colorado’s reservoirs, and they often stop boats to see if people have the required safety equipment. That includes lifejackets for everyone on board, a working horn, a throwable life preserver and a fire extinguisher. It’s also a good idea to have an oar, a marine-band radio and a first-aid kit, said Kris Wahlers, a Colorado Parks and Wildlife criminal investigator.
Too many people go out on the water thinking of nothing but having fun, Wahlers said.
“I don’t know that a lot of people are understanding how serious it can be,” he said.
jhanel@durangoherald.com
