State Drunken Driving Deaths Up

Economic stress generally leads to people drinking more and that will always lead to more accidents. Focusing more on campaigns that lead people to focus on their drinking problems may help--having treatment available for people who get DUI's is another solution.

Troopers with the Colorado State Patrol say they are frustrated by new statistics showing that the number of people killed in drunken driving-related crashes on Colorado's roads increased 3.5 percent last year.

Larimer County and the country as a whole saw slight decreases in the number of people killed in drunken driving-related crashes last year.

In Larimer County, 14 people died in alcohol- or drug-related crashes last year, compared with 17 deaths in 2006. Nationwide, 12,988 people died in alcohol-related crashes in 2007, down from 13,491 in 2006.

Colorado saw a slight increase in the number of alcohol-related deaths on its roads last year, rising from 218 in 2006 to 226 in 2007, according to CSP.

Coloradoan