Colorado State Senator Dylan Roberts has submitted a Guest Column with a Legislative Spotlight on Road Safety.

 

 

For most Coloradans — especially those of us in rural and mountain communities — road safety isn’t a policy debate. It’s a daily reality.

It’s the winter drive over a mountain pass.
It’s the long stretch of two-lane highway between towns.
It’s the trip into town with your kids in the back seat.

In recent years, we’ve seen far too many serious crashes and traffic fatalities in Colorado. Whether caused by unsafe passing, excessive speeding, impaired driving, or dangerous road conditions, the result is the same: families grieving losses that never should have happened.

And in so many cases, these tragedies were completely avoidable.

That’s why I have made road safety a top priority as your state senator.

In 2024, I led SB24-100 to restrict commercial trucks to the right lane on key stretches of I-70, increase speeding penalties for commercial vehicles, and expand chain-up and chain-down stations along our highways. This means fewer commercial trucks traveling too fast or unprepared for winter conditions, preventing spin-outs, crashes, and hours-long closures.

In 2025, my bill SB25-069 passed with bipartisan support. This law strengthens compliance with Colorado’s winter traction requirements by creating a permit system for authorized vendors to install or remove tire chains and other traction devices at designated roadside locations.

Anyone who has driven I-70 during a snowstorm knows just how quickly conditions can deteriorate. Improving traction compliance helps to prevent crashes, reduce road closures, and protect both travelers and first responders.

But we cannot stop there.

Drivers of every kind of vehicle share responsibility for making our roads safer.

The past few years have been especially tragic on the roads of Grand County, between Craig and Steamboat on US 40, and in too many other communities across our region. After several years of decline, traffic fatalities in Colorado increased again in 2025.

On rural highways, many of these deaths stem from two reckless choices: speeding and illegal passing — crossing a double yellow line and causing a head-on collision.

Totally. Avoidable. Deaths.

That’s why this session, I have written and introduced SB26-035 in response to concerns raised by law enforcement officers and EMS professionals who respond to these horrific crashes.

The bill is narrowly focused on a clear and dangerous pattern of behavior, increasing point penalties for illegal passing and repeated speeding violations.. Rather than simply raising fines, it raises the stakes where it matters most: your license and your driving privileges.

The vast majority of Coloradans drive responsibly. This legislation targets those who don’t — and put the rest of us at risk. We hope to move this crucial bill through the legislative process over the next few months.

We also need to address one of the most common — and costly — causes of crashes on our rural highways: wildlife collisions. I am working on legislation to expand investment in wildlife crossings and related infrastructure, proven tools that reduce crashes, protect animals, keep families safe, and save drivers millions in vehicle damage each year.

I’m also a lead sponsor on HB26-1127, which would require coroners to include toxicology results in official reports for all fatal motor vehicle crashes. This is about transparency and prevention. If drugs or alcohol are contributing to fatal crashes, we need consistent data to understand the scope of the problem. Policymakers cannot fix what we cannot measure. Better information leads to better policy and more targeted safety efforts.

The bipartisan support behind these efforts gives me hope. At the Capitol, we’ve shown that road safety isn’t about party labels – it’s about protecting families and communities.

Changing driving culture takes time, and there is no single bill that will eliminate traffic fatalities overnight. Enforcement must be fair and focused. Winter travel in Colorado will always bring challenges.

But steady, bipartisan progress matters. And that is what I am committed to delivering.

If you have thoughts on this issue — or any other — please don’t hesitate to reach out at SenatorDylanRoberts@gmail.com, call or text me at (970) 846-3054, or join one of my upcoming town hall meetings.

Dylan Roberts is the State Senator for Clear Creek, Eagle, Garfield, Gilpin, Grand, Jackson,

Moffat, Rio Blanco, Routt and Summit Counties.