Accident Rate Way Up On Local Highway

Drivers beware; some heavily traveled local roadways are among the state's most dangerous.

Based on accident counts, authorities say there are certain sections of roads that drivers need to take it easy on.

One danger zone is Highway 92 out of Delta to Highway 133 in Hotchkiss. Another is further south on Highway 550 from Montrose to Highway 62 at Ridgway. Lastly, I-70 near Clifton all the way to the Mesa-Garfield County line is one of these dangerous areas.

The Colorado State Patrol says the area near De Beque is the most troublesome.

"You have a lot of vehicles that generally don't travel at the speed limit which is 60 miles and hour," Trooper Don Moseman said. "Engineers have set that speed for a reason, that's so that traffic can safely make the lane changes to negotiate all the trucks."

Troopers say when you have bad weather mixing with the occasional rock slide, it becomes even more dangerous. Moseman says this year the De Beque Canyon area has already seen an 84% increase in the number of crashes.