Colorado Launches a Three-Month DUI Crackdown: What's at Stake for Drivers?
Updated On: October 5, 2026
Colorado State Patrol is running a three-month DUI campaign through New Year's.
From Oktoberfest to New Year's Day, Colorado drivers can expect more troopers, more checkpoints, and less tolerance. The Colorado State Patrol (CSP) began a three-month holiday DUI campaign on October 1, and it has been described as the agency's biggest and longest DUI enforcement effort ever.
The campaign is called "DUI Lasts Longer Than...," and it runs from October 1 through New Year's Day. CSP says it will include daily enforcement patrols, monthly DUI Task Force Operations, DUI checkpoints, and a statewide education campaign. Colonel Matthew Packard, the patrol's chief, said impaired drivers account for 30% of Colorado's traffic fatalities and that the penalties are steep "because they deserve to be."
For context, troopers arrested 4,438 drivers for impaired driving in 2025 and investigated 631 injury or fatal crashes involving an impaired driver. The five counties with the most trooper DUI arrests were El Paso, Adams, Jefferson, Larimer, and Pueblo.
What a First-Time DUI Costs
CSP says a first-time DUI in Colorado means a license suspension of at least nine months, court fees and fines of no less than $13,000, and possibly vehicle impoundment. One trooper told KKTV the real total can top $15,000 once classes and costs are included. A DUI charge applies at a blood alcohol level of 0.08%, while the lesser DWAI charge starts at 0.05%.
CDOT also notes that driving in Colorado means you have already consented to a chemical test after a DUI arrest, and that the state has seen more drivers refuse testing in recent years. Refusing doesn't end a case, as the Tony Romo bodycam footage illustrated.
Are There Results Yet?
Not for this campaign. It is only days old, and no tallies have been released. But it overlaps with CDOT's "Heat Is On" Fall Festivals enforcement period, which runs September 24 to October 21 and is the longest of the year. CDOT reports 9,322 DUI arrests statewide so far in 2026. Preliminary data from last year's Fall Festivals period showed 487 arrests across 77 agencies.
The fatality data is more encouraging. CDOT's preliminary figures show 72 deaths with suspected impairment from January to June 2026, down 28.7% from 101 in the same period of 2025. Another 35 impairment-suspected deaths occurred during this summer's "100 Deadliest Days." These figures are preliminary, and a single year's drop doesn't prove that enforcement caused it. It does suggest that visible enforcement and fewer impairment deaths are at least moving in the same direction.
This isn't the first enforcement experiment Colorado has tried this year. In March, CDOT switched on average-speed cameras along northbound I-25 between Mead and Berthoud, issuing 28,554 warnings during a one-month grace period before real fines began on April 1, and it reported a 90% drop in speeding during the warning period alone. It's a different agency and a different offense, but the bet is similar: make enforcement impossible to miss and see whether driver behavior changes.
What This Means If You're Hurt by a Drunk Driver
Increased enforcement affects crash victims, too. The criminal case and a civil injury claim run on separate tracks. A civil claim doesn't depend on whether the driver is convicted, and the burden of proof is lower. A DUI arrest still produces evidence that can matter in a civil claim, such as chemical test results, officer observations, and bodycam footage. Depending on state law, a bar or restaurant that over-served the driver may also share liability.
If you've been injured by an impaired driver, the independent attorneys we connect you with can help you understand what evidence supports your claim and how to pursue the compensation you're owed.
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