DenverTransportation & Infrastructure

Buckle up: These are the worst spots in West Denver for traffic collisions

Buckle up: These are the worst spots in West Denver for traffic collisionsPhoto: alexmerwin13/Flickr
Hoodline
Published on May 07, 2019

Driving may feel like a boring everyday chore, but it's probably the most dangerous activity you'll do today. According to the CDC, more than 32,000 people are killed and 2 million are injured each year from motor vehicle crashes.

Want to stay safe? When it comes to driving around West Denver, drivers may want to be extra vigilant when traversing the area's more collision-prone areas. 

Last month's most perilous traffic spots in West Denver were on I-25 near the West 23rd Avenue interchange, and at the intersection of North Federal Boulevard and West 6th Avenue. The first spot had 11 reported accidents in April, and the second had 10, according to data on motor vehicle accidents from the City of Denver.

On I-25 near West 23rd, eight of the accidents happened on the northbound side of the freeway, the other two on the southbound side. There were no fatalities at that spot in April, but there was one serious injury in a rear-end collision northbound on April 23, the second in the last year. The southbound side saw a fatality last October, when a pedestrian was struck attempting to cross the roadway at night.

Most collisions at both locations took place on a weekday, and over half were during daylight hours. Overall, the area around the interchange saw 120 reported collisions over the past year — 79 northbound and 34 southbound — up from 107 the previous year.

GRAPHIC: HOODLINE

The intersection of North Federal Boulevard and West 6th Avenue also had 120 reported accidents over the past year, but that site has gotten dangerous much more recently. It saw only 37 reported accidents from May 2017 to April 2018, but those numbers more than tripled from May 2018 to April 2019. There were no deaths or serious injuries last month at that intersection, though there were four injuries in that area over the past year.

Other recent hot spots include the intersection of North Sheridan Boulevard and West Colfax Avenue, which saw three traffic collisions in April, up from one in March and none the month before. The same spot had 19 reported collisions over the past year. The 800 Block of North Federal also had three traffic accidents in April, two of which were vehicle-on-vehicle hit-and-runs.

On a more positive note, the intersection of North Federal and West 14th Avenue seems to have become safer, dropping from 17 collisions the previous year to just 8 in the last 12 months. There was one incident in April, a minor collision with no injuries, and that was the first reported collision at that spot in the last six months.

As always, safety-minded drivers should use defensive driving techniques like always wearing a seatbelt, using turn signals, and avoiding distractions — especially when it comes to the most accident-prone sections of West Denver roadways.

DenverTransportation & Infrastructure