Douglas County, Colorado: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Colorado by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 19 deaths in 19 fatal crashes in Douglas County in 2024.

FARS records 207 deaths in 192 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 5.8 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Colorado in the same years is 11.4.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Douglas County was number 10 of 64 counties of Colorado.

Deaths in Douglas County rose by 29.4% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (160) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (207).

In the counties of Colorado the deaths rose by 29.1% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 31.3% of the fatal crashes in Douglas County with known light were in the dark, against 45.1% in Colorado.

To qualify as a FARS case, the crash had to involve a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and must have resulted in the death of a motorist or a non-motorist within 30 days of the crash.
The set of first files, known as the Annual Report File (ARF), is released following the crash year. The ARF is replaced about a year later with a final file, which contains additional cases or updates to cases that had become available after the ARF was released.
NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

This page rests on the FARS 2024 annual file. NHTSA released it on 1 Apr 2026. NHTSA can revise the counts in the final file. Release dates

Figure 1.Deaths in Douglas County by year, 2015 to 2024

Table 1 has the numbers. Go to the table

Since the last update: no figure of this county has a change on record.

Deaths and fatal crashes by year

Table 1.Douglas County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	19	19	6
2023	22	21	8
2022	31	24	9
2021	28	27	8
2020	22	21	7
2019	13	13	4
2018	16	15	3
2017	19	19	6
2016	24	21	9
2015	13	12	6
2015 to 2024	207	192	66

Each year from 1975

Figure 2.Deaths in Douglas County by year, 1975 to 2024

Tallest column: 31 (2001)2024: 19

The columns with a stronger shade are the years 2015 to 2024.

Table 2.Douglas County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	19	19
2023	22	21
2022	31	24
2021	28	27
2020	22	21
2019	13	13
2018	16	15
2017	19	19
2016	24	21
2015	13	12
2014	17	16
2013	12	12
2012	15	14
2011	12	11
2010	13	13
2009	12	11
2008	21	19
2007	14	13
2006	21	18
2005	23	22
2004	27	24
2003	18	17
2002	24	22
2001	31	26
2000	15	14
1999	22	19
1998	25	23
1997	16	12
1996	21	19
1995	18	11
1994	21	15
1993	17	16
1992	23	21
1991	14	14
1990	17	14
1989	17	17
1988	14	12
1987	13	10
1986	18	13
1985	19	17
1984	12	12
1983	12	11
1982	18	17
1981	15	13
1980	17	13
1979	11	10
1978	15	13
1977	17	15
1976	12	11
1975	6	5

Note: a count of 1 or 2 is written "1 or 2". A death is in FARS when it occurs in 30 days or less after the crash.

Rate for each 100,000 residents

Table 3.Douglas County beside Colorado and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Douglas County	Colorado	United States
2024	4.8	11.5	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	5.8	11.4	11.8

Note: the rate divides the deaths in the county by its residents. Persons who do not live in the county are in the deaths, not in the residents.

Population: Census Bureau estimates, vintage 2025. Douglas County had 393,051 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Douglas County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Colorado
A driver recorded as drinkingof 192 fatal crashes	66	192 fatal crashes	34.4%	34.1%
A speeding-related driverof 192 fatal crashes	78	192 fatal crashes	40.6%	35.4%
No restraint usedof 114 occupant deaths with restraint use known	58	114 occupant deathswith restraint use known	50.9%	54.5%
Pedestriansof 207 deaths	20	207 deaths	9.7%	14.1%
Bicyclistsof 207 deaths	5	207 deaths	2.4%	2.5%
Motorcyclistsof 207 deaths	61	207 deaths	29.5%	19.4%
On a rural roadof 192 fatal crashes with the condition reported	85	192 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	44.3%	39.1%
In the darkof 192 fatal crashes with the condition reported	60	192 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	31.3%	45.1%

Note: FARS records a driver as drinking when police reported alcohol involvement or a test of the driver was positive for alcohol. It is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure, which uses a blood alcohol concentration of .08 g/dL or higher. One crash can be in two or more rows. NHTSA's definitions

Note that alcohol data is often missing. For that reason, this data element may under-count the actual number of drinking drivers.

NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

Weekday, time and road class

Table 5.Douglas County: fatal crashes by weekday and time of day, 2015 to 2024
Weekday	Midnight to 6 a.m.	6 a.m. to noon	Noon to 6 p.m.	6 p.m. to midnight	All
Sunday	6	4	22	9	41
Monday	6	5	9	6	26
Tuesday	1 or 2	1 or 2	8	7	18
Wednesday	0	6	10	8	24
Thursday	3	5	6	4	18
Friday	1 or 2	7	11	7	27
Saturday	3	7	17	11	38
All days	21	36	83	52	192

Note: a cell with a stronger shade has a larger count. The table has the fatal crashes with a known hour and weekday.

Table 6.Douglas County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Colorado
Interstate	36	18.8%	14.9%
Other freeways and expressways	8	4.2%	4.6%
Other principal arterial	55	28.6%	39.3%
Minor arterial	37	19.3%	19.3%
Major collector	22	11.5%	10.2%
Minor collector	6	3.1%	2.8%
Local	28	14.6%	8.9%
Not reported	0	n/a	n/a

Note: the classes are those of the Federal Highway Administration. The shares are of the crashes with a reported class. Road function classes

Light condition and weather

Table 7.Douglas County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	124
Dark, not lighted	36
Dark, lighted	24
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	7
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Douglas County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	95
Cloudy	7
Rain	1 or 2
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	5
Fog, smog or smoke	0
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	83

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Douglas County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Douglas	In all of Colorado
Interstate 25	Interstate	33	382
State Route 83	State highway	30	71
State Route 470	State highway	8	41
US Route 85	US highway	13	146

Note: the table has each route with a page that has a fatal crash in the county, in name order. Local streets and county roads have no page. Their crashes are in the county totals. All routes in Colorado

Adjacent counties

These lists are for navigation. They are in name order.

Figure 3.Douglas County on the county map of Colorado

Deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year, 2015 to 2024

Fewer than 108 counties
10 to 14.99 counties
15 to 19.917 counties
20 to 29.912 counties
30 or more18 counties
Douglas County: 5.8

The limits of the classes are the same for every state. A county with few residents can show a high rate from few deaths. A class is not a judgement of a county. The full map and the table of counties of Colorado

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Douglas County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Arapahoe County	Colorado	55	501	7.7
El Paso County	Colorado	78	721	10.0
Elbert County	Colorado	4	39	14.6
Jefferson County	Colorado	54	478	8.3
Teller County	Colorado	0	27	10.9

Source of the list: Census Bureau county adjacency file, 2026 edition.

Counties of similar population

These counties of Colorado have a population nearest to that of Douglas County. The list is for navigation and is in name order. The number is the deaths from 2015 to 2024.

Official channels

NHTSA Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST)NHTSA's query tool for FARS counts.
NHTSA FARS EncyclopediaNHTSA's tables of FARS data.
Colorado Office of Transportation SafetyThe highway safety office of Colorado.

These links go to the sites of the agencies. They were checked on 2 Oct 2026.

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Douglas County, Colorado: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/co/douglas/. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS 2024 annual file. Data to 31 Dec 2024.

The address of this page does not change.

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Source of the figures

Counts: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, national files of 1975 to 2024. The factors use the vehicle and person files from 2015. Residents: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, vintage 2025. Map: Census Bureau cartographic boundary file, 2021 edition. Data to 31 Dec 2024. The figures are totals. No page of this site is about one crash or one person.

How the figures are made. Data sources and licences. Corrections.

Questions

How many deaths did FARS record in Douglas in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 160 deaths in Douglas County from 2005 to 2014. It records 207 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Douglas in 2024?

The rate of Douglas County in 2024 was 4.8 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Colorado was 11.5. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

How many fatal crashes in Douglas had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 66 of 192 fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024. This count is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure. NHTSA says that alcohol data is often missing, so the count may be too low.

How many fatal crashes did FARS record on signed routes in Douglas?

4 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 84 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.