It’s hard to know what drivers complain about the most: poor and crowded roads or the construction zones necessary to improve them.
Suffice it to say, though, that they don’t like to slow down and drive more cautiously in work zones.
In 2024, Colorado State Patrol troopers cited nearly 1,220 people for speeding in construction and school zones – the reduced speed zones where fines are doubled. The numbers were about the same in 2023, when 1,237 citations were issued.
El Paso County took the top spot both years for the most citations for speeding in low-speed zones – 222 in 2023 and a whopping 327 in 2024.
And those numbers don’t include tickets issued by local police – or the speeders who got away.
CSP and the Colorado Department of Transportation were alarmed when work zone crashes skyrocketed in 2024, causing 31 deaths and injuring 567 people. That was nearly double the 16 deaths in 2023, CSP reported.
That led to a statewide campaign in 2025 to reduce speed-related crashes, including the use of automated speed enforcement equipment in construction zones. The equipment can identify vehicles going at least 10 mph above the post speed limit, earning them a $75 civil penalty.
Initially, warnings were given, but full enforcement began in the fall.
“The rising number of work zone fatalities is unacceptable,” Col. Matthew Packard, chief of CSP, said in a release. “Automated speed cameras take enforcement to the next level and can help prevent needless deaths with or without law enforcement present.”
Drivers exhibit other bad behavior in work zones and following too closely was the biggest factor in 1,138 construction zone crashes recorded in 2022, according to the CSP. It accounted for 384 crashes (34%), followed by lane violations in 246 crashes (22%), inattentive driving in 195 crashes (17%), speeding in 60 crashes (5%), and DUI in 43 crashes (4%).
That report came during CSP’s “Give Some Space” campaign in April 2023.
“Road work can be frustrating and sometimes confusing,” Packard said in a 2023 release. “This is exactly why it is each driver’s responsibility to stay focused on the task of driving while following traffic rules. There is no other way to say this – people’s lives are depending on you.”
Nationwide, 898 people were killed and 40,170 people were injured in work zone crashes in 2023, according to the National Safety Council. Most of those killed, NSC says, are drivers of vehicles, including construction or maintenance vehicles, involved in work zone crashes. In 2023, the death toll for drivers was 552, or 61%.
Trooper Gabriel Moltrer, a CSP public affairs officer, said his best advice to drivers entering construction zones is to be patient, slow down and pay close attention to the signs.
“Drivers should know that we are patrolling those areas to keep lanes moving smoothly and keep construction workers safe,” he said. “If you’re speeding in a construction zone the fines are doubled – you can be looking at fines of over $500.”
One of the newer signs that has appeared in construction zones instructs drivers to use a zipper merge when a lane is temporarily ending.
Ah yes, the dreaded zipper merge. No, it was not intended to provide a lane where some drivers zip to the front of the line. Quite the opposite.
Here’s what is supposed to happen: All drivers remain in their lane to the merge point, where vehicles from the two merging lanes take turns moving into one lane. Simple as that.
If done correctly, it reduces backups and moves traffic through the bottleneck more efficiently. Slowing down to merge in early actually decreases traffic flow.
The Colorado Department of Transportation has this message on its website about zipper merging: “In a Zipper Merge, please be respectful of those who wait to merge until just before the lane ends; they are doing it correctly.”
Translation, let others drivers merge into the through lane.
There are plenty of “how to” videos on the internet, including one on the CDOT site: https://www.codot.gov/travel/zippermerge.
It’s also easy to take other steps to reduce risks in construction and maintenance zones. Some of those suggested by law enforcement and highway officials include:
- Stay alert and expect the unexpected;
- Watch for workers;
- Don’t change lanes unnecessarily;
- Turn on headlights for greater visibility;
- Expect delays;
- Allow ample space between you and the vehicle in front of you, and
- Be patient.
And remember, a little inconvenience on the road one day will mean a better driving experience in the future.
Researched and written by Sue McMillin