As travelers kick off the summer vacation season this Memorial Day weekend, the Colorado State Patrol is reminding drivers about .
The associates holiday weekends with an increase in fatal or serious injury crashes, and impaired driving is a common factor.
In 2024, Colorado officers arrested 63 impaired drivers on Memorial Day 鈥� the highest number of any holiday all year.
The State Patrol is encouraging revelers to plan ahead for a sober ride or a place to stay if they plan to consume intoxicants.
State Trooper Gabriel Moltrer says the rules don鈥檛 apply to just alcohol.
鈥淚f you are consuming cannabis, anything with THC in it, whether it be an edible or something else, we just want to make sure that you are taking those safe measures,鈥� he told KUNC.
Moltrer advises against the tricks people try to sober up quickly. He says the only solution is time.
鈥淓ven though you may stop [drinking alcohol or using cannabis] and start drinking Gatorade, you'll still have that alcohol, THC - whatever it may be - there," he said. "There's no guaranteed way other than making sure that you're not driving for at least the rest of that day.鈥�
Fees associated with DUIs can exceed $10,000.
Recent traffic trends point to potential improvement in safety on Colorado roads after stepped-up enforcement rules took effect in 2025. Last month, the Colorado Department of Transportation in traffic fatalities from April 2024 to April 2025.
