Distracted Driving

Colorado Goes Hands-Free

A phone on a car mount with text overlay reading "New CO law effective Jan. 1: No hand-held phones while driving.

In 2025, to enhance road safety and reduce distracted driving crashes, the Hands-Free law took effect, prohibiting drivers from using a mobile electronic device while driving, though hands-free accessories are permitted.

To learn more about the law, visit our Hands-Free Information and Resources Page.

Don’t Drive Distracted

A woman is sitting on a bike holding a photo of her in the hospital. Driving distracted for just 3 seconds? You almost killed me. Shift into Safe.

Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of crashes and fatalities in Colorado. Any behavior that takes your focus away from the road is dangerous. That includes eating, texting, talking on the phone or to a passenger, looking after children or pets, reading, or watching videos. It’s dangerous, but many Coloradans regularly drive distracted to the point that it’s becoming normalized. And we’re seeing that effect on our roads. From 2014 to 2024, 676 Coloradans lost their lives due to distracted driving.

Our campaign also has this video available in Spanish. Click here to view the Shift into Safe Youtube video in Spanish.

In our latest Shift into Safe campaign, we partnered with Dr. Molly Thiessen, a local doctor, and the survivor of a distracted driving crash, Triny Willerton. With two local voices to champion against distracted driving, the campaign uses mathematics and on-screen graphics to create a simulation, showing how a driver opening a fast food sandwich while driving can take their eyes off the road for 3 seconds, which is long enough to miss 20 cyclists on the road. Triny Willerton was riding her bike when a distracted driver hit her. And he also never saw her. Don’t take your eyes off the road. Whether it’s a phone or food, it can wait. Don’t drive distracted.

What is Distracted Driving?

Distracted driving is the act of driving while engaged in anything that takes your focus away from the road, including texting, looking after children or pets, talking on the phone or to a passenger, watching videos, eating or reading.

Multitasking is a myth. A person’s attention can switch back and forth between tasks quickly, but your optimal focus cannot be on two tasks at once. When you’re driving distracted, your attention is diverted from the road ahead, slowing reaction time and, with it, the ability to avoid hazards that can result in a crash.Drop the Distraction decorative image

Distracted Driving in Colorado

From 2014 to 2024, 676 Coloradans lost their lives due to distracted driving.

Data collected by Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT) found that distracted driving in Colorado declined 4.7% from 2024 to 2025 and dropped 8.3% in the first month after the hands-free law took effect. CMT estimates this reduction helped prevent nearly 600 crashes, more than 400 injuries and six fatalities statewide.

Enforcement is making a difference. In 2025, Colorado State Patrol troopers issued 216% more citations for drivers using an electronic device while driving compared to 2024. CSP investigated 3,778 crashes involving inattentive drivers in 2025 — a nearly 9% decrease from 2024.

In CDOT's 2025 annual mail survey of Colorado drivers, drivers were asked which behaviors they participated in during the previous week:

  • 71% said they ate food or drank a beverage while driving.
  • 33% admitted to reading a message on their phones.
  • 34% talked on a cell phone while driving.
  • 23% sent a message while driving.
  • Younger drivers ages 18-44 reported higher percentages of distracted driving behaviors than their older counterparts.

Distracted Driving Nationwide

Distracted driving claims thousands of lives each year across the United States. In 2023 alone, 3,275 lives were lost across the country due to the preventable decision to drive distracted. This includes such behaviors as eating while driving, turning to talk to passengers or using a cellphone. Visit NHTSA's Distracted Driving page for information on the national effort to save lives by ending distracted driving.

Using Do Not Disturb While Driving

In a recent CDOT survey, about a third of respondents (31%) noted that although their smartphones have a Do Not Disturb While Driving feature, they were unaware of it and its functionality. Of those who were aware, only 17% reported having used it.

To avoid the temptation and curb distracted driving behaviors, take the following steps to turn on Do Not Disturb while driving.

Apple devices:

  1. Go to Settings
  2. Within Settings, go to Focus
  3. Click on Driving
  4. On the Driving page, turn the dial button on OR scroll down to “Turn on Automatically” to have Do Not Disturb While Driving automatically activate or activate when connected to car Bluetooth.
  5. (Optional) On this page, you can also set your focus status and/or auto-reply to notify people that you are not receiving notifications or are driving and will respond when you have safely reached your destination.

For a simpler method, simply swipe down from the top of your iPhone screen and press the Focus button. From there, you can choose which Do Not Disturb feature you’d like to use.

Android devices:

Simply swipe down from the top of your screen and tap Do Not Disturb when you enter your vehicle, and your notifications will automatically be silenced.

Additional Resources

Explore these additional resources for more support and prevention.