Lots of Coloradans Are Distracted While Driving, Says CDOT Survey

I wish I could say I never ever look at my phone while driving, but that would be a lie, but I do try to be very careful and do it rarely. Every red light you pull up to gives an opportunity to see people looking at their phones, do they end that activity once the light turns green? A new CDOT survey would suggest that lots of us are distracted and of course, these are just the drivers who will admit it. There were 607 fatalities on Colorado roadways in 2016. It really makes you think about the lives that could have been saved, if people would just drive responsibly.

845 surveys were mailed to Colorado residents last year in order to provide these statistics to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Here are some of the highlights of the CDOT survey:

Speeding:

• The number of people who drive over the speed limit is increasing — 69 percent of respondents admit to speeding in the 2016 survey, up from 65 percent in 2014.
• 45 percent of Coloradans said they sped some of the time and 24 percent sped all or most of the time.

Seat Belts:

• Coloradans whose primary vehicle was a pickup truck were most likely to say they never wear seat belts — a large majority wear them on highways (91 percent) and fewer wear them on local roads (73 percent).
• Regarding enforcement of the seat belt law, 65 percent of respondents say that non-seat belt use should be a primary violation.
• Most people who did not buckle up thought a reminder, such as a buzzer, would help them remember to buckle up.

Distracted Driving:

• 22 percent said they had read a message on a device and 15 percent wrote a message on a device while driving at least sometimes in the week before the survey.
• 62 percent reported at least sometimes selecting entertainment on an iPod, CD player, radio or other device while driving in the week prior to the survey

Impaired Driving:

• 38 percent of respondents who drank alcoholic beverages drove a motor vehicle within two hours of drinking

• 57 percent of those who used marijuana drove a motor vehicle within two hours after consuming marijuana.

• On average, those who drove after drinking did so on 2.8 of 30 days.

• On average, those who drove after consuming marijuana did so on 11.7 of 30 days.

• 73 percent would feel comfortable driving after having one or two drinks in a two-hour period.