Distracted Driving Awareness Month brings awareness to dangerous driving habits

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Colorado State Patrol reports they're seeing too many drivers taking a "multi-tasking" approach while behind the wheel, leading to disastrous results.

Data released by The National Road Safety Foundation (NRSF) shows Colorado is experiencing the largest amount of distracted driving crashes since 2002.

During Distracted Driving Awareness Month, multiple agencies are asking the public to pay attention behind the wheel.

“Your eyes can be on the road but your mind is elsewhere when doing something else other than driving, and that is called a cognitive distraction," David Riche with the NRSF said. "So while you’re texting you are not paying attention. And if something happens ahead of you, you may not have time to react at all and crash.”

According to Colorado State Patrol, troopers saw a 47% increase in fatal crashes caused by distracted driving in the crashes investigated in 2021.

El Paso County ranks second out of all the counties in the state for having the largest quantity of injury and fatality crashes caused by inattentive driving.

In 2021, the Colorado Department of Transportation found the most common distracted driving offenses included cell phone use and other occupants. This information was found through a mail survey of Colorado Drivers.

According to Colorado State Patrol, while I-25 and I-70 are the top two locations for fatal crashes in Colorado, the third location could not be specifically identified because rural roads and neighborhood streets superseded any other national or state highways in Colorado.

CSP wants to remind people that distracted driving can result in a citation for improper, reckless, or careless driving.