CDOT report on driver behavior shows high trends in impairment and speeding
STATEWIDE, Colo. (KRDO) -- Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) releases its driver behavior reports ahead of its annual Traffic Safety Summit.
CDOT says the safety summit is set to take place this week in Breckridge, where more than 340 transportation professionals and advocates from across Colorado will look at issues such as impaired driving, distracted driving, pedestrian safety, speeding and seat belt use.
According to the annual driver behavior report, fewer drivers are engaging in multiple unsafe driving behaviors. CDOT says the number fell to 1.19 in 2025, down from 1.27 in 2024 and 1.35 in 2023.
CDOT reports that a random survey highlighted 1,695 Colorado residents’ attitudes and behaviors concerning seat belt use, speeding, distracted driving, impaired driving, motorcycle safety, law awareness and young driver attitudes.
Responses were collected from 61 of Colorado’s 64 counties, according to officials.
The following information was provided by CDOT, highlighting their findings:
Seat belts:
- 90% of Colorado drivers said they wear their seat belt all the time when driving.
- The following drivers were less likely to say they wear their seat belt when driving:
- Drivers of vehicles older than 2001 (72%)
- Drivers aged 18 to 45 (85%)
- Drivers without a college degree (85%)
- Male drivers (87%)
Speeding:
- 36% of Colorado drivers said they drive over the speed limit most or all the time on highways/interstates.
Distracted driving:
- The percentage of Colorado drivers who picked up a phone to make calls decreased from 42% in 2024 to 34% in 2025, and the share that picked up a phone to send a message decreased from 30% to 23%.
- 91% of drivers were aware of Colorado’s ‘hands-free’ law prohibiting the use of a mobile device while driving. Drivers who used their phone while driving were less likely to know about the law.
Impaired driving:
- 21% of all drivers said they drove within two hours of consuming alcohol, cannabis, or impairing prescription drugs in the last 30 days.
- While the share of 2025 drivers (21%) that drove after consuming substances was similar to that in 2024 (23%), there was a significant decrease from 2023 (28%).
- Very few Colorado drivers agreed that they could drive safely under the influence of alcohol (7%), cannabis (9%), or prescription medications (9%).
- 33% of cannabis-using drivers said they drove within two hours of using cannabis in the last 30 days.
- 36% of cannabis-using drivers thought they could drive safely under the influence of cannabis.
Motorcycles:
- About 78% of motorcycle riders said they wear a helmet most or all the time when riding.
- Helmet use among motorcycle riders was similar in 2024 and 2025. However, a larger share of riders said they never wear a helmet in 2025 (13%) than in 2023 (4%).
- Most motorcycle riders (71%) said they did not engage in lane filtering.
Law awareness:
- In addition to the high awareness rate (91%) of the ‘hands free’ law, 87% of drivers were aware of the law requiring three feet space to pass bicyclists, 78% were aware of the motorcycle lane filtering law, and 77% were aware of requiring breath/blood samples upon DUI arrest.
Young drivers:
- Young drivers were much more likely to say they picked up their phone to make or receive calls, read text messages, and send text messages while driving.
- Young drivers were more than twice as likely to believe that they could drive safely under the influence of cannabis than older drivers.
According to CDOT, the study utilized a mixed-method approach for sampling, including a mail packet and an online panel, to ensure a representative sample of Colorado drivers.
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