Colorado State Patrol pleading for distracted drivers to ‘just drive’
DENVER (KDVR) — There were over 566 fatal or serious injury crashes last year in Colorado attributed to distracted drivers, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
The data shows that distracted driving crashes increased the most in the summer during June through August, with dozens of crashes. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the 22-29 and 30-39 age brackets were tied for the most distracted crashes.
New Colorado data shows deadly consequences of distracted driving
“Driving should never come second to any other task in the car,” said Col. Matthew C. Packard, CSP chief. “The solution is easy, just drive.”
These are the top five counties for “inattentive to driving” crashes investigated by the Colorado State Patrol, along with each county’s number of fatal crashes and deaths:
Adams
60 fatal crashes resulting in 62 deaths
Douglas
22 fatal crashes resulting in 23 deaths
El Paso
76 fatal crashes resulting in 78 deaths
Jefferson
48 fatal crashes resulting in 48 deaths
Larimer
37 fatal crashes resulting in 44 deaths
In the past 10 years between January 2013 through December 2023, state data shows that 272 people have lost their lives to distracted driving, specifically. Weld County reported the highest amount in that time, 32, followed by El Paso County with 19 and Adams County with 16 deaths.
According to the Colorado crash data dashboard, there have been 34 crashes so far in 2024 resulting in serious injuries or death that involved inattentive driving. The counties with the highest numbers were Denver (8), Summit (5), Arapahoe (5), and Adams (5).
The state data also shows that there have been three fatal crashes that resulted from distracted driving. There was one fatal crash each in Boulder, Cheyenne and Pueblo counties.
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