Coloradans Urged To Stay Focused On The Road In Distracted Driving Awareness Campaign

DENVER (CBS4) - The Colorado Department of Transportation pleads with drivers to keep their attention on the road and not their smart devices. A new awareness campaign in April aims to highlight the dangers of distracted driving.

April is Distracted Driving Awareness month.

CDOT says, the number of crashes involving distracted drivers rose in 2019, increasing from 13,332 in 2012 to 15,143. Of those crashes, 39 people lost their lives.

Nine of out 10 Coloradans surveyed admit to driving distracted each week, also a slight increase from 2019.

The campaign asks drivers to consider: if you saw how others reacted to your distracted driving, would that change your behavior?

"When you reach for a phone or turn your attention away from the road, you aren't just risking your own safety, you are risking the safety of everyone on the road with you," said Sam Cole, Traffic Safety Manager at CDOT.