It is widely agreed that drivers should focus solely on the road while driving. However, a study by the Colorado Department of Transportation revealed that 91% of Coloradans admitted to driving distracted in the week prior to the survey. Of all the distractions, phones were found to be the primary cause. Bike Fort Collins is promoting the Colorado Distracting Driving bill #SB24-06565, a bill that would prohibit drivers of all ages from holding mobile electronic devices while driving, to tackle this issue. If signed into law, Colorado would join the list of 29 states and five U.S. territories with similar legislation.
- 91% of Coloradans admit to driving distracted, and phones are the top distraction (Source: Colorado Department of Transportation)
- 72 people were killed by distracted drivers in 2021 (Source: Colorado Department of Transportation). Note: crashes due to distracted driving are grossly underrepresented in the data, as they are mostly self-reported.
- 74% of people surveyed across the U.S. support a hands-free law (Source: AAA Foundation)
- 29 states have a hands-free law, and research from many of these states shows that it helps reduce crashes, fatalities, and injuries.
On April 9th, 24 people testified at the Transportation Committee meeting to show their support for the bill. Mike Moses, the Executive Director for Bike Fort Collins, personally spoke about the importance of protecting children from distracted drivers. At the beginning of the meeting, the majority was slim, but the final committee vote was unanimous at 11-0 in favor of the bill!
The next step is for the bill to go to the Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, April 30th. Unfortunately, no public testimony is allowed in this committee, but supporters can still call or write letters to show their support.
Bicycle Colorado is working with us to gather support for the bill. It is essential to contact Representative Sirota (Chair) and Representative Weinberg (District 51, Loveland) to show your support for the bill.