Can CDOT’s New Survey Explain a Surge of Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents in Colorado?

Metier Law Firm
Wed, 15 Mar 2017 18:00:24 +0000
Safety Lawyer, Colorado, Denver, DrivingSafety, FortCollins

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) recently conducted a survey on dangerous driving habits in our state. Results gathered by the study may show why there were 607 fatal motor vehicle accidents in Colorado last year, a 24 percent increase over the last two years. According to the study, Colorado drivers admitted to the following:

38 percent admitted to driving within two hours of consuming alcohol

22 percent read cell phone messages while driving

15 percent claimed they had written messages behind the wheel

62 percent use iPods or other music players while driving

45 percent speed on some occasions

12 percent think they can drive safely under the influence of alcohol

Data gathered from the report is even more specific. For example, 24 percent of respondents claimed they constantly drive over the speed limit. Thirty-one percent of admitted to speeding in neighborhoods.

How the Dangerous Driving Habits Uncovered by CDOT Can Ruin Lives

The stories of people harmed by unsafe driving give greater weight to CDOT’s survey responses. For example, there was a recent drunk driving crash in Aspen where a 21-year-old University of Colorado student crashed into another vehicle.

According to the police, the student had consumed two beers, a shot and had smoked marijuana before the crash. The 53-year-old woman the student hit suffered a broken femur, broken arms and a spinal cord injury. During the drunk driver’s sentencing, the woman told the court she will never be the same and is pain every day. She did not deserve to have this happen, and neither do other people injured or killed by the common driving habits uncovered by CDOT.