Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has released its 2025 Driver Behavior Report, which shows a continued decline in unsafe driving behaviors among Colorado drivers. The report comes ahead of the department’s annual Traffic Safety Summit, scheduled to begin this week in Breckenridge. The summit will bring together more than 340 transportation professionals and safety advocates from across the state to discuss key issues such as impaired driving, distracted driving, pedestrian safety, speeding, and seat belt use.
“This report gives us a clear picture of where progress has been made, and where challenges remain,” said CDOT’s Executive Director Shoshana Lew. “The Traffic Safety Summit provides an opportunity to turn data into action, and brings together a wide range of partners to shape effective, collaborative strategies for saving lives on Colorado’s roads.”
According to the report, the average number of unsafe driving behaviors per driver fell for the second consecutive year. In 2025, this figure dropped to 1.19 from 1.27 in 2024 and 1.35 in 2023. However, over one-third of drivers still reported speeding on highways.
The findings are based on a random-sample survey of 1,695 residents from 61 out of Colorado’s 64 counties. The survey assessed attitudes and behaviors related to seat belt use, speeding, distracted driving, impaired driving, motorcycle safety, law awareness and young driver attitudes.
Ninety percent of respondents said they always wear their seat belt while driving. Thirty-six percent admitted to exceeding speed limits most or all the time on highways or interstates.
Distracted driving remains an issue but showed improvement: fewer drivers reported picking up their phones while behind the wheel compared with last year—dropping from 42% in 2024 to 34% in 2025 for making calls and from 30% to 23% for sending messages. Ninety-one percent were aware of Colorado’s ‘hands-free’ law prohibiting mobile device use while driving; those who used their phone were less likely to know about this law.
Regarding impaired driving, twenty-one percent stated they had driven within two hours after consuming alcohol, cannabis or impairing prescription drugs during the past month. Only small percentages believed they could drive safely under these influences: alcohol (7%), cannabis (9%), or prescription medications (9%). Among cannabis users specifically, thirty-three percent drove within two hours after using cannabis in the last month; thirty-six percent thought they could drive safely under its influence.
For motorcycle riders surveyed, about seventy-eight percent reported wearing helmets most or all the time when riding; seventy-one percent did not engage in lane filtering.
The study also found that male drivers and individuals aged between twenty-five and forty-four were most likely to engage in risky behaviors behind the wheel.
“This research provides valuable insights into the behaviors of Colorado drivers,” said CDOT’s Office of Transportation Safety Director Darrell Lingk. “The results reveal areas of progress, ongoing issues and opportunities for education. These findings will help CDOT continue to develop targeted efforts that address risky behaviors and improve the overall safety of our roads.”
