Herald Staff Report
Drivers with iPhones are urged by state transportation officials to turn on the “Do Not Disturb While Driving” mode in April during National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
The Colorado Department of Transportation is launching the effort to have iPhone users enable the mode as part of its effort to draw attention to the problem of distracted driving during April.
Once enabled, the feature works by blocking incoming text messages and other notifications when connected to a car’s Bluetooth or when the phone detects the vehicle is in motion.
Drivers without Bluetooth can also manually turn on “Do Not Disturb While Driving” mode. Android phones offer a similar function, and there are also other third-party apps designed to achieve the same goal regardless of the type of phone a person uses.
CDOT has a list of those apps on its website at distracted.codot.gov.
Distracted drivers are involved in an average of 43 crashes, many leading to serious injury, every day in Colorado. In 2018, 53 fatalities and 6,269 injuries were attributed to 15,673 crashes involving distracted drivers in Colorado, according to preliminary data from CDOT.
In La Plata County, 133 crashes were attributed to distracted drivers in 2017 and 108 in 2016, the most recent years for which data is immediately available from CDOT. In Montezuma County, 29 crashes were attributed to distracted drivers in 2017 and 35 in 2016.
More than 90 percent of people reported driving distracted in the previous seven days, according to a recent survey of Colorado drivers conducted by CDOT. In Colorado, an average of 2,380 intersection-related crashes and more than 9,000 rear-end crashes every year are associated with distracted driving.
parmijo@durangoherald.com
Poll: Have you read or sent a text message while driving your vehicle within the past seven days?
Yes - 351 - 26.14%
No - 992 - 73.86%
