Fiddling with your phone behind the wheel is now illegal in Colorado and state patrol is cracking down.
Through Sept. 30 troopers have issued 701 tickets for distracted driving with a mobile device. That is a whopping 188% increase over the same time last year (243 tickets) and 58% higher than in April.
But the crackdown is working. Distracted driving accidents are down 11% from last year.
“Using a device behind the wheel is a five-second blindfold for any driver,” CSP chief Col. Matthew Packard says in a statement. “No text message, phone call or social media post is worth the risk.”
Under Colorado’s “hands-free law” a first offense is $75 and two license suspension points. You can get those charges dropped if you provide proof of purchasing a hands-free accessory. Repeat offenders face higher fines and more license suspension points.
One in three drivers admit they have looked at their phone while driving in the past week, according to the state’s 2025 Driving Behavior Survey. Nearly one in two younger drivers admit to using a phone at the wheel.