Cambridge, MA – February 26, 2025 – One month into Colorado’s hands-free law, new research from Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT), the world’s largest telematics service provider, shows early progress in reducing distracted driving. CMT’s data reveal a 3.3% reduction in phone motion distraction statewide, an improvement that CMT estimates to have prevented 88 crashes, 49 injuries, and $3.5 million in economic damages since the law began.*

The law, which took effect on January 1, 2025, prohibits drivers from holding or manually using mobile electronic devices while operating a vehicle​. This expansion goes beyond previous restrictions on texting, making Colorado the 30th state in the US to ban handheld device use while driving​. The move comes as 77% of Colorado drivers admit to using their phones behind the wheel, with 45% saying a hands-free feature in their car would help them stop.

CMT’s analysis in Colorado found that in the first two weeks, phone motion distraction dropped from 1 minute and 8 seconds per hour of driving to 1 minute and 4 seconds. In weeks three and four, distraction averaged 1 minute and 7 seconds. This pattern of distraction fluctuation is normal week to week, and doesn’t indicate longer-term trends for the law’s impact. 

CMT defines phone motion distraction as when a phone moves with its screen on while a vehicle is in motion. The study analyzed over 3.8 million trips in Colorado between December 1, 2024, and February 11, 2025, measuring changes in distraction before and after the law took effect.

“Colorado’s early results demonstrate the positive impact of hands-free laws,” said Tim Vogel, GM of Public Sector at CMT. “But we know that real, lasting change takes continued effort. Strong enforcement and public awareness will be critical in maintaining and expanding these reductions, as we’ve seen in states like Michigan and Ohio. If Colorado keeps up the momentum, this law has the potential to prevent even more crashes and save lives.”

The new law makes handheld phone use a primary offense, enabling law enforcement officers to stop and cite drivers solely for holding a phone while driving. The penalties include:

• First offense: $75 fine and two license suspension points.
• Repeat offenses: Higher fines and additional license points.

“Troopers have long been able to spot distracted drivers by their erratic driving behavior,” said Col. Matthew Packard, Chief of the Colorado State Patrol, in a Colorado Department of Transportation news release. “Now, we can take more decisive action to keep our roads safe.”​

Colorado’s hands-free law is part of a larger effort to reduce crashes among pedestrians and bicyclists, which increased by 50% and 112.5% respectively between 2015 and 2023.

CMT’s research on hands-free laws in other states indicates that long-term reductions require continued enforcement and public awareness efforts. In Missouri and Alabama, for example, initial distraction declines of 0.6% and 2.4% grew to 5.8% and 7.4% after six months. Ohio’s initial drop was 8.1%, growing to nearly 14% after one year. The Colorado Department of Transportation plans to launch an awareness campaign to ensure all Coloradans are aware of the law and best practices over the next few months.

*Estimates based on the change in crash rate from distracted driving and data from NHTSA’s report The Economic and Societal Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2019: $340 billion in crash damages from 14.2 million crashes in 2019, averaging $23,954 per crash.

About Cambridge Mobile Telematics 

Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT) is the world’s largest telematics service provider. Its mission is to make the world’s roads and drivers safer. The company’s AI-driven platform, DriveWell Fusion®, gathers sensor data from millions of IoT devices — including smartphones, proprietary Tags, connected vehicles, dashcams, and third-party devices — and fuses them with contextual data to create a unified view of vehicle and driver behavior. Auto insurers, automakers, commercial mobility companies, and the public sector use insights from CMT’s platform to power risk assessment, safety, claims, and driver improvement programs. Headquartered in Cambridge, MA, with offices in Budapest, Chennai, Seattle, Tokyo, and Zagreb, CMT measures and protects tens of millions of drivers worldwide every day.