Safety

Top driving risks in Northern California, Iowa, and Colorado

Feb. 25, 2025

The risk of an accident can vary depending on which state a driver is in. Here are the top risky behaviors, times, and places for Northern California, Iowa, and Colorado.

Jeremy Wolfe

Fleets share the road with a high number of distracted drivers, and truck-related fatalities are at historic highs. But the when, where, and why behind an accident can vary dramatically across the nation.

“Speed and attentiveness, combined with perhaps cellular phone distraction, can play important factors besides the general congestion … When you couple unsafe behaviors such as these, unfortunately, incidents and near collisions are going to happen, and that’s what we’re seeing,” Jeff Martin, VP of global sales strategy at Lytx, told FleetOwner. “The variation is all due to congestion and demand from the driving public.”

Each state has different patterns for when and where congestion brings the most risk of an accident—and which unsafe behaviors contribute to a crash.

Lytx’s 2024 State of the Data report provided insight into dangerous places, times, and behaviors across the U.S. In the above slideshow, the company breaks down its risk data in finer detail across three states: Northern California, Iowa, and Colorado.

How can fleets use the reports?

According to Martin, the key is to use these insights to fuel the right conversations with fleet managers, dispatchers, and drivers.

“I’m a big believer not in big data but best data,” Martin said. “Leadership must equip frontline managers, drivers, or field techs with the best data. That best data has to tell them what their threats are and what they need to be prepared for—doing so through training and awareness campaigns on defensive driving skills, knowledge about dangerous streets, intersections, interchanges, or times of day.”

Passenger vehicle drivers pose a significant risk for fleet operations. Passenger cars are responsible for most crashes between themselves and commercial vehicles. While fleets can’t train other road users, they can prepare their drivers for the danger that others pose.

Roadways are what they are, Martin said, but fleets can equip their drivers to maintain defensive driving. Attentive drivers can reduce the risk that these other vehicles pose.

“The three things that everybody says they’re seeing more of out there when I talk to drivers and frontline managers is they’re seeing more drivers distracted, aggressive, or impaired,” Martin said. “Today’s best drivers have the mindset of protecting themselves and others around them because, when something is developing, they’ve identified it, and they’re 100% focused, 100% of the time.”

The data not only helps prepare for risky times/areas. It can allow dispatchers to keep their drivers away from those external risks and help managers to watch for the top risky behaviors among their drivers. Martin said that reducing these risks not only boosts safe operations but puts the carrier in a winning position for efficiency, productivity, and customer service.

“Today’s best companies do this, and they do it well,” Martin said. “It also saves on fuel, it saves on brakes, and it saves on tires. There’s a tremendous payback on it.”

About the Author

Jeremy Wolfe | Editor

Editor Jeremy Wolfe joined the FleetOwner team in February 2024. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with majors in English and Philosophy. He previously served as Editor for Endeavor Business Media's Water Group publications.