We’ve all done it at one time or another: driving while being distracted. According to a new study by Safe Kids USA, one in every six drivers going through a school zone is distracted.

Use of electronics such as cell phones, PDAs and Smartphones was the leading category of distraction while driving, at 9.8 percent. Other distractions observed were eating, smoking, reaching behind the front seats, grooming and reading. The study also found that unbelted drivers are 34 percent more likely to be distracted than belted drivers; afternoon drivers are 22 percent more likely to be distracted than morning drivers; and females are 21 percent more likely to be distracted than males.

Safe Kids Metro Denver used volunteers to watch drivers outside several schools and counted the most common driver distractions. In Littleton, the findings were different from the national results with a higher rate of distracted drivers, 19.8 percent as compared to 17percent for the whole study group. Drivers in Littleton had lower cell phone use rate but higher eating, drinking, smoking and looking-behind behaviors then the national results.

Tracy Holmberg with Safe Kids Denver Metro said, “There was a lot of reading, drinking, eating, grooming, dogs sitting on laps. What we found is people that don’t wear seat belts were more distracted than people who do wear seat belts. Afternoon drivers were more distracted than morning drivers, and that’s dangerous because one in three child pedestrian deaths occur between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.”

One of the reasons Safe Kids chose to monitor traffic outside Ken Caryl Middle School is that a student was hit by a car last year walking in the crosswalk by a distracted driver.

Jefferson County sheriff's deputies routinely patrol schools during the year and the say school zone enforcement is on the top of their priority list. Jefferson County sheriff Sgt. Steve Laurita said school zone enforcement is on the top of their priority list, “Education through enforcement. And our education through enforcement in school zones is zero tolerance.”

Laurita said deputies routinely patrol the hundreds of school zones all year long, not just for the first month of school. Twelve drivers received speeding tickets in the 45 minutes we monitored traffic with two motorcycle deputies Tuesday afternoon.

The Jefferson County fine for speeding in a school zone is $95 for driving 5 to 9 mph over and $160 for 10 to 19 mph over the limit.

For more information about the new report on distracted drivers, tips for drivers and pedestrians or background on the Walk This Way program, visit SafeKids.org.