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Woman caught on video driving with her foot on the dashboard, and texting, on I-25

Posted at 7:31 PM, Aug 08, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-08 21:31:59-04

DENVER, Colo. -- Cell phone video of a driver on I-25 in Colorado is highlighting the dangers of distracted driving.

We're not just talking about texting and driving.

The 45-second video shows a woman in a white SUV driving with her left leg on the dashboard next to the steering wheel and texting.  At one point she's texting for more than ten seconds while driving down the highway.

"Oh my goodness, it's an accident waiting to happen.  Is she holding the steering wheel at all," said one driver who viewed the video.

Maureen Bustillos posted it to Facebook on Saturday. It's been shared more than 250 times. 

"Today we were driving through I-25 and we saw this person driving with one of her legs up and she was paying more attention to her phone than the street," Bustillos wrote.  "If she isn't going to take care of her life, the least she can do is be careful because she can get into a crash and if not only injure, she can kill someone."

"We know it goes on, it's dangerous, it's reckless," said Colorado State Patrol Trooper, Nate Reid.

Reckless, because statistics show texting while driving is 6 times more likely to cause an accident than drunk driving.  Perhaps equally concerning, answering just one text takes about five seconds of your attention, traveling at 55 miles per hour, that's enough to travel the length of a football field.

Trooper Reid said although the driver was clearly breaking the law, filming it isn't the safest solution.

"People get very agitated when they see cameras of any kind, especially like a cell phone camera.  People get defensive and it could turn into a road rage situation," Reid said.

Instead, Reid recommended calling *CSP and letting authorities handle it.