Distracted driving-related crash deaths climbed 14% between 2018 and 2022

America’s roads have become more dangerous in recent years, and distracted driving has played a significant role in that deadly shift. Bader Scott Injury lawyers recently studied government highway safety data to determine the impact that distracted driving has had on the nation’s overall fatality rates and found that an alarming number of deadly crashes come as a result of the practice.

The law firm analyzed 2022 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, and Census Bureau Population Data. That year, there were 42,514 crash deaths, 3,308 (7.78%) of which were caused by distracted driving — slightly higher than the 3,132 annual average.

Bucking a popular myth that young people spend all their time behind the wheel on phones, only around 6% of distracted driving fatalities involved teenagers. The largest age group were drivers between 20 and 39, who accounted for 42% of distracted driving fatalities. Fatalities increased 14% between 2018 and 2022, but the numbers fell slightly from 2011 to 2022.

The study’s definition of distracted driving came from the Centers for Disease Control, which separates it into three main categories. Visual distractions involve taking your eyes off the road, such as looking at the scenery or rubbernecking at an accident. Manual distractions happen when the driver takes their hands off the wheel, including while eating, using a phone or playing with the vehicle’s touchscreen.

Finally, cognitive distractions happen when the driver isn’t focused on what they’re doing. Singing along to Taylor Swift, talking on the phone, daydreaming or having an existential crisis fall into this category.

Bader Scott also ranked the best and worst states for distracted driving. New Mexico, Kansas and Louisiana ranked as the worst states in the study, while Rhode Island, Connecticut and Alaska were rated as the best. Rhode Island recorded an impressive 0% distracted driving fatality rate.