The 25 Worst States for Distracted Driving

Name: The 25 Worst States for Distracted Driving
Item: The 25 Worst States for Distracted Driving
Author: Jeff Ostrowski

Updated: May 22, 2024

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American drivers are paying attention to many things other than the road. They’re devouring breakfast burritos, applying makeup and, of course, texting, tweeting and looking up directions on their smartphones. But driving while distracted can be dangerous for everyone on the road. From minor fender benders to fatal accidents, these incidents have a huge impact on drivers across the country. In 2017, there were 3,166 fatalities involving distracted driving in the United States.

MoneyGeek analyzed which states have the highest rates of distracted driving using federal statistics. States were ranked based on data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to calculate the fatality rate based on distracted-driving deaths per billion miles driven.

While you might expect the worst places for distracted driving to be notoriously grid-locked parts of the country, the top three states are known for their wide-open spaces. These 25 states ranked highest for hazardous distracting driving.

25. Delaware

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 15
2017–2018 miles driven: 20,646.29
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 0.73

24. Alaska

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 8
2017–2018 miles driven: 11,006.04
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 0.73

23. North Carolina

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 182
2017–2018 miles driven: 240,303.62
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 0.76

22. Nebraska

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 32
2017–2018 miles driven: 41,976.75
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 0.76

21. Alabama

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 112
2017–2018 miles driven: 141,844.45
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 0.79

20. Wyoming

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 16
2017–2018 miles driven: 20,223.11
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 0.79

19. Arizona

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 112
2017–2018 miles driven: 131,214.09
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 0.85

18. Virginia

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 151
2017–2018 miles driven: 170,599.05
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 0.89

17. Wisconsin

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 118
2017–2018 miles driven: 131,209.14
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 0.9

16. New York

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 245
2017–2018 miles driven: 247,242.24
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 0.99

15. Missouri

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 153
2017–2018 miles driven: 152,506.32
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 1

14. Florida

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 451
2017–2018 miles driven: 440,641.54
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 1.02

13. Colorado

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 124
2017–2018 miles driven: 107,335.71
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 1.16

12. Oklahoma

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 111
2017–2018 miles driven: 94,835.27
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 1.17

11. South Carolina

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 141
2017–2018 miles driven: 112,297.92
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 1.26

10. Idaho

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 47
2017–2018 miles driven: 35,009.52
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 1.34

9. Texas

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 758
2017–2018 miles driven: 555,018.17
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 1.37

8. West Virginia

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 54
2017–2018 miles driven: 38,519.66
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 1.4

7. New Jersey

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 251
2017–2018 miles driven: 155,047.51
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 1.62

6. Washington

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 259
2017–2018 miles driven: 123,786.58
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 2.09

5. Hawaii

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 57
2017–2018 miles driven: 21,635.39
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 2.63

4. Louisiana

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 268
2017–2018 miles driven: 99,266.33
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 2.7

3. Kentucky

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 279
2017–2018 miles driven: 98,782.94
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 2.82

2. Kansas

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 201
2017–2018 miles driven: 64,448.60
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 3.12

1. New Mexico

2017–2018 total distracted driving deaths: 273
2017–2018 miles driven: 56,968.47
Distracted driving fatality rate (per billion miles traveled): 4.79

About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski is a veteran business journalist with over 20 years of experience covering real estate, business and the economy. He is a board member of the National Association of Real Estate Editors and has won awards for his housing coverage. He contributes housing and real estate content to MoneyGeek.

Ostrowski has a master’s degree from the University of Illinois at Springfield and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.