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US Distracted Driving Fatalities Are Up 21%: These Are the Deadliest States

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Last Updated: 4/18/2023
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Now that traffic volume is returning to pre-pandemic levels, texting, scrolling on social media, or answering emails while driving are becoming widespread — with dangerous consequences. According to the latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), distracted driving fatalities increased by 11% to 3,211 deaths from 2020 to 2021. And the problem seems to be growing. Since 2018, distracted driving fatalities have increased by 21%, and the fatality rate is the highest it’s been since 2016.

MoneyGeek analyzed the most recent data from the NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System and state highway travel data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics to see which states have the highest rates of distracted driving fatalities and find the places in the U.S. where distracted driving takes the biggest toll.

Key Findings:
  • Distracted driving fatalities are the highest they've been in five years. Despite Americans driving 1.2 billion fewer miles than pre-pandemic, distracted driving fatalities in the U.S. have increased by 11% since 2020 and 21% since 2018.

  • New Mexico had the highest rate of distracted driving fatalities for the fourth year in a row. Its distracted driving fatality rate was double that of Louisiana, the state with the second-highest rate.

  • Increasing distracted driving rates in Florida puts the state in the top 10 for the first time.

  • Indiana and Arizona had the largest increases in distracted driving deaths from 2020 and 2021, with fatalities climbing by 56% and 48%, respectively.

Bar graph displaying distracted driving deaths in the U.S. from 2016 to 2021

The States With the Highest Distracted Driving Fatality Rates

To find the states with the most dangerous distracted drivers, MoneyGeek reviewed the most recent two years of distracted driving fatality and vehicle mile data and calculated a distracted driving fatality rate for every state.

The map below shows the distracted driving rate in each state. We also ranked the states with the highest distracted driving fatality rates below and included information about each of these states' overall distracted driving fatality rate and the number of deaths related to distracted driving. MoneyGeek also specified whether or not each state had enacted a ban on using handheld devices or texting while driving — a "Yes" in this column indicates a full ban on all use, while "Partial" indicates that a state has some restrictions and "No" indicates no restrictions.

MoneyGeek's analysis found that, for the fourth year in a row, New Mexico had the dubious distinction of being the state with the highest rate of distracted driving fatalities relative to the miles traveled by car.

10 Worst States for Distracted Driving
State
Distracted Driving Fatality Rate (per Billion Miles)
Distracted Driving Deaths 2020-21
Handheld Ban?
Texting Ban?

1.

New Mexico

6.2

313

No

Yes

2.

Louisiana

3.1

324

Partial

Yes

3.

Kansas

2.8

165

No

Yes

4.

Kentucky

2.2

211

No

Yes

5.

Hawaii

2.2

41

No

Yes

6.

Illinois

1.9

370

Yes

Yes

7.

Washington

1.7

187

Yes

Yes

8.

New Jersey

1.6

224

Yes

Yes

9.

Virginia

1.3

210

Yes

Yes

10.

Florida

1.3

569

Partial

Yes

The Cost Of Distracted Driving Is High, Even If Everyone Survives

The reality is that many Americans use their phones and engage in distracted driving behaviors regularly.

While most distracted driving doesn’t end in deaths, the consequences can still be severe. For instance, pedestrians hit by those driving just 25 mph have a 1 in 3 chance of being seriously injured, according to MoneyGeek's pedestrian crash analysis.

Even if no one is injured, your car insurance rates will increase after an at-fault accident 57%, on average. Having an accident on your record makes finding affordable full coverage car insurance much more difficult. Depending on where you live, distracted driving without an accident may also incur significant driving penalties or fines. In short, the danger of distracted driving isn't limited to what someone can do to someone else.

Expert Insights: The Impact of Distracted Driving Laws on Fatalities

Laws alone may help curb accidents, but experts suggest that a combination of laws, enforcement of those laws and public education are key to significantly reducing distracted driving-related fatalities. To gain more insight into the impact distracted driving legislation has on fatality rates, MoneyGeek consulted safety experts and advocates. The views expressed below are the opinions and insights of the individual contributors.

  1. What impact have distracted driving laws had on fatality rates?
  2. Distracted driving laws are on the books in many places that still have a lot of distracted driving fatalities. How can enforcement be improved?
Samantha Bloch
Samantha Bloch

Policy Analyst, Transportation Program, National Conference of State Legislatures

Joel Feldman
Joel Feldman

President Casey Feldman Foundation and EndDD.org

Pam Shadel Fischer
Pam Shadel Fischer

Senior Director of External Engagement at Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA)

Joe Young
Joe Young

Director of Media Relations, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Methodology

MoneyGeek calculated the distracted driving fatality rate for each state by accessing distracted driving fatality information provided by NHTSA and combining that with state highway usage provided by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. We looked at trends across years and compared state fatality rates against the national average. Currently, 2021 is the most recently available data from both of these sources.

Distracted Driving Deaths by State: Full Data Set

The data points presented are defined as follows:

  • Rank: Rank in the overall analysis, with a lower rank indicating a higher overall distracted driving fatality rate.
  • Distracted Driving Fatality Rate (per Billion Miles): Distracted Driving Deaths 2020–2021 divided by 2020–2021 Miles Driven, multiplied by 1,000.
  • Distracted Driving Deaths 2020–2021: The number of distracted driving-related fatalities in the indicated state from 2020 to 2021.
  • Miles Driven (Millions) 2020–2021: The number of miles in millions driven in the indicated state from 2020 to 2021.
State
Rank
Distracted Driving Fatality Rate (per Billion Miles)
Distracted Driving Deaths 2020-21
2020-21 Miles Driven (Millions)

New Mexico

1

6.19

313

50,579

Louisiana

2

3.14

324

103,102

Kansas

3

2.77

165

59,547

Kentucky

4

2.23

211

94,647

Hawaii

5

2.19

41

18,757

Illinois

6

1.93

370

191,651

Washington

7

1.68

187

111,455

New Jersey

8

1.60

224

140,014

Virginia

9

1.34

210

156,212

Florida

10

1.34

569

425,642

Montana

11

1.33

34

25,586

Texas

12

1.31

714

545,610

Wyoming

13

1.29

27

20,897

Idaho

14

1.23

45

36,714

Oklahoma

15

1.15

100

86,760

Colorado

16

1.15

118

102,482

North Carolina

17

1.06

238

224,076

New York

18

1.06

221

209,347

Missouri

19

1.02

155

152,588

Oregon

20

0.98

68

69,140

Delaware

21

0.97

18

18,497

Maine

22

0.90

25

27,646

Tennessee

23

0.89

142

158,988

Arizona

24

0.87

122

139,518

South Carolina

25

0.76

85

111,464

North Dakota

26

0.72

13

18,024

Maryland

27

0.72

77

107,486

Alabama

28

0.66

98

147,490

Indiana

29

0.64

100

155,248

District of Columbia

30

0.64

4

6,278

Massachusetts

31

0.64

72

113,242

Michigan

32

0.58

106

183,291

Wisconsin

33

0.56

69

122,583

Pennsylvania

34

0.56

107

190,668

Alaska

35

0.54

6

11,058

Arkansas

36

0.54

39

72,346

New Hampshire

37

0.52

13

25,086

Nebraska

38

0.52

21

40,642

South Dakota

39

0.51

10

19,737

Ohio

40

0.50

108

216,038

Iowa

41

0.48

30

62,790

Vermont

42

0.47

6

12,632

Minnesota

43

0.47

51

108,790

Georgia

44

0.44

105

236,652

West Virginia

45

0.44

14

32,133

Rhode Island

46

0.42

6

14,390

Utah

47

0.41

26

63,889

Mississippi

48

0.39

31

80,518

California

49

0.37

228

610,635

Connecticut

50

0.31

18

58,834

Nevada

51

0.31

16

52,308

About Doug Milnes, CFA


Doug Milnes, CFA headshot

Doug Milnes is the head of marketing and communications at MoneyGeek. He has spent more than a decade in corporate finance performing valuations for Duff and Phelps and financial planning and analysis for various companies including OpenTable. He holds a master’s degree in Predictive Analytics (Data Science) from Northwestern University and is a CFA charter holder. Doug geeks out on building financial and predictive models and using data to make informed decisions.


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