Updated: May 26, 2026
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Distracted driving statistics show that distraction contributes to thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of crashes each year, though some risk indicators improved in 2024. National data for 2023 document how often distraction contributes to serious crashes.
Safety organizations note that distraction is often underreported, so official figures likely undercount the true toll.
*These figures count people killed or injured. Table figures count crashes. A single crash can involve multiple fatalities or injuries, so the two sets of figures won't match.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data for 2022 and 2023 show similar distraction rates: 8% of fatal crashes, 13% of injury crashes and 11% to 13% of all police-reported crashes.
Fatal crashes | 3,054 | 3,021 | -33 (-1.1%) |
Injury crashes | 198,563 | 222,396 | +23,833 (+12.0%) |
Property damage only | 450,432 | 556,541 | +106,109 (+23.6%) |
Total distraction crashes | 652,049 | 781,958 | +129,909 (+19.9%) |
Percentage of all crashes | 11% | 13% | +2 percentage points |
The data show a sharp increase in distraction-affected crashes between 2022 and 2023. Fatal distraction crashes decreased slightly, but injury crashes rose 12% and property-damage-only crashes jumped 24%. This drove a 20% increase in total distraction-affected crashes and raised their share from 11% to 13% of all police-reported crashes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that nine people are killed every day in crashes involving a reported distracted driver.
The 2023 data also break down distracted driving crashes by age group.
15–20 | 5,133 | 348 | 7% | 55 |
21–24 | 5,101 | 298 | 6% | 48 |
25–34 | 11,916 | 710 | 6% | 88 |
35–44 | 9,876 | 545 | 6% | 73 |
45–54 | 8,116 | 366 | 5% | 43 |
55–64 | 7,560 | 358 | 5% | 37 |
65–74 | 4,954 | 250 | 5% | 21 |
75+ | 3,458 | 188 | 5% | 3 |
Total | 57,939 | 3,143 | 5% | 371 |
At 7%, drivers ages 15 to 20 had the highest distraction rate of any age group in fatal crashes. The 25-to-34 age group tells a different story. Their distraction rate of 6% was just above average, but they made up 710 of 3,143 distracted drivers in fatal crashes, or 23% of all distraction-involved drivers. That's the highest share of any age group. The figure reflects how many 25-to-34-year-olds drive and how often they appear in crash records.
Among distracted drivers using cellphones, the 25 to 34 age group led with 88 drivers. This represents 12% of distracted drivers in that age group. Cellphone use among distracted drivers falls sharply with age: only 8% of distracted drivers ages 65 to 74 and 2% of those 75 and older were using phones at the time of the crash.
In 2023, 611 pedestrians, cyclists and other non-occupants died in distraction-affected crashes.
Cellphone use is among the most documented driver distractions. Crash data show the consequences of phone use behind the wheel, and behavioral surveys show how widespread the problem is. Telematics studies directly link phone interaction time to crash risk, and state-by-state data show wide variation in driver behavior and outcomes.
In 2023, 369 fatal crashes were reported as involving cellphone use among distracted drivers. Those crashes caused 397 deaths. In 2022, cellphones were involved in 62,475 distraction-related crashes: 18,780 injury crashes, 43,327 property-damage-only crashes and 368 fatal crashes, with 402 deaths.
Telematics research from Cambridge Mobile Telematics and the Governors Highway Safety Association shows that drivers in the most phone-distracted 10% were 240% more likely to crash than drivers in the least distracted 10%. Drivers in the 10 most distracted states had a 7.8% higher chance of injury or death in distraction-related crashes. Rhode Island drivers had a 14% higher fatal crash risk than Oregon drivers. Their drivers averaged more than 2 minutes of phone use an hour, the highest in the nation.
Phone distraction patterns vary widely by state, as do overall driver safety rankings. State laws, enforcement and driving culture all contribute to these differences.
Survey data document how often drivers engage in phone-related behaviors behind the wheel. The 2023 Travelers Risk Index for consumers found that 80% of drivers say they make phone calls while driving. Fifty-seven percent interact with handheld devices, including reading incoming texts or emails, and 49% compose written messages behind the wheel. Twenty-eight percent check or update social media, and 27% take photos or videos while driving.
Many drivers also report driving while tired or emotionally distressed, conditions that make any distraction more likely to cause a crash.
Recent telematics data show improvement in distracted driving rates. Cambridge Mobile Telematics reports that phone-based distraction fell 8.6% in 2024. That marks the second consecutive year of decline. This decline prevented an estimated 105,000 crashes, 59,000 injuries and 480 fatalities and avoided $4.2 billion in economic damages. Average phone screen interaction dropped to 1 minute 56 seconds a driving hour, and phone-motion distraction fell to 1 minute 22 seconds an hour. Both figures reached or fell below pre-pandemic levels.
Stronger laws, enforcement, technology changes and public awareness campaigns appear to be driving the decline.
MoneyGeek's distracted driving guide covers prevention strategies and additional guidance.
State laws shape how distracted driving data appear in official records and what penalties apply. As of mid-2025, 30 states plus Washington, D.C., have full hands-free laws that prohibit all drivers from using handheld cellphones while driving. This is up from the high 20s just a few years earlier. Forty-nine states and Washington, D.C., ban texting while driving for all drivers after Missouri adopted a statewide hands-free and texting law in 2023.
Montana is the only state without a statewide texting ban, though several Montana cities, including Billings, Bozeman and Missoula, enforce local bans. Many states restrict phone use for young or novice drivers and apply higher penalties in school zones and active work zones.
Penalty amounts vary widely. In California, base fines for handheld violations start at $20 for a first offense and $50 for subsequent offenses, but total costs with fees reach $160 for a first offense and $285 for subsequent offenses. In Alabama, a June 2024 hands-free law uses secondary enforcement. Fines escalate from $50 for a first offense to $150 for a third or later offense and one to three license points per violation. A first offense can be dismissed if the driver purchases a hands-free device.
States including Illinois and Florida impose higher fines and potential license consequences when distracted driving leads to injuries or occurs in school or construction zones.
Because state laws continue to evolve, the most current rules and penalties are best verified through official state resources, especially for cross-state travel.
Beyond crash counts, distracted driving statistics include economic impact. NHTSA estimates show that in 2019, the most recent year with a full cost analysis, distracted-driving crashes created $98 billion in economic costs. This includes lost productivity, medical and emergency services, legal costs, insurance administration, property damage and congestion. When quality-of-life losses are included, the total societal harm from distracted-driving crashes reached $395 billion in 2019, out of $1.37 trillion in harms from all motor-vehicle crashes.
Lawmakers, insurers and employers track distraction costs closely, even in years when fatality counts decline.
A distracted driving ticket raises full-coverage car insurance premiums 9% to 51%, with most increases falling in the 27% to 32% range, roughly $600 a year in additional costs. The impact depends on the driver's state, insurer and driving record. Drivers can offset these increases by shopping around and claiming all applicable discounts.
Major insurers increase rates 15% to 20% for a first texting violation, while others raise premiums 35% to 50% or more. These surcharges stay on a driver's record for three to five years in most states. Idaho, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Washington limit or prohibit using texting-only tickets in rate calculations.
Multiple moving violations, including distraction-related misdemeanors, trigger policy nonrenewal under state rules and insurer guidelines, especially when paired with at-fault crashes. Serious violations require SR-22 insurance certification to maintain driving privileges.
Teen drivers figure prominently in distracted driving crash statistics, and their accidents prove expensive. Teen premiums are 50% to 100% higher than adult rates. Sixteen-year-olds average $7,658 a year. That's roughly 2.5 times what a 30-year-old pays. An 18-year-old with a texting-while-driving violation pays about $538 a month for full coverage due to the dual risk factors of age and distraction.
Teen drivers without violations offset high premiums through good student discounts, defensive driving courses and bundling policies with parents.
Generational survey data show that 68% of Gen Z drivers admit to texting while driving, compared with one-third of baby boomers. Younger drivers appear disproportionately in distraction-related crash and violation statistics as a result. Telematics data, passenger limits, vehicle choice and clear household phone rules are among the tools families use to lower teen crash risk and reduce insurance costs.
Many distracted driving statistics come from personal-vehicle data, but distraction has major implications for fleets, employers and gig drivers.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration research shows that texting while driving a commercial vehicle increases the odds of a safety-critical event by 23 times, and dialing a phone increases those odds sixfold. Employer crash costs reach an estimated $60 billion a year. About 20% of fleet vehicles are involved in a crash each year. Per-fatality costs often exceed $750,000. The cost exposure has pushed employers toward commercial auto insurance, fleet telematics and stricter device-use policies.
Motor-vehicle accidents account for 5% of workers' compensation lost-time claims but 10% of benefit costs, a disproportionate share. Motor-vehicle-related workers' comp claims average more than $100,000 per claim, 70% higher than lost-time claims from other causes. With about one-third of U.S. jobs involving some driving, employer distracted-driving policies affect workers' comp costs and liability exposure alike.
Studies of rideshare and delivery drivers show that gig workers are four times more likely to use apps while driving than other drivers. Three-quarters report using phones for work tasks while driving. Surveys show 79% of delivery drivers report near-misses due to distraction, and more than one-third report at least one work-related crash. Because many gig drivers are classified as independent contractors, they often lack workers' compensation coverage. This shifts more crash-related costs to their auto and commercial policies.
Those trends have driven demand for rideshare coverage, commercial auto policies for small businesses and usage-based insurance that rewards safer driving.
Distracted driving and drunk driving statistics are often compared, though the two risks differ in scale and frequency. National Security Council (NSC) data show that alcohol-impaired driving causes more deaths than distraction, but distraction is more widespread in everyday driving and is often underreported in crash data. CDC and safety research show that alcohol and distraction both reduce reaction time and attention, but distraction is often normalized because phone use and multitasking are common outside the car.
Drunk driving is deadlier per crash, but reducing distraction could prevent many everyday crashes that add up to substantial human and economic costs. Resources on distraction prevention are available through insurance providers and state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) websites.
About Nathan Paulus
Nathan Paulus is Head of Content and SEO at MoneyGeek, where he leads content strategy and produces original data research across insurance, consumer costs, transportation safety, housing, public policy and personal finance. He also reviews published studies for methodology, source quality and factual accuracy before they reach readers.
Research and Analysis
In nearly six years at MoneyGeek, Paulus has published more than 100 original studies and explanatory guides. His insurance research includes 50-state comparisons of health care outcomes, costs and access; an analysis of how uninsured rates track with state Medicaid expansion decisions and electoral patterns; full coverage auto rate analyses across major insurers in all 50 states; and a study of how premium trends track with industry underwriting losses, with combined ratio data sourced from Fitch Ratings, AM Best and Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI figures. His research also covers vehicle pricing trends across the U.S. new car market, summer traffic fatality rates by state, homeowner underinsurance ratios using mortgage and policy data, and housing affordability across all 50 states.
His research has been cited by Bloomberg, the Los Angeles Times, Forbes, Fast Company, the San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today and NBC Los Angeles. Harvard, MIT, Stanford and Yale have also referenced his work.
Career
Growing up, Paulus developed an early interest in personal finance through his grandmother, who emphasized saving over earning as the foundation of financial stability. Her framing still shows up in how he writes about money for people without a financial background.
Paulus joined MoneyGeek in July 2020 as Director of Content Marketing. In that role, he led the content team and directed data journalism production across insurance and personal finance verticals. He was promoted to Head of Marketing and Communications in December 2023, where he took on digital PR and communications strategy. He has held his current role as Head of Content and SEO since January 2025.
Before MoneyGeek, he served as Director of Content Marketing and SEO at Ventrix Advertising. There, he helped build two content sites from scratch, contributed to link-building programs that secured more than 1,500 unique referring domains within a year, and co-managed a marketing team of more than 20 people. Earlier, he spent two and a half years at ABUV Media, moving up from Marketing Research Analyst to Senior Marketing Tactics Analyst, where he built his grounding in audience research, content strategy and SEO.
