Every day, nine individuals in the United States lose their lives because of distracted driving, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Engaging in various activities while driving, such as eating, adjusting controls, smoking, or changing the radio station, can lead to distracted driving. However, cellphone use is considered the most hazardous.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, sending a single text diverts a driver’s attention from the road for an average of five seconds. According to NHTSA, distracted driving was responsible for 8% of fatal car crashes and 14% of injury-causing car crashes in 2021. It’s worth mentioning that since most distracted driving incidents are self-reported, the statistics are probably even higher.
Distracted driving has major economic impacts as well. NHTSA found that distracted driving vehicle crashes in 2019 led to a total economic loss of $395 billion in the United States, considering various factors like quality-of-life valuations, medical costs, legal costs, emergency services, and property damage.
The impacts of distracted driving have been extensively studied, yet efforts to address the issue have had minimal impact on reducing the number of deadly crashes. In 2017, cellphone use was responsible for 14% of all fatal distraction-based car crashes. In 2021, the latest year for which this data was collected, the percentage was 12%.
According to a study conducted in 2019 by the University of Adelaide’s Centre for Automotive Safety Research, the slow rate of change in driving behavior could be attributed to the reasons behind distracted driving. This involves feeling the need to promptly reply to electronic messages, wanting to make the most of one’s time, the repetitive nature of these actions, and believing one can drive safely even when distracted.
NHTSA’s goal is to increase awareness of the risks of distracted driving on a national scale, while laws regarding distracted driving are enforced at the state level. It’s worth noting that Arizona, Montana, and Missouri are the only states where there is no texting and driving ban that applies to drivers of all ages. Delaware, with the strictest distracted driving laws, ranks among the top 10 safest states for driving and issues the most distracted driving citations.
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Westfield created a list of states with the toughest driving regulations using information from the Governors Highway Safety Association. States were chosen based on the stringency of their laws regarding handheld devices, cellphones, and texting while driving.
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