Texting and Driving Statistics 2022
Written by Lena Borelli for Bankrate
America has a dangerous epidemic of texting while driving that strongly increases risk to everyone on the roads. At any given moment, 660,000 drivers are using a cell phone while operating a vehicle. Every year, about 400 fatal crashes are caused by texting and driving, according to the NHTSA.
Top texting and driving statistics and facts
- 660,000 drivers are using their cell phones while operating a vehicle at any moment in the day (NHTSA)
- You are 20 times more likely to crash while texting and driving than you are when not using a cell phone (Virginia Tech)
- Texting while has the same effect on your driving reaction time as if you had consumed four beers in a single hour (Drivesafeonline.org)
- Texting distracts you long enough to travel the length of an entire football with your eyes off the road, driving at 55 mph (Drivesafeonline.org
- 35% of teens admit to texting and driving, even though 94% of them understand the dangers (AAA)
- 1 in 4 teens admit to responding to at least one text every time they drive (AAA)
- 10% of parents and 20% of teens admit to having multi-text conversations while driving (AAA)
- Teens who text while driving spend an average of 10% of their driving time outside of traffic lanes (Drivesafeonline.org).
Texting and driving deaths per year
About 400 fatal crashes happen each year as a direct result of texting and driving. That number increases to over 30,000 when you consider distracted driving as a whole, according to the NHTSA. While texting and driving-specific crashes are decreasing in recent years, overall fatal crashes due to distracted driving are on the rise.
In the most recent available data, you can see that texting and driving deaths were on the rise in 2013, peaked in 2015 and 2016, and dropped in 2017.
| Year | Texting and driving deaths |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 401 |
| 2016 | 453 |
| 2015 | 453 |
| 2014 | 387 |
| 2013 | 411 |
Source: NHTSA
What is the definition of texting while driving?
The legal definition of texting while driving is when the driver uses a mobile phone to compose, send, or read text messages and other digital correspondence while operating a motor vehicle. Texting while driving is a form of distracted driving. There are three types of distracted driving:
Visual distractions
This kind of distraction requires that you take your eyes off the road, caused by visual stimulants that avert your eyes.
Manual distractions
A manual distraction requires the use of your hands, causing you to give up control of the wheel.
Cognitive distractions
These distractions occupy your mind, carrying your thoughts away from driving and onto other matters.
Texting driving is especially perilous because it requires all three.
What are the dangers of texting and driving?
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) says that it takes about five seconds to read a text. During that time, you drive about the length of a football field at around 55mph, which is 360 feet — quite a long way to have your eyes off the road. The issue is not just the momentary lapse in attention, but also the additional time it takes for your eyes to reorient to the road and the other cars around you.
Teens and young drivers are especially susceptible to the dangers of texting and driving when they have fewer years of experience under their belt. This inexperience, coupled with a lack of advanced driving skills, can equate to more accidents, and sadly, more fatalities amongst this age group.
In addition to doubling your chances of an accident, texting while driving can triple your risk of other incidents on the road:
- Driving over the curb
- Departing from the roadway
- Collisions with trees, poles, signs, and other items
Other drivers are not the only ones that you risk hurting on the road. The NHTSA reports that in 2018, 605 passengers, 400 pedestrians and 77 bicyclists were all killed by distracted driving.
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The history of texting and driving
The 90’s
Text messaging was not popular until the 1990s when phone messaging was first introduced. While capabilities were limited and nothing like what we see today, it was the beginning of a dangerous trend. By the 2000s, texting was becoming the new norm, with wireless providers packaging text messaging into their bundles.
There are several reasons why texting has really taken off. It’s a faster method of communication that offers the privacy of a phone call without the same time and attention demand. It’s also cheaper. Cell phone users quickly found that their providers were more generous with text message allotments than they were minutes. To stay within their plans, subscribers began relying on texting as a primary and more affordable means of communication.
2008
In 2008, state governments began fighting back with new legislation crafted to cease the growing epidemic of distracted driving. Alaska was one of the first states to act, adding text messaging into law as a punishable offense. A misdemeanor, texting and driving could mean up to one year in jail for offenders. It wasn’t long before many other states followed suit.
Modern day
Texting and driving is still a problem, with 39% of high schoolers admitting to texting and driving behind the wheel.
Safe driving technology
Modern technology is increasing the options for safer communication. Apps like DriveMode sense how fast a person is going, silencing text and phone alerts above 15 mph when a person is assumed to be in a car. Other apps allow drivers to compete against each other for the safest driving habits, or earn insurance discount for reducing their risk on the road.
Most cell phones will now read your texts aloud to you with a simple prompt of “read my text messages”, and most keyboards now offer a voice-to-text tool that allows users to speak their texts instead of typing them.
We’ve come a long way in texting and driving safety, but the work doesn’t stop here. With this modern technology at our fingertips, it’s up to each driver to commit to safe habits and to keep us all safe on the road.
Risk factors
All age groups are guilty of texting and driving, but data from the NHTSA shows that there are some groups that are far more active than others.
Drivers between the ages of 20 and 29 far exceed the usage of older adults, with the 30-39 group ages 15-19 also showing greater cell phone use while driving. The risk of texting and driving begins to decrease after 39, showing that drivers ages 40 years and up are more responsible on the road and less likely to end up in a car crash due to texting and driving.
2017 Fatal Crashes by Age Group
| Age Group | Number | % of Drivers Using Cell Phones |
|---|---|---|
| 15-19 | 63 | 16% |
| 20-29 | 151 | 37% |
| 30-39 | 86 | 21% |
| 40-49 | 48 | 12% |
| 50-59 | 33 | 8% |
| 60-69 | 19 | 5% |
| 70+ | 4 | 1% |
| Total | 404 | 100% |
The CDC offers some additional insight into how frequently teenagers use their phones behind the wheel. Its 2019 report studies how frequently teens use their phones to email behind the wheel.
Teen Behaviors
| Emailed while driving | |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 41.4% |
| 2015 | 41.5% |
| 2017 | 39.2% |
| 2019 | 39% |
How common is texting and driving?
Many drivers have sent a text behind the wheel, and many continue to do so either on a regular basis or when they are in a pinch. But how common is text and driving, really?
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reports that one out of every three drivers knows someone or has a relative who was injured or killed in a car crash. What’s more, the study found that one-third of all drivers admit to regularly texting behind the wheel. It’s an unnecessary risk when it’s been proven that one out of every four accidents in the U.S. is the result of texting and driving.
The NHTSA says that about 36% of drivers with a smartphone use their phones at a red light or stop sign, increasing the likelihood of distracted driving even after you press on the gas. About 35% of drivers admit that they continue to use their phones even after they resume driving.
Not all cell phone use is attributed to simply driving, either. Social media always proves to be tempting fodder, and the flash of a breaking news headline can lift your eyes from the road before you even realize. Many drivers also use their phones for audio in their cars, relying upon apps like Pandora and Spotify for music and podcasts to entertain them on their travels. Even setting up or altering directions in a map application on your phone can be a source of diversion.
The consequences of texting and driving
Texting while driving is considered a moving traffic violation. Depending on where you live, texting while driving may also be considered a Class B or Class C criminal misdemeanor. Other states and jurisdictions have no laws at all.
Many states have looked to financial penalties as a reasonable consequence for drinking and driving. Penalties range from $20 to $500, depending on the state, but in some states like Alaska and Iowa, fines can reach as high as $1,000 and mean a misdemeanor offense.
Additional possible penalties for texting and driving can include:
- Points on your driving record
- Suspension of your driver’s license
- Revocation of driving privileges
- Mandatory driver safety courses
- Vehicle impoundment
When bodily injury is involved, offenders of texting and driving may also face jail or prison time. Penalties vary, but commercial drivers and school bus drivers are commonly held to stricter penalties due to the public nature of their positions. Consequences heighten in severity when you have repeated offenses.
Texting and driving laws state by state
Laws vary by state, so it’s crucial to review the specific texting and driving laws that affect your area. This is a comprehensive, state-by-state listing of current U.S. texting and driving laws.
| State | Handheld Ban | Type of Law | Text Messaging Ban | Type of Law |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | X | Primary | ||
| Alaska | X | Primary | ||
| Arizona | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| Arkansas | X | Primary: 18-20 years Secondary: school and work zones | X | Primary |
| California | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| Colorado | X | Primary | ||
| Connecticut | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| Delaware | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| District of Columbia | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| Florida | X | Primary | ||
| Georgia | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| Guam | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| Hawaii | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| Idaho | X | Primary | ||
| Illinois | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| Indiana | X | Primary | ||
| Iowa | X | Primary | ||
| Kansas | X | |||
| Kentucky | X | Primary | ||
| Louisiana | X | Primary: drivers in school zones, learner or intermediate license | X | Primary |
| Maine | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| Maryland | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| Massachusetts | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| Michigan | X | Primary | ||
| Minnesota | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| Mississippi | X | Primary | ||
| Missouri | ||||
| Montana | ||||
| Nebraska | X | |||
| Nevada | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| New Hampshire | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| New Jersey | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| New Mexico | X | Primary | ||
| New York | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| North Carolina | X | Primary | ||
| North Dakota | X | Primary | ||
| Ohio | X | Secondary | ||
| Oklahoma | X | Primary: Learner or intermediate license | X | Primary |
| Oregon | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| Pennsylvania | X | Primary | ||
| Puerto Rico | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| Rhode Island | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| South Carolina | X | Primary | ||
| South Dakota | X | Secondary | ||
| Tennessee | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| Texas | X | Primary: school crossing zones and on public school property only | X | Primary |
| Utah | X | Primary | ||
| Vermont | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| Virgin Islands | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| Virginia | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| Washington | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| West Virginia | X | Primary | X | Primary |
| Wisconsin | X | Primary | ||
| Wyoming | X | Primary |
How texting and driving impacts car insurance rates
Texting and driving can have long-lasting impacts, too. In addition to the legal and financial penalties, there is also your car insurance company that you must contend with after the dust has settled.
Car insurance premiums are all based on risk, calculated for each individual based on a specific set of rate factors that determine how much you pay for your coverage each year. This includes everything from where you live and the kind of car you drive to your credit score, driving history, and claims record.
Be sure to always shop and compare car insurance quotes each year to find the best car insurance provider for you. Car insurance can get particularly pricey when you have a texting and driving offense on your driving record, so be sure to also consider the cheapest car insurance companies in your state to find a policy that’s affordable for you.
Massachusetts is one example of how texting and driving impacts rates. Car insurance premiums have been steadily on the rise since 2016, when car insurance rates increased an average of 6% to 9% within a single year. Premiums increased again in 2017 when many of the car insurance companies in Massachusetts received state approval to increase rates another 3% to 6% in light of growing texting and driving trends.
Writes local affiliate NBC Boston, “In the past three years, insurance companies have determined they have sufficient data about the riskiness of drivers who receive distracted driving violations on their driving records to raise rates accordingly and that they have substantial proof to convince regulators of the validity of their rate changes.”
It was a measure that soon came to be popular with car insurance providers in other states, as well.
How to prevent texting and driving
Prevention of texting and driving starts at home. Governments and organizations can do their best to deter the practice with harsh penalties and required driver education, but the truth is that it is a personal habit that you have to commit to breaking yourself.
It’s easier said than done, but these are some tips to help you stop texting and driving when you are behind the wheel.
Be clear about usage.
Texting and driving doesn’t just mean sending an errant text while you’re cruising down the road. Instead, it’s become a broad term used to describe a number of different behaviors involving your cell phone. Texting and driving can also refer to emailing, calling or using social media like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or TikTok.
Develop a pre-driving routine.
Before you put your car in gear, ensure that you are safely secured in your vehicle before taking a few minutes for a pre-drive check. Be sure to check your messages and respond to anything urgent before you drive. If you expect an immediate response, let the recipient know that you will be driving but will check their message just as soon as your drive is complete.
Keep your phone out of reach.
You can’t use your phone if you can’t reach it, so put it in the glove box, the backseat or even the trunk, so you are not tempted to reach for it while you’re driving.
Prepare your directions.
Whether you use your phone’s navigation or your car’s GPS, be sure to prepare your directions before you depart. It can be an enormous and very dangerous distraction to fumble with directions when you are simultaneously trying to safely navigate traffic around you, easily leading to an accident. Instead, take a minute to bring up your directions before you leave so you can have a smooth journey ahead.
Use your phone’s features.
Today many phone manufacturers help deter texting and driving and by offering a “Do Not Disturb” function. Popular on phones like Apple, you can set your phone to a quiet mode that silences incoming notifications while the feature is enabled. You will still receive messages, but they are held for later review so you aren’t constantly distracted by the flashing of repeated text and email notifications. You can sometimes enable these settings to send an automated text response to calls or incoming messages that you are driving and will answer later.
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Set an example.
Don’t text behind the wheel when others are in your vehicle and refuse to respond to messages when you know a loved one is driving. For parents, this is essential with teen drivers present.
Get involved and educate.
Parents have the combined role of both educator and enforcer at home, so it’s critical that parents take an active role in their family’s safety. Be sure to properly educate your children on the dangers of texting behind the wheel. It’s even good to give your friends or more experienced drivers a refresher on the potential consequences they face. Bring it up in conversation to spread awareness of the risks associated with this activity.
Apps to prevent texting and driving
Some apps are designed specifically to help drivers on the road and potentially alleviate texting and driving habits.
AT&T DriveMode
Availability: Android, iOS
To encourage responsible cell phone use, AT&T offers its DriveMode app for both Android and iOS. This app can detect when you’re in motion and will automatically send a reply to let the sender know that you are currently driving and will respond at a later time. Bilingual capabilities for both English and Spanish are available, and parents especially love the additional security features, which gives you insight into your child’s usage and whether the app is even enabled.
Down for the Count
Availability: iOS
Turn safe driving into a game with this fun app. Set a safe driving goal, and then get your family and friends involved by asking them to sponsor you. The app will track your driving habits and report back on what you are doing well and areas where you can improve. Once you reach your goal, you can cash in your winnings. Prizes are delivered via a gift card of your choosing, with available options from your favorite restaurant, retail, and financial providers.
LifeSaver
Availability: Android, iOS
Sometimes, we don’t even think to check our phones until the flash of a new notification piques our curiosity and we fall victim to temptation. LifeSaver quietly works in the background of your phone, sensing when you are in movement and automatically silencing all incoming notifications. Even if you try to use your phone while you are in motion, all you will receive in response is a locked screen until you are finished driving. In the meantime, you can still receive calls and use your phone as a passenger.
This App Saves Lives
Availability: iOS
Save lives and earn great rewards from your favorite brands, simply by staying off your phone while driving. It encourages users to choose to not use your phone for anything other than navigation, music or hands-free calls. As you do this, you earn points which are redeemable for many different rewards like Insomnia Cookies, Urban Outfitters and others.
