Distracted driving is worst in these states

Insurance company Assurance conducted a survey to find out where distracted driving is occurring the most.

According to the survey, half of respondents in Mississippi and New Hampshire indicated that they have texted while driving in the last month, the most in the nation.  Missouri came in third at 49%.

New York had the fewest respondents with texting distracted driving at 14.8%, followed by Pennsylvania (20%) and Oregon (22.5%).

When it comes to the number of times in a month people text and drive, West Virginians committed the most distracted driving instances at 11.3, followed by Missouri (10.9) and Texas (8.5). Again, New York had the fewest instances of texting while driving in the last month at 0.7, followed by Nebraska (1.3) and Minnesota (1.3). The average American driver texts while driving 4.8 times a month.

In total, 37% of U.S. drivers have texted while driving in the past month.

What kind of distracted driving behaviors are Americans exhibiting?

According to Assurance’s survey, more than two-thirds of Americans admitted to selecting music while driving, the most of the distracted driving behaviors. Other behaviors include:

• Checking the GPS (56.1%): Monitoring directions or inputting destinations without parking first can impair drivers’ ability to focus on the road.
• Interacting with Adults in the Car (54.8%): Engaging in emotionally charged discussions can divert attention from driving and compromise situational awareness.
• Eating Food (37.5%): Eating meals or snacks behind the wheel can be a dangerous distraction, as drivers handle food items and divert their attention from the road.
• Interacting with Children in the Car (21.1%): Conversations, disciplining children, or attending to their needs can divert attention and increase the risk of accidents.
• Texting and Emailing (19.2%): Typing, reading, or sending text messages diverts a driver’s attention visually, cognitively, and manually, significantly increasing the chances of collisions. Similarly, around 9.6% of drivers admit to checking their email while driving.
• Making a Phone Call (18.1%): While seemingly not as dangerous as texting and driving, using handheld devices to make calls requires visual and cognitive attention, leading to distracted driving and decreased reaction times.
• Grooming and Applying Makeup (11.9%): Activities like styling hair or adjusting makeup can divert attention from the road and increase the risk of accidents. Although less common, about 2.1% of drivers apply makeup while driving.
• Checking Social Media (7.4%): Scrolling through social media or posting updates diverts attention from the road, impairing a driver’s ability to anticipate and respond to traffic situations.

Nearly half of respondents have honked their horn at another driver who was texting or looking at their phone while driving. About one in five Americans don’t even know if their state has legislation that bans texting while driving.

Due to insufficient survey respondents, Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming were excluded from the analysis. LL