Distracted driving statistics by state
Across the United States, 2,954 fatal crashes in 2024, 8.1%, had a driver recorded as distracted. Recorded is the word: half of all drivers have no distraction entry at all, and states record it unevenly, so every share here is a floor and the ranking says as much about reporting as about driving.
All 50 states and the District of Columbia, ranked by the share. Click a state for its roads, counties and the rest of its figures.
Distracted driver: every state, 2024
Shares range from 0.0% in District of Columbia to 38% in Hawaii; the median state is at 6.2%.
| State | Fatal crashes | Share recorded, 2024 | Share, 2015 to 2024 | Phone, 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | 37 | 38% | 24% | 0.0% (0) |
| 2 | New Mexico | 140 | 37% | 39% | 0.8% (3) |
| 3 | New Jersey | 209 | 33% | 26% | 1.3% (8) |
| 4 | Louisiana | 207 | 29% | 21% | 1.3% (9) |
| 5 | Kansas | 76 | 24% | 23% | 3.5% (11) |
| 6 | Idaho | 48 | 22% | 15% | 0.5% (1) |
| 7 | Kentucky | 132 | 20% | 19% | 1.1% (7) |
| 8 | Washington | 129 | 19% | 21% | 0.6% (4) |
| 9 | North Dakota | 9 | 11% | 6.3% | 2.4% (2) |
| 10 | Oklahoma | 58 | 9.8% | 8.5% | 2.9% (17) |
| 11 | Massachusetts | 34 | 9.7% | 12% | 2.0% (7) |
| 11 | New York | 100 | 9.7% | 12% | 0.2% (2) |
| 13 | Missouri | 84 | 9.5% | 8.9% | 1.0% (9) |
| 13 | Texas | 360 | 9.5% | 10% | 1.3% (49) |
| 15 | Vermont | 5 | 9.4% | 7.1% | 0.0% (0) |
| 16 | Iowa | 27 | 8.3% | 7.0% | 2.2% (7) |
| 17 | South Dakota | 11 | 8.2% | 5.9% | 3.7% (5) |
| 18 | Florida | 229 | 7.8% | 7.9% | 0.5% (14) |
| 19 | Virginia | 64 | 7.4% | 11% | 1.6% (14) |
| 20 | Maine | 12 | 7.2% | 7.6% | 2.4% (4) |
| 20 | Minnesota | 31 | 7.2% | 8.0% | 3.5% (15) |
| 20 | Wisconsin | 38 | 7.2% | 9.9% | 1.7% (9) |
| 23 | Oregon | 35 | 7.1% | 5.7% | 0.8% (4) |
| 24 | Utah | 17 | 6.8% | 6.8% | 2.4% (6) |
| 25 | Colorado | 43 | 6.7% | 9.8% | 1.1% (7) |
| 26 | Tennessee | 68 | 6.2% | 6.7% | 1.6% (17) |
| 27 | Illinois | 65 | 6.0% | 9.8% | 0.8% (9) |
| 28 | Wyoming | 6 | 5.9% | 9.6% | 2.0% (2) |
| 29 | Arizona | 61 | 5.5% | 8.1% | 1.3% (15) |
| 30 | Nebraska | 12 | 5.4% | 5.8% | 2.7% (6) |
| 31 | Michigan | 54 | 5.3% | 5.9% | 1.4% (14) |
| 32 | California | 186 | 5.2% | 4.1% | 1.4% (49) |
| 32 | Montana | 10 | 5.2% | 8.7% | 1.0% (2) |
| 34 | Georgia | 67 | 5.1% | 4.2% | 0.8% (10) |
| 35 | Alaska | 3 | 4.8% | 5.8% | 0.0% (0) |
| 36 | Alabama | 41 | 4.6% | 5.5% | 1.6% (14) |
| 37 | Rhode Island | 2 | 4.2% | 3.0% | 2.1% (1) |
| 38 | Indiana | 30 | 3.8% | 5.7% | 0.8% (6) |
| 38 | Maryland | 21 | 3.8% | 9.6% | 2.0% (11) |
| 38 | Ohio | 41 | 3.8% | 5.0% | 0.6% (6) |
| 41 | Delaware | 4 | 3.3% | 6.6% | 0.0% (0) |
| 41 | New Hampshire | 4 | 3.3% | 6.7% | 0.8% (1) |
| 41 | South Carolina | 31 | 3.3% | 5.0% | 0.2% (2) |
| 44 | Connecticut | 9 | 3.2% | 3.4% | 0.7% (2) |
| 44 | Pennsylvania | 34 | 3.2% | 5.3% | 0.9% (10) |
| 46 | Arkansas | 17 | 3.1% | 3.6% | 0.7% (4) |
| 47 | West Virginia | 7 | 2.9% | 4.4% | 0.8% (2) |
| 48 | Mississippi | 17 | 2.5% | 1.7% | 0.4% (3) |
| 49 | Nevada | 8 | 2.1% | 3.0% | 0.0% (0) |
| 50 | North Carolina | 21 | 1.4% | 6.3% | 0.3% (4) |
| 51 | District of Columbia | 0 | 0.0% | 3.5% | 0.0% (0) |
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count
Download the distracted driving statistics by state table as CSV. Free to reuse with credit: “Fatal Crash Data, fatalcrashdata.com/distracted-driving-deaths-by-state/, from NHTSA FARS (2024 Annual Report File).”
Questions about distracted driving statistics by state
- How many fatal crashes involve distracted driving?
- Across the United States, 2,954 fatal crashes in 2024, 8.1%, had a driver recorded as distracted. Recorded is the word: half of all drivers have no distraction entry at all, and states record it unevenly, so every share here is a floor and the ranking says as much about reporting as about driving. Source: NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
- How many fatal crashes with a driver recorded as distracted were there in the United States in 2024?
- 2,954, 8.1% of 36,297 fatal crashes.
How NHTSA records fatal crashes with a driver recorded as distracted
A fatal crash counts as involving a distracted driver when NHTSA's driver-distraction table records any distraction or inattention for any driver in it (a phone, another occupant, eating, something outside the vehicle, or "inattentive, details unknown"). Drivers coded "not reported" or "unknown", half of all drivers since 2019, count as not distracted, so every share here is a floor. The share also depends on how fully each state's police record distraction, which is why the ranking swings far more than any other on this site; NHTSA itself calls distraction under-reported. The phone column counts crashes with any mobile-phone distraction.
A share is only given over 20 crashes (or deaths); otherwise the row says "Not enough data" and has no rank. Shares are of the state's own fatal crashes or deaths. For deaths per resident and per mile driven, see the car accident rate by state. The full method.