Distracted driving is one of the main causes of road fatalities in the United States today. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that distraction kills over 12,000 people in the US annually, rivaling impaired driving. You can see it every time you’re on the road — drivers with their heads in their phones at stoplights, on highways, near schools and playgrounds. It happens everywhere.

But drivers face different levels of danger from distracted driving. Distraction risk changes throughout the day, week, year, and season. It also changes depending on where you live.

For example, Oregon had the lowest level of distraction in 2023, with drivers using their phones for 1 minute and 7 seconds per hour on the road. Rhode Island was the worst in 2023, with 2 minutes and 11 seconds of distracted driving per hour — longer than your typical TV commercial break. This means that drivers in Rhode Island were 14% more likely to be in a fatal crash caused by distracted driving than drivers in Oregon last year.

From a regional perspective, drivers in Southern states are more distracted. Drivers in the 1,000-mile stretch from Louisiana to North Carolina spent an average of 2 minutes and 4 seconds per driving hour distracted — 27% higher than the US average.

Mapping the most distracted states

So, which states are the most distracted in the US?

To find out, you need to capture phone distraction at scale. CMT measures the risk behaviors of millions of drivers and identifies different types of distraction, like screen interaction, phone motion, and handheld and hands-free calling. In this analysis, we focus on phone motion, which is when a driver handles their phone while the screen is activated. For every state, we’ve measured the phone motion for thousands of drivers.

The results show that the gap between the top ten best and worst states for distracted driving is significant. In 2023, the least distracted states saw 1 minute and 20 seconds of distracted driving per driving hour. The riskiest states suffered 51% more distraction, reaching 2 minutes and 1 second per driving hour. This means the 35.8 million people in the 10 worst states for distracted driving faced a 7.8% higher chance of being injured or killed by a distracted driving crash.

We’ll cover the safest states in a future article. For now, let’s review the worst 10 states for distracted driving.

For a full state-by-state breakdown, download our report: The State of US Road Risk in 2024.

Let’s take a look at the worst states for distracted driving:

#1 – Rhode Island – 02:11: Rhode Island is the most distracted state in the US. The state is 33.2% more distracted than the national average. It’s also 55% more distracted than the four other New England states — one of the least distracted regions of the country. If Rhode Island reduced its levels of distracted driving to the US average of 1 minute and 38 seconds per hour, it would be able to prevent 1,300 crashes, 750 injuries, 6 fatalities, and $53 million in economic damages caused by distracted driving in a year.

#2 – Mississippi – 02:08:  Mississippi is the second most risky state. In 2023, drivers used their phones for 2 minutes and 8 seconds per driving hour, 31% higher than the nation’s averages. Like Rhode Island, if Mississippi were able to reduce its distracted driving levels to US averages, it would be able to prevent 3,300 crashes, 1,900 injuries, 15 fatalities, and $134 million in economic damages annually.

#3 – Louisiana – 02:07: Louisiana’s distracted driving risk is nearly the same as Mississippi’s. But with 3.4 million licensed drivers, its impact on distracted driving is larger. Reducing distraction in Louisiana to US levels would stop 5,500 crashes, 3,100 injuries, 25 fatalities, and $219 million in economic damages.

#4 & #5 – North Carolina and South Carolina – 02:06: The Carolinas are part of the 1,000-mile stretch in the Southeast that’s a cluster for distraction — 27% more distracted than the rest of the US. The two states also see the same levels of distraction with both being over 28% more distracted than the rest of the US. If North Carolina and South Carolina reduced distraction to national levels, the states would save 83 lives and prevent $721 million in annual economic damages.

#6 – Alabama – 02:05: While drivers in Alabama used their phones for an average of 2 minutes and 5 seconds last year, Alabama is taking steps to reduce distracted driving. In June 2023, it enacted a hands-free law that made it illegal for drivers to handle their phone behind the wheel. After the law went into effect, phone motion dropped 5.7% — preventing 900 crashes, 500 injuries, and four fatalities. A further reduction to US levels would avert nearly 6,000 crashes, 3,330 injuries, 27 deaths, and save $237 million annually.

#7 – Kansas – 01:59: Kansas is the seventh most risky state for distracted driving. It’s 13.8% more distracted than its neighboring states with drivers using their phones for an average of 1 minute and 59 seconds. Reducing distraction by 21% to reach to US levels would prevent 2,300 crashes, 1,300 injuries, 11 fatalities, and $93 million in economic damages.

#8 & #9 – Georgia and Nebraska 01:50: Georgia and Nebraska see the same levels of distraction risk. Both states also have hands-free laws and saw distracted driving decrease after enacting the laws in 2017 and 2018. However, years later, public awareness has waned, with drivers using their phones for 1 minute and 50 seconds on average. Collectively, a decrease in distraction would prevent over 6,000 crashes and $240 million in damages annually.

#10 – Oklahoma – 01:49: Oklahoma follows closely behind Georgia and Nebraska, with drivers averaging 1 minute and 49 seconds distracted behind the wheel. Oklahoma sees 11.6% more distraction than the US average. Meeting US levels of distraction would prevent 1,600 crashes, 900 injuries, 7 deaths, and save $64 million in economic damages.

By understanding what distraction looks in each state and the impact it has on crash rates, officials can create more targeted interventions, implement safe driving programs, and make infrastructure changes that make drivers safer, and save lives and money.