Illinois Ranked One Of The Deadliest States For Distracted Driving

Out of all the intersections you get stopped at every day, how many drivers do you see staring at a phone in their hand? I'd bet it's a high percentage. Even worse, how many drivers keep their eyes locked on the phone when the light turns green?

In 2020, I nearly collided head-on with an oncoming vehicle because I was ignorantly looking down at my phone. The close call scared me so much that I tossed my phone to the passenger side floorboard. Since then, my phone is always connected to my dashboard and out of reach. If I can't I can respond to a message or email at that moment so be it.

In 2020, Americans drove nearly 350,000 fewer miles than the previous years.

Considering the number of people staying home during the pandemic, the number of distracted driving fatalities was no less than in 2019.

From 2018 to 2019, the rate of distracted driving fatalities dropped 10% but from 2019 to 2020 it increased by 12%, according to MoneyGeek.

(top states graphic)

The top three states with the highest distracted driving rates are:

• New Mexico (#1)
• Lousiana (#2)
• Kansas (#30)

STATES WITH MOST DEATHS RELATED TO DISTRACTED DRIVING

MoneyGeek's data factors included:

• Distracted Driving Fatality Rate (per Billion Miles) [DDFR]: Distracted Driving Deaths 2019–2020 divided by 2019–2020 Miles Driven, multiplied by 1,000.
• Distracted Driving Deaths 2019–2020 [DDD]: The number of distracted driving-related fatalities in the indicated state from 2019 to 2020.
• 2019–2020 Miles Driven (Millions) [MD]: The number of miles in millions driven in the indicated state from 2019 to 2020.

STATES WITH MOST DEATHS RELATED TO DISTRACTED DRIVING DEATHS

New Mexico, Louisiana, and Kansas topped this list, respectively.

#4. Kentucky

#5. Hawaii

#6. Washington

#7. Wyoming

#8. Illinois (DDFR: 1.60, Distracted Driving Deaths: 322, MD: 201,606)

#9. New Jersey

#10. Idaho

You can find all the data here.