Traffic deaths by topic
Distracted driving deaths in the United States
In 2024, 3,208 people died in crashes involving a distracted driver in the United States, 8% of all traffic deaths and 0.9 per 100,000 people. That was down 2.3% from 3,283 in 2023, the fewest since 2020.
- Deaths, 2024
- 3,208
- Share of all traffic deaths
- 8%
- Per 100,000 people
- 0.9
- Change from 2023
- -2.3%
Trend
Distracted driving deaths by year
| Category | Deaths |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 3,380 |
| 2013 | 3,169 |
| 2014 | 3,197 |
| 2015 | 3,526 |
| 2016 | 3,490 |
| 2017 | 3,242 |
| 2018 | 2,858 |
| 2019 | 3,119 |
| 2020 | 3,154 |
| 2021 | 3,521 |
| 2022 | 3,316 |
| 2023 | 3,283 |
| 2024 | 3,208 |
Comparable figures start in 2012.
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Where
Distracted driving deaths by state, 2024
States record distraction very differently. Some crash report forms have a distraction field and others do not, so a state with a high share may simply record distraction more often. These figures are not a fair ranking of states.
| State | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 387 | 1.2 | 9% | -4.4% |
| Florida | 241 | 1.0 | 8% | -11.7% |
| Louisiana | 221 | 4.8 | 29% | -13.0% |
| New Jersey | 221 | 2.3 | 33% | +28.5% |
| California | 200 | 0.5 | 5% | +23.5% |
| New Mexico | 159 | 7.5 | 39% | -3.0% |
| Kentucky | 145 | 3.2 | 21% | -2.7% |
| Washington | 138 | 1.7 | 19% | +1.5% |
| New York | 105 | 0.5 | 10% | -7.9% |
| Missouri | 98 | 1.6 | 10% | -3.0% |
| Kansas | 83 | 2.8 | 24% | -27.8% |
| Tennessee | 76 | 1.0 | 6% | +15.2% |
| Arizona | 75 | 1.0 | 6% | -9.6% |
| Illinois | 74 | 0.6 | 6% | -39.3% |
| Georgia | 71 | 0.6 | 5% | +73.2% |
| Virginia | 68 | 0.8 | 7% | +38.8% |
| Michigan | 64 | 0.6 | 6% | +12.3% |
| Oklahoma | 61 | 1.5 | 9% | -4.7% |
| Colorado | 51 | 0.9 | 7% | -13.6% |
| Idaho | 50 | 2.5 | 21% | +25.0% |
| Wisconsin | 47 | 0.8 | 8% | +74.1% |
| Ohio | 44 | 0.4 | 4% | +10.0% |
| Alabama | 43 | 0.8 | 4% | +16.2% |
| Hawaii | 41 | 2.9 | 40% | +64.0% |
| Oregon | 38 | 0.9 | 7% | -43.3% |
| Massachusetts | 36 | 0.5 | 10% | -21.7% |
| Pennsylvania | 36 | 0.3 | 3% | -46.3% |
| Minnesota | 33 | 0.6 | 7% | +22.2% |
| Indiana | 31 | 0.4 | 4% | -40.4% |
| South Carolina | 31 | 0.6 | 3% | -16.2% |
| Iowa | 29 | 0.9 | 8% | +61.1% |
| Maryland | 24 | 0.4 | 4% | -42.9% |
| North Carolina | 21 | 0.2 | 1% | +23.5% |
| Arkansas | 19 | 0.6 | 3% | +26.7% |
| Utah | 19 | 0.5 | 7% | 0.0% |
| Mississippi | 18 | 0.6 | 2% | +20.0% |
| Maine | 14 | 1.0 | 8% | -17.6% |
| Nebraska | 14 | 0.7 | 6% | +40.0% |
| South Dakota | 12 | 1.3 | 8% | +200.0% |
| Montana | 10 | 0.9 | 5% | -41.2% |
| North Dakota | 10 | 1.3 | 11% | +400.0% |
| Connecticut | 9 | 0.2 | 3% | -18.2% |
| Nevada | 8 | 0.2 | 2% | +100.0% |
| West Virginia | 8 | 0.5 | 3% | +33.3% |
| Wyoming | 7 | 1.2 | 7% | -41.7% |
| Vermont | 5 | 0.8 | 8% | -37.5% |
| Delaware | 4 | 0.4 | 3% | 0.0% |
| New Hampshire | 4 | 0.3 | 3% | -42.9% |
| Alaska | 3 | 0.4 | 4% | +50.0% |
| Rhode Island | 2 | 0.2 | 4% | 0.0% |
| District of Columbia | 0 | 0.0 | 0% | — |
Rates use Census population estimates. Small states can swing a lot from year to year. Download CSV
When and where
When these crashes happen, 2020–2024
| Category | Fatal crashes |
|---|---|
| 12am | 536 |
| 1am | 453 |
| 2am | 496 |
| 3am | 387 |
| 4am | 295 |
| 5am | 407 |
| 6am | 519 |
| 7am | 525 |
| 8am | 489 |
| 9am | 516 |
| 10am | 552 |
| 11am | 587 |
| 12pm | 727 |
| 1pm | 725 |
| 2pm | 780 |
| 3pm | 863 |
| 4pm | 852 |
| 5pm | 891 |
| 6pm | 890 |
| 7pm | 779 |
| 8pm | 770 |
| 9pm | 749 |
| 10pm | 696 |
| 11pm | 606 |
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| Category | Fatal crashes |
|---|---|
| Sun | 2,213 |
| Mon | 2,009 |
| Tue | 1,955 |
| Wed | 2,074 |
| Thu | 2,065 |
| Fri | 2,379 |
| Sat | 2,442 |
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| Category | Fatal crashes |
|---|---|
| Jan | 1,008 |
| Feb | 1,009 |
| Mar | 1,173 |
| Apr | 1,145 |
| May | 1,373 |
| Jun | 1,330 |
| Jul | 1,382 |
| Aug | 1,403 |
| Sep | 1,441 |
| Oct | 1,416 |
| Nov | 1,199 |
| Dec | 1,258 |
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| Category | Fatal crashes |
|---|---|
| Daylight | 8,017 |
| Dark - Not Lighted | 3,388 |
| Dark - Lighted | 2,841 |
| Dusk | 381 |
| Dawn | 281 |
| Dark - Unknown Lighting | 171 |
| Other | 8 |
Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.
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Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2012–2024. Methodology