08/14/2026
Distracted driving is much more than texting behind the wheel. It includes anything that takes your eyes, hands, or attention away from driving, whether that's using a phone, adjusting controls, eating, dealing with passengers, or simply allowing your attention to wander. According to the latest fully classified NHTSA data, distracted driving crashes killed 3,208 people and injured 315,167 others in the United States in 2024. That's about 861 injuries every day. Distracted driving was reported in 5% of fatal crashes, 13% of injury crashes, and 12% of all police-reported crashes.
The danger doesn't stop with the distracted driver or their passengers. In 2024, 639 people killed in distracted-driving crashes were outside the distracted driver's vehicle, including pedestrians and bicyclists.
Young drivers are also particularly vulnerable, with drivers ages 15–20 having the highest proportion of distraction among drivers involved in fatal crashes. And these numbers may actually underestimate the problem, because distraction can be difficult to prove after a crash. The message is simple: when you're driving, driving deserves your full attention.