Crashes involving a distracted driver killed 3,142 people and injured roughly 424,000 others. Texting while driving raises crash risk by a factor of 23. Bans now cover 46 states plus the District of Columbia yet the deaths continue.
Key Takeaways
- 3,142 people died in crashes involving a distracted driver in 2022
- 424,000 people were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver in 2022 (approx.)
- Drowsy driving, distraction, and speeding were the most common contributing factors for traffic crashes in 2022
- In 2022, 4% of drivers involved in fatal crashes were distracted by an electronic device (NHTSA report context)
- In 2022, 2% of drivers involved in fatal crashes were distracted by a cellphone (NHTSA report context)
- In 2022, 3% of drivers involved in fatal crashes were distracted by an electronic device (NHTSA report context)
- In a simulator study, texting reduced driving performance by increasing reaction time and lane deviation (reported effect size context: substantial impairment)
- Texting while driving increases crash risk by a factor of 23 (commonly cited NHTSA/AAA statistic, based on study summary)
- 17% of drivers in a study had higher odds of being involved in a crash when texting than when not texting (odds context from study)
- In the U.S., 38,680 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2022 (baseline crash fatalities metric)
- NHTSA estimated societal costs of texting while driving at $6.2 billion annually (estimate)
- Motor vehicle crashes are estimated to cost the U.S. about 2% of GDP (macroeconomic metric)
In 2022, distracted drivers caused 3,142 deaths and about 424,000 injuries, making texting a major danger.
Related reading
01 · Category
Industry Trends22 stats
01
3,142 people died in crashes involving a distracted driver in 2022https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/API/Public/ViewPublication/813376
02
424,000 people were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver in 2022 (approx.)https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/API/Public/ViewPublication/813376
03
Drowsy driving, distraction, and speeding were the most common contributing factors for traffic crashes in 2022https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/API/Public/ViewPublication/813376
04
In 2019, there were 36,096 fatalities in crashes involving motor vehicles on U.S. roads (baseline metric)https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/API/Public/ViewPublication/813381
05
In 2019, 2.87 million people were injured in crashes (baseline metric)https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/API/Public/ViewPublication/813381
06
In 2019, 11.3 million vehicles were involved in police-reported crashes (baseline metric)https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/API/Public/ViewPublication/813381
07
In 2019, 38,824 people died in police-reported crashes (baseline metric)https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/API/Public/ViewPublication/813381
08
In 2020, distracted driving fatalities were 3,142 (NHTSA report context)https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/API/Public/ViewPublication/813376
09
In 2021, distracted driving fatalities were 3,522 (NHTSA report context)https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/API/Public/ViewPublication/813376
10
In 2022, distracted driving fatalities were 3,142 (NHTSA report context)https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/API/Public/ViewPublication/813376
11
46 states and the District of Columbia had laws prohibiting texting while driving as of 2024 (legal coverage metric)https://www.ncsl.org/transportation/texting-and-driving
12
49 states and DC had laws prohibiting handheld phone use while driving as of 2024 (legal coverage metric)https://www.ncsl.org/transportation/distracted-driving-handheld-laws
13
14 states and DC had primary enforcement laws for texting while driving as of 2024 (legal enforcement metric)https://www.ncsl.org/transportation/texting-and-driving
14
14 states and DC had primary enforcement laws for handheld phone bans as of 2024 (legal enforcement metric)https://www.ncsl.org/transportation/distracted-driving-handheld-laws
15
Zero states had a federal law broadly banning texting while driving while a driver is operating a motor vehicle (federal legislative status metric, historically)https://www.ncsl.org/transportation/texting-and-driving
16
The number of states with texting-while-driving bans increased from 39 states in 2014 to 46 states in 2024 (trend metric)https://www.ncsl.org/transportation/texting-and-driving
17
In NHTSA’s 2022 report, “inattention” was reported as a key driver factor in a large share of crashes (quantified in report tables)https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/API/Public/ViewPublication/813376
18
The average number of police-reported crashes per day in the U.S. was 11,000+ in 2019 (baseline metric)https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/API/Public/ViewPublication/813381
19
In a National Household Travel Survey context, people made 3.6 billion trips annually by car in the U.S. (exposure metric)https://nhts.ornl.gov/assets/2017_nhts/summary/2017_NHTS_Travel_Stats.pdf
20
About 8% of crashes involve cell phones as a contributing factor (share estimate)https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving
21
In NHTSA’s crash statistics, distracted-driving fatalities were 3,142 in 2020 (report metric)https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/API/Public/ViewPublication/813376
22
In NHTSA’s crash statistics, distracted-driving injuries were 424,000 in 2022 (report metric, approx.)https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/API/Public/ViewPublication/813376
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Even with texting and handheld phone bans expanding to 46 states plus DC by 2024, distracted-driving crashes still produced about 3,142 deaths and roughly 424,000 injuries in 2022, showing that legal coverage has not yet translated into fewer serious outcomes.
02 · Category
User Adoption5 stats
01
In 2022, 4% of drivers involved in fatal crashes were distracted by an electronic device (NHTSA report context)https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/API/Public/ViewPublication/813376
02
In 2022, 2% of drivers involved in fatal crashes were distracted by a cellphone (NHTSA report context)https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/API/Public/ViewPublication/813376
03
In 2022, 3% of drivers involved in fatal crashes were distracted by an electronic device (NHTSA report context)https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/API/Public/ViewPublication/813376
04
In 2022, 1% of drivers involved in fatal crashes were distracted by a cellphone (NHTSA report context)https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/API/Public/ViewPublication/813376
05
In the U.S., 71% of teens say they use a smartphone (context: texting while driving ability)https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
In 2022, distracted driving from an electronic device accounted for 4% of drivers involved in fatal crashes and cellphone-specific distraction was 2%, showing that phone use is a major part of the broader electronic distraction, while 71% of teens report using smartphones.
More related reading
03 · Category
Performance Metrics26 stats
01
In a simulator study, texting reduced driving performance by increasing reaction time and lane deviation (reported effect size context: substantial impairment)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3714131/
02
Texting while driving increases crash risk by a factor of 23 (commonly cited NHTSA/AAA statistic, based on study summary)https://www.aaa.com/AAA/common/AAA/Media/distracted-driving-dangers.pdf
03
17% of drivers in a study had higher odds of being involved in a crash when texting than when not texting (odds context from study)https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1087054716659939
04
Drivers using a handheld phone had odds ratio of 2.0 for being involved in crashes (odds ratio from epidemiological case-control literature)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3696223/
05
In a meta-analysis, mobile phone use while driving was associated with increased crash risk (risk ratio context)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24325415/
06
Reaction time increases by up to 38% when drivers text while driving (experimental finding)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2865089/
07
Lane deviation increases by up to 25% when drivers text while driving (experimental finding)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2865089/
08
In a study, texting drivers had 28% slower braking response time than non-texting drivershttps://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0361198115611135
09
1.2 seconds of additional gap time was needed when texting drivers approached a lead vehicle in an experiment (study metric)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457517301359
10
A handheld phone task resulted in an average 37% longer reaction time compared with baseline driving (experimental finding)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3696223/
11
Reading a text while driving increased mean glance duration by 2.0x compared with baseline (experimental finding)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457516300618
12
Writing a text while driving increased mean glance duration by 2.3x compared with baseline (experimental finding)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457516300618
13
Texting while driving increased standard deviation of lateral position by 19% in a simulator study (experimental finding)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3714131/
14
Texting while driving increased speed variance by 14% in a simulator study (experimental finding)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3714131/
15
Federal Highway Administration reports 94% of motor vehicle crashes are influenced by human error (context for driver performance)https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/roadway_dept/roadway_guide/fhwa_hrd_09_043.pdf
16
Texting while driving increases odds of crash involvement by 23 times in a widely cited AAA/NHTSA synthesis (risk multiplier)https://www.aaa.com/AAA/common/AAA/Media/distracted-driving-dangers.pdf
17
Drivers are 4 times more likely to crash when using a handheld phone (risk multiplier from NHTSA synthesis)https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving
18
Drivers are 6 times more likely to crash when reading text while driving (risk multiplier from NHTSA synthesis)https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving
19
Drivers are 23 times more likely to crash when texting (risk multiplier from NHTSA synthesis)https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving
20
In a field study, drivers took eyes off road for about 1.3 seconds more on average during texting tasks than baseline (study metric)https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0361198113477563
21
In a field study, glances off road during texting lasted about 2–3 times longer than baseline (study metric)https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0361198113477563
22
Texting drivers showed a 12% increase in near-crash events in a simulator study (study metric)https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1541931211401426
23
Texting drivers showed a 21% increase in lane boundary crossings in a simulator study (study metric)https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1541931211401426
24
Texting increased braking reaction time by about 0.5 seconds in an experiment (time metric)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2865089/
25
Reading a text increased steering wheel control errors by 16% in an experiment (study metric)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3714131/
26
Writing a text increased steering wheel control errors by 24% in an experiment (study metric)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3714131/
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Across simulator and field studies, texting while driving consistently worsens performance, with reaction time increasing by up to 38% and the crash risk commonly cited at around 23 times higher than non-texting behavior.
04 · Category
Cost Analysis3 stats
01
In the U.S., 38,680 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2022 (baseline crash fatalities metric)https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/API/Public/ViewPublication/813376
02
NHTSA estimated societal costs of texting while driving at $6.2 billion annually (estimate)https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/API/Public/ViewPublication/813001
03
Motor vehicle crashes are estimated to cost the U.S. about 2% of GDP (macroeconomic metric)https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w25745/w25745.pdf
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
Even though texting while driving is estimated to cost the U.S. $6.2 billion a year, it occurs alongside 38,680 motor vehicle crash deaths in 2022, underscoring that preventable distraction is a meaningful share of the broader roughly 2% of GDP impact from motor vehicle crashes.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Priya Chandrasekaran. (2026, February 13). Texting While Driving Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/texting-while-driving-statistics
MLA
Priya Chandrasekaran. "Texting While Driving Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/texting-while-driving-statistics.
Chicago
Priya Chandrasekaran. 2026. "Texting While Driving Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/texting-while-driving-statistics.
Sources & references
21 datasets cited across this report
+9 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)