|
Abstract
|
DOT HS 813 559
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration works to reduce the occurrence of distracted driving and raise awareness of its dangers. This risky driving behavior poses a danger not only to vehicle occupants but pedestrians and pedalcyclists as well. Driver distraction is a specific type of driver inattention that occurs when drivers divert attention from the driving task to focus on some other activity. Often discussions regarding distracted driving center around cellphone use and texting, but distracted driving also includes things such as eating, talking to passengers, adjusting the radio/climate controls, or adjusting other vehicle controls. A distraction-affected traffic crash is any traffic crash in which a driver was identified as distracted at the time of the crash.
• Eight percent of fatal crashes, 12 percent of injury crashes, and 11 percent of all police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2022 were reported as distraction-affected traffic crashes.
• In 2022 there were 3,308 people killed and an estimated additional 289,310 people injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes involving distracted drivers.
• Five percent of all drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes in 2022 were reported as distracted at the time of the crashes. Six percent of drivers 15 to 20 years old, 21 to 24 years old, 25 to 34 years old, and 75+ years old involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted. Each of these age groups have the larger proportions of drivers who were distracted at the time of the fatal crashes.
• In 2022 there were 621 nonoccupants (pedestrians, pedalcyclists, and others) killed in distraction-affected traffic crashes.
This research note contains information on fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes based on data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and non-fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes from the Crash Report Sampling System (CRSS).
RESULTS from FARS, such as fatal crashes and fatalities, are actual counts, while results from CRSS, such as non-fatal crashes and people injured, are estimates. Refer to the end of this publication for more information on FARS and CRSS. In this note the terms "motor vehicle traffic crashes" and "traffic crashes" are used interchangeably. Also "cellphones" and "mobile phones" are used interchangeably.
Economic Cost for All Traffic Crashes
The estimated economic cost of all motor vehicle traffic crashes in the United States in 2019 (the most recent year for which cost data is available) was $340 billion, of which $98 billion resulted from distracted-driving traffic crashes.
Fatalities in Distraction-Affected Traffic Crashes
In 2022 there were 3,047 fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes that involved distraction (8% of 39,221 fatal crashes) nationwide. These crashes involved 3,124 distracted drivers since some crashes involved more than one distracted driver. Five percent (3,124 of 60,048) of drivers involved in fatal crashes were distracted. In distraction-affected traffic crashes, 3,308 fatalities (8% of 42,514 fatalities) occurred. Table 1 provides information on fatal traffic crashes, drivers involved in these crashes, and fatalities in distraction-affected crashes from 2018 to 2022.
Much attention has been focused on the dangers of using cellphones and other electronic devices while driving. In 2022 there were 368 fatal traffic crashes reported as having cellphone use as a distraction (12% of all distraction- affected fatal traffic crashes). For these distraction-affected crashes, the PCRs each stated that at least one of the involved drivers was talking on, listening to, or engaged in some other cellphone activity at the time of the crash. In 2022 a total of 402 people died in crashes involving at least one driver who was engaged in cellphone-related activities.
Language: en |