Distracted Driving Is Down, But More Drivers Engage in the Riskiest Distractions

Nearly one-third of vehicle crashes occur within one minute of a driver interacting with their phone, a new report finds. And although risky distracted-driving behaviors declined in 2024, they’re still a significant contributor to the number and severity of accidents and injuries, according to the report by Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT).

CMT, which provides telematics services to 21 of the 25 largest U.S. auto insurers, found that four of the seven risky distracted-driving behaviors declined in 2024. Fewer drivers spent time interacting with their phones, making hands-free phone calls, and speeding, CMT reports. But more drivers engaged in phone use at speeds above 50 mph, made handheld phone calls, and braked hard.

Phone use increases likelihood, speed, and severity of crashes

Whether it’s sending a text or email, playing a game, using an app, or entering a phone number, interacting with a phone screen significantly increases the risk of an accident, CMT’s data shows. In fact, the 10% of drivers who interact with their screens or move their phones the most are 240% more likely to get into an accident, according to the report.

Interacting with a phone screen also increases the speed of an accident by 21%. Doing anything with a phone — such as simply picking it up — boosts speed by 27%, and using the phone for a handheld call increases crash speed by 31%, CMT says.

In 2024, drivers spent an average of 116 seconds per hour interacting with their phone screens — an 8.6% decrease from 2023. That improvement equates to 105,000 fewer crashes, 59,000 fewer injuries, and nearly 480 fewer deaths, CMT estimates. Still, more than half of measured trips (52.7%) involved screen interaction.

Phone motion, which measures when a driver handles a phone for any purpose, decreased more than 11% in 2024, according to the report. But nearly one-third of all drivers who handle their phones are doing so at 55 mph or faster.

“Phone motion above 50 mph is becoming the most concentrated and dangerous form of distraction on U.S. roads,” CMT notes in its report. “Even as overall phone use declines, this metric is trending up, especially on weekends and during high-speed, long-distance trips. It’s a warning signal: the nature of distraction could be evolving, shifting into higher-risk territory.”

Speeding slows down, but hard braking accelerates

In 2024, the average amount of time drivers spent exceeding speed limits by 9.3 mph decreased significantly, from 122 seconds per hour to 107. And the percentage of trips that involved speeding declined to 28.4% in 2024 from 30.2% the year before.

But hard braking — which CMT defines as applying the brakes to decrease speed by more than 12.4 mph — increased in 2024. In 2023, CMT’s data indicated an average of 2.97 hard-braking events per 100 miles driven. In 2024, that number climbed to 3.04.

“Hard braking is a symptom of risky driving,” the report says. “It’s the physical response to looking at your phone too long, following too closely, or simply not paying attention.”

What’s next: The costs of distracted driving

Distracted driving claims thousands of lives each year — 3,275 in 2023, the last year for which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has data.

CMT drew data for its report from its DriveWell Fusion platform, an AI-powered telematics platform. Insurers like State Farm, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Plymouth Rock, Mercury, and Erie use CMT’s technology.

Many insurance companies factor screen interaction, phone motion, handheld phone calls, and hard braking into car insurance prices, CMT notes. And the crashes that result from distracted driving directly affect insurance premiums, according to Insurify, an insurance-comparison platform.

An at-fault accident increases insurance rates by 45%, on average, Insurify reports. And the accident can stay on your driving record for three to five years.

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