2 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 3
US Road Risk
2020 20202021 2022CHANGE CHANGE
FATALITIES
38,824 42,915 10.5%
FATALITIES PER 100 MILLION MILES
1.34% 1.33% -0.7%
PEDESTRIAN FATALITIES
6,516 7,485 14.9%
CYCLIST FATALITIES
938 985 5%
SMARTPHONE OWNERSHIP
83% 85% 2.4%
PERCENTAGE OF TRIPS
WITH SCREEN INTERACTION
54% 58% 7.6%
SCREEN INTERACTION TIME
0:01:47 0:02:12 23.4%
PERCENTAGE OF TRIPS WITH
PHONE MOTION
34% 37% 7.7%
PHONE MOTION TIME
0:01:26 0:01:44 20.9%
PERCENTAGE OF TRIPS WITH
HANDHELD CALLS
4% 4% -7.4%
HANDHELD CALL TIME
0:00:31 0:00:25 -19.4%
PHONE MOTION ABOVE 50 MPH
33% 34% 5.0%
VEHICLES ON US ROADS (IN MILLIONS)
279 284 1.8%
TOTAL MILES DRIVEN (IN BILLIONS)
222 264 18.9%
MILES PER PERSON PER DAY
29.3 32 9.2%
2020-2022
Sources: Cambridge Mobile Telematics, Experian, American Petroleum Institute, Federal Highway Administration, NHTSA, Pew Research
4 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 5
Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Deadly Rise of Distracted Driving in America
6
DISTRACTION IS THE MOST URGENT ROAD SAFETY CRISIS FACING AMERICANS TODAY
10
DRIVER PERSPECTIVES
30
32
HOW AUTO INSURERS ARE FIGHTING DISTRACTED DRIVING
48
HOW GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS ARE CHANGING
DISTRACTED DRIVING IN AMERICA
50
NATIONAL DISTRACTED DRIVING COALITION
58
NDDC STEERING COMMITTEE AND STAKEHOLDERS
57
C
HANGING BEHAVIORS & IMPROVING ROAD SAFETY
Making roads safer by changing behavior with telematics
How cities are using telematics to change behavior, reduce
crashes, and limit economic damage
HANDS-FREE LEGISLATION: HOW STATES ARE FIGHTING DISTRACTED DRIVING
The impact of handheld bans on phone motion
Deep dive: The power of public awareness on distracted driving
The long-term eects of handheld bans
The impact of fines and enforcement on handheld bans
Drivers are confused about handheld laws
The importance of future-proofing hands-free legislation
36
ABOUT THE REPORT AND CAMBRIDGE MOBILE TELEMATICS
8
THE STATE OF DISTRACTED DRIVING ON AMERICAN ROADS
Dening distraction
Phone motion: Key trends 2020 - 2022
Screen interaction: Key trends 2020 - 2022
Screen interactions: The worst days of the year
Handheld calls: Key trends 2020 - 2022
Phone motion above 50 mph: Key trends 2020 - 2022
Speeding: Key trends 2020 - 2022
The impact of distracted driving on crash risk
The state of distracted driving on American roads: State by state
12
6 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 7
Executive Summary
The Deadly Rise of
Distracted Driving in America
Every 10% increase in distracted driving kills over 420
people and costs the American economy $4 billion
every year. With a 23% surge in distraction since 2020,
CMT estimates that the increase in distracted driving
caused an additional 420,000 crashes, 1,000 fatalities,
and $10 billion in damages to the US economy in 2022.
From 2020 to 2022, distracted driving increased by
over 20% in the United States. The two foundational
metrics for distracted driving, phone motion and
screen interaction, rose by 21% and 23%, respectively,
over the past 3 years. The increase in crashes
when drivers handle their phones and interact with
their screens is stark: The worst o
enders are over
240% more likely to crash than the safest drivers.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
reports that 42,915 people were killed on American
roads in 2021, the highest in 16 years. In 2020,
American roadways were the most dangerous since
2007, reaching 1.3 fatalities per 100M miles.
Smartphone adoption has continued to surge in the
face of the distracted driving crisis. When the iPhone
was introduced in 2007, over 4,600 pedestrians
were killed on American roadways. By 2021, 85% of
Americans owned a smartphone, 7,485 pedestrians
were killed — the most in 40 years — and there
were 985 cycling deaths, the highest since 1990.
NHTSA estimates that distracted driving killed 3,522
people in 2021, but caveats that the “estimates
are almost certainly conservative because they
are based only on identied distraction cases.”
By almost every metric CMT measures, distracted
driving is more present than ever on US roadways.
Drivers are spending more time using their phones
while driving and doing it on more trips. Drivers
interacted with their phones on nearly 58% of trips
in 2022, up from 54% in 2020, an 8% rise. Thirty-
four percent of phone motion distraction happens
above 50 mph, the highest rate in 3 years.
Distracted driving has increased on major holidays
since 2020, and is 2% higher than the typical day. In
2022, Thanksgiving had the highest percentage of
trips with screen interaction of any day of the year, with
over 62%, a 7% increase over 2020. Christmas had
the highest percentage of trips with screen interaction
over the past 3 years, averaging 61.5%. The average
winter day for the last 3 years saw 51% of trips with
screen interaction, 20% lower than Christmas.
Not surprisingly, Americans see the risks of distracted
driving every day. CMT survey data shows that 3
in 4 Americans in states without a handheld ban
see drivers texting while driving daily. Nearly 9 in
10 see drivers talking on the phone while driving.
Close to 7 in 10 said texting and driving is the most
dangerous activity you can do while driving.
Distracted driving signicantly increases the chance
of crashing. CMT research has uncovered two
key insights on this front. The rst is that drivers
who crash are 2X more likely to interact with their
phone the minute before the crash. In other words,
drivers who crash are more likely to be distracted
before the crash. The second nding is that of all
the drivers who crash, 34% interacted with their
phones within the minute before the crash.
There is hope to reduce distracted driving and
dangerous driving behaviors. CMT has conducted
research to study the impact of feedback and
engagement on behavior for drivers in telematics
programs. In one study, drivers who received
feedback reduced risky behaviors like hard braking
by 15%. A separate CMT study on driver feedback
with a top 10 auto insurer showed that drivers who
received a distraction score were 25% less distracted
than the drivers who didn’t. CMT’s research into
engagement shows that drivers who are highly
engaged with their telematics app are 57% less
distracted than unengaged drivers. Another study
found that highly engaged drivers are not only less
distracted in general, but reduce their distraction
by 20% after 3 months in a telematics program.
These safety improvements from telematics programs
have helped cities reduce risky behaviors on their
roads. Starting in 2016, cities and states like Boston,
Seattle, San Antonio, Los Angeles, and Oklahoma have
partnered with CMT to run Safest Driver programs,
with safe driving prizes reaching $20,000. Boston’s
Safest Driver Program in 2019 reduced distracted
driving by 48%, speeding by 38%, and hard braking
by 57%. This kind of behavior change results in
signi
cant road safety improvements, reducing
crashes and injuries by over 12%. With this reduction
in risk, a program like LA’s Safest Driver, which had
12,000 participants, would see over 90 fewer crashes
and crash-related savings of over $2.1 million.
CMT studied the level of distracted driving in
eight states that introduced hands-free legislation
since 2018, representing over 34 million drivers.
On average, these states saw a 13% reduction
in phone motion within three months of the law
going into eect. With a sustained 13% reduction
in distracted driving, these states could prevent
over 38,000 crashes, save close to 100 lives, and
prevent $930 million in crash-related costs.
CMT also analyzed the power of news coverage and
public awareness for the handheld ban in Virginia,
beginning January 1, 2021. Google searches for
“phone law” in Virginia reached their peak the week of
January 1, doubling the amount from the week before.
During that same week, Virginia saw its steepest
decline in phone engagement while driving, falling
21% compared to the month before. A 21% drop in
distraction in Virginia for 1 week would help reduce the
crash rate by 2.94%, prevent over 200 crashes, 1 fatality,
and save the state nearly $5 million in crash costs.
Despite these initial reductions in distraction after
handheld bans went into eect, CMT research found
that most drivers do not know what the law is in
their state. In states with a handheld ban, just 32%
of drivers said they knew about it. About 40% didn’t
know about the regulation or didn’t understand
what it meant. In states without a handheld ban,
drivers were even less clear about the laws. Only
8% of drivers correctly said their state doesn’t have
a ban. Fifty-three percent thought there was a ban,
and 58% didn’t understand the details of the laws.
In addition to state governments, the auto insurance
industry has taken signicant steps to combat
distracted driving. The industry as a whole invests
billions of dollars every year to make drivers
safer. Every top 10 auto insurer has a usage-
based insurance program that incentivizes safe
driving with premium discounts. Seven of the top
10 insurers use distraction as a pricing variable,
meaning that if you handle your phone for texting,
app use, or phone calls, your discount is at risk.
Telematics also gives road safety planners the ability
to scale naturalistic driving behavior research at a
highly ecient cost, which can transform the ways
they create and evaluate highway safety plans.
There are no other methodologies or data sources
that provide them with population-level insight into
the prevalence of aggressive driving, speeding,
and distracted driving risk. Telematics is also the
only data source that can give road safety planners
ongoing visibility into the eectiveness of road safety
programs before a crash. Relying on the absence
of fatal crashes doesn’t provide insights into the
changes in behaviors that ultimately lead to crashes.
8 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 9
About
CMT’s new report, “The State of Distracted
Driving in 2023 & the Future of Road Safety”
is a data-driven analysis made possible by
mobile sensing and arti
cial intelligence.
CMT’s research on distracted driving is rooted in
the work our cofounders began in 2004 when they
started the CarTel project at MIT to develop a mobile
sensing system to collect and draw inferences from
sensor data on mobile devices. Since its founding
in 2012, CMT has gathered anonymized driving
data on hundreds of billions of miles throughout the
US with our AI-based telematics platform. In 2019,
we began publishing annual reports on the latest
trends and insights into distraction. This is our fourth
research report on distracted driving since 2019.
Our work on distracted driving and road safety
has been cited in NHTSA’s Traffic Safety Report,
hailed as a Vision Zero success story by the Federal
Highway Administration, used to uncover new
insights in academic research from institutions like
UPENN, Stanford, and Johns Hopkins, and has
helped the largest auto insurers around the world
reduce crash frequency by as much as 24%.
CMT’s AI-driven telematics platform has the
unique ability to help society understand distracted
driving behaviors in ways never before possible.
It uses advanced signal processing and articial
intelligence to make sense of complex sensor data
from connected vehicles, Tags, smartphones, and
dashcams and extracts insights about distraction
and other driving behaviors. It captures over 1 trillion
sensor time series points and processes over 25
petabytes of data per day. This technology and scale
allow CMT to directly observe and analyze the most
granular events of distracted driving in real time.
CMT analyzes distraction events with its DriveWell®
platform. These events include when the phone is in
motion, when there is screen interaction, when the
phone is in a mount, when handheld and hands-free
calls are made, and contextual information like speed
bands, time of day, road types, weather, and more. In
this report, we focus on the distraction elements that
both governments and auto insurers seek to reduce
through policy and pricing practices. These elements
include handheld phone calls and handheld phone use,
which includes phone motion and screen interaction.
The telematics data cited in the report is from drivers
within the rst two weeks of their telematics program.
CMT is a privacy-rst telematics service provider. The
driving data CMT analyzes is based on the physics
of the sensors embedded in vehicles, smartphones,
Tags, and dashcams. This means that while we can
detect behaviors like screen interaction, when the
phone is in motion, and handheld phone calls, we
do not know — nor do we want to know — what the
content is or who is communicating. We do not know
what apps are being used, what is on the screen, what
the screen interaction is for, or who is texted, called,
or in the communication. Video analytics include
general behaviors like when the driver is holding
their phone and taking their eyes o the road.
About Cambridge Mobile Telematics
Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT) is the world’s largest telematics service provider. Its mission is to make the
world’s roads and drivers safer. The company’s AI-driven platform, DriveWell®, gathers sensor data from millions of
IoT devices — including smartphones, proprietary Tags, connected vehicles, dashcams, and third-party devices —
and fuses them with contextual data to create a unied view of vehicle and driver behavior. Companies from personal
and commercial auto insurance, automotive, rideshare, smart cities, wireless, nancial services, and family safety
industries use insights from CMT’s platform to power their risk assessment, safety, claims, and driver improvement
programs. Headquartered in Cambridge, MA, with oces in Budapest, Chennai, Seattle, Tokyo, and Zagreb, CMT
serves millions of people through over 95 programs in 25 countries, including 21 of the top 25 US auto insurers.
NO DATA SOLD
Consumer data is not used for any other
services besides those oered by CMT. CMT
does not sell driving data to third parties.
CMT’s commitment to privacy
RETENTION
Data is only stored for as long as it’s
necessary to provide CMT’s services.
CONSENT
Users must opt into a CMT program.
They can opt-out at any time.
END-TO-END ENCRYPTION
From collection to storage, data is
encrypted at transfer and at rest.
TRANSPARENCY
CMT provides a clear explanation to its users
of what data is collected and how it is used.
MINIMUM AMOUNT OF DATA
CMT only collects the minimum personal
information necessary to provide its services.
In general, the only PII CMT collects is Unique
Identier, GPS coordinates, and IP address.
10 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 11
Distraction is the most urgent road
safety crisis facing Americans today
Phone motion time Average phone motion Screen interaction Average screen interaction
Driving is perhaps the most dangerous activity
Americans do every day. The National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration reports that 42,915 people were
killed
on American roads in 2021, the largest number
since 2002, and an outlier in the world. In 2020,
American roadways reached 1.3 fatalities per 100M
miles, their highest level since 2007. Pedestrian
fatalities also set records in 2021 with 7,485 auto-
related deaths, their highest point in 40 years. NHTSA
puts the cost of these tragedies at a staggering $340
billion annually for the US economy. Distracted driving
sits at the heart of this crisis.
PHONE MOTION & SCREEN INTERACTION TIME: 2020 - 2022
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
Distraction-related fatalities are likely much higher. NHTSA highlights the challenges of estimating the number of
fatalities caused by distracted driving in The Economic and Societal Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2019: “These
[fatality] estimates are almost certainly conservative because they are based only on identi
ed distraction cases.
Police records frequently fail to identify whether distraction was involved in the crash.” The report also notes that
“roughly 13 percent of all fatal crashes and 4 percent of all nonfatal crashes were coded in CRSS as ‘not reported’ or
‘unknown if distracted.’”
Non-lethal distracted driving crashes oer another window into the scale of the problem. In 2020, NHTSA reported
over 320,000 distraction-related injuries, with 420,000 in 2019. From 2015 to 2020, distraction-related crashes
accounted for up to 16% of all crashes in the US.
SMARTPHONE OWNERSHIP AND PEDESTRIAN AND CYCLIST DEATHS ARE INCREASING
Source: NHTSA & Pew Research
Pedestrain fatalities Cyclist fatalities Smartphone ownership
35%
85%
In a
seminal study on the causes of car crashes, The
Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that 94%
of all crashes are due to human actions or inactions,
including human error, impairment, fatigue, and
distraction. CMT data shows that 58% of trips in 2022
had some form of screen interaction, and that 34% of
phone motion distraction occurred above 50 mph. By
2022, phone screen interactions and phone motion
reached 2 minutes and 12 seconds (2:12) and 1:44 of
every driving hour, respectively. CMT’s research also
shows that 34% of crashes happen within 1 minute
after a driver interacts with their phone. NHTSA
estimates that distracted driving killed 3,522 people
in 2021.
According to
Pew Research, smartphone adoption has
continued to surge in the face of the distracted driving
crisis. When the iPhone was introduced in 2007, over
4,600 pedestrians were killed on American roadways.
Ten years later, in 2017, as smartphone penetration
reached 77%, pedestrian fatalities increased by nearly
30%, topping 6,000. By 2021, smartphone penetration
began to plateau, with 85% of Americans owning a
smartphone. However, with record-breaking phone
use while driving that year, pedestrian fatalities broke
40-year highs. Cycling deaths have followed the same
trend, with 985 deaths in 2020, the highest number
since 1990.
Distracted driving, particularly smartphone screen
interaction and phone handling, has long been known
to increase cognitive load, impairing drivers’ ability to
focus on the road. The Virginia Tech Transportation
Institute found that sending or receiving a text message
takes a driver’s eyes off the road for an average of 4.6
seconds,
equivalent to traveling the length of a football
eld at 55 mph blindfolded. David Strayer, a cognitive
psychologist at the University of Utah, found that
drivers engaged in distracted driving experience a
“technology hangover.” After hanging up the phone, it
takes the driver up to 27 seconds to regain focus.
The consequences are deadly. In collaboration with our
insurance partners, CMT has studied the level of risk
associated with dierent events, including distraction.
The ndings show that the most distracted drivers are
2.4 times more likely to crash than the least distracted
drivers. Across all drivers, CMT has found that a 10%
increase in distracted driving would increase the crash
rate by 1.4%. A 1.4% rise in distraction would increase
crashes by 168,000 and cause 420 fatalities.
Distraction minutes per driving hour
0:01:00
January 2020 January 2021 January 2022 January 2023
0:01:30
0:02:00
0:03:00
0:02:30
Pedestrians killed
Cyclists killed
0
2005 2010 2015 2020
2,000
250
4,000
500
8,000
1,000
6,000
750
12 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 13
The state of distracted driving
on American roads
To help the public better understand the scope of
distracted driving, NHTSA has actively measured how
drivers use communication devices since 1994 through
its National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS).
NOPUS relies on roadside observers collecting data
on distraction at red lights, oering a glimpse into the
prevalence of distracted driving.
Since 2012, NOPUS ndings have shown a decline in
handheld cellphone use. In 2012, 5.2% of drivers were
observed talking on handheld phones at red lights,
compared to just 2.1% in 2021.
While observational studies like NOPUS provide
valuable insights, their scope is limited to stationary
vehicles, and they struggle to oer a comprehensive,
nationwide understanding of phone-related
distractions.
That’s where telematics comes in. Auto insurers,
automakers, rideshare providers, delivery platforms,
local and state governments, wireless companies,
nancial services, and family safety organizations have
turned to telematics as a scalable and accurate method
for measuring driving behavior.
By almost every metric CMT measures, distracted
driving is more present than ever on US roadways. Not
only are drivers spending more time interacting with
their phones, they’re doing it on more trips. Drivers
interacted with their phone on nearly 58% of trips in
2022, up from 54% in 2020, an 8% rise, leading to a
potential increase in 158,000 crashes and 400 fatalities.
They’re also handling their phones at over 50 mph at
the highest rate in 3 years. Speeding has increased
since 2020, reaching 2:14 of every trip. In this section,
we’ll dene and deconstruct the deadly behaviors
happening on US roads.
CMT measures distracted driving using complex
algorithms based on data from the phone’s sensors,
including the accelerometer, gyroscope, compass,
and more. CMT provides contextual data on distracted
driving, such as speeding, to understand the velocity
people are traveling while distracted. CMT also
identies when distracted driving precedes a hard
brake and crash.
The data enables CMT to identify and measure
four distinct distraction behaviors. Each distraction
behavior has its own risk prole, prevalence, and state
regulations associated with it.
LEADING TO A POTENTIAL INCREASE IN
DRIVERS INTERACTED WITH THEIR PHONES ON NEARLY
58% OF TRIPS
158,000 CRASHES
+ 400 FATALITIES
HANDS-FREE
CMT classies a call as hands-free when the
audio is coming from Bluetooth, headphones, or
speakerphone. With greater access to hands-free
systems and mounting legislation against handheld
calls, drivers make hands-free during 17% of
their trips, a 30% increase since 2020. Currently,
hands-free calls are legal in every state and have
served as the foundation for hands-free legislation
nationwide. Auto insurers do not use hands-free in
usage-based insurance pricing. Because of this,
we will not focus on hands-free calls in this report.
Dening distraction
PHONE MOT
ION
CMT denes phone motion events as when a phone is
rotating with the screen on while the vehicle is moving.
Auto insurers use phone motion in usage-based
insurance pricing, which means it can impact a driver’s
premium. Phone motion indicates handheld activity,
which has been banned in 29 states. It’s also illegal for
teens and bus drivers to handle their phone while
driving in most states. CMT reports on the time spent
with the phone in motion as well as the percentage
of trips that include phone motion. Drivers have spent
more time handling their phone over the past two years,
reaching 1:44 of every hour behind the wheel in 2022,
rising nearly 21% from 2020. Drivers with the 10%
highest levels of phone motion activity are 240% more
likely to crash than those with the 10% lowest levels.
HANDHELD CALLS
CMT denes handheld calls as a call that’s in
progress with audio coming from the device while
the car is moving. From 2020 to 2022, time spent
making handheld calls while driving dropped over
19%, from 31 seconds to 25 seconds an hour, likely
due to the increased availability of built-in Bluetooth
systems in more sophisticated vehicles and handheld
bans. Thirty-ve states have made handheld calls
illegal. Like screen interaction and phone motion,
auto insurers use handheld phone calls in their
usage-based insurance pricing. CMT measures
handheld calls based on the time spent making a
handheld call as well as the percentage of trips that
include phone motion. The worst oenders making
handheld phone calls are 135% more likely to crash
than drivers who don’t make handheld calls.
SCREEN INTERACTION
Screen interaction indicates everything from writing
an email or a text, to using an app, entering a phone
number, playing a game, and more. It measures
physical interaction with the phone’s screen. Like
phone motion, auto insurers use screen interaction
in usage-based insurance pricing. CMT measures
screen interaction by time spent per hour of driving
and by the percentage of trips that include screen
interaction. Texting is illegal in every state in the US
except for Montana and Missouri. Despite these
laws, drivers spent 2:12 of every hour on the road
interacting with their phone screen in 2022, an
increase of over 23% since 2020. Like phone motion,
drivers who interact with their phone screen while
driving the most are 240% more likely to crash
than drivers who don’t interact with their screen.
14 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 15
Phone motion
KEY TRENDS 2020 - 2022
Since 2020, drivers have spent more time handling their phone every year. In 2020, drivers handled their phone for
1:26 of every hour on the road. In 2021, that time lept to 1:36, an increase of over 11%. By 2022, drivers were handling
their phone for 1:44, an 8% increase over 2021, and a signicant 21% jump over 2020. For context, 1:44 translates to
driving over 1 mile at 35 mph.
Trips with phone motion events have increased as well. In 2020, 34% of trips included some form of phone motion.
By 2022, that gure rose by nearly 8% to reach 37%.
Drivers use their phone at dierent rates throughout the year. Drivers interacted with their phone for 1:31 per hour
during the winter from 2020 to 2022, 5% lower than summer averages. However, as phone motion increased over
the years, winter caught up and surpassed the other seasons. By 2022, winter and spring were the highest months
for phone motion, with 1:47 per hour each.
Phone motion time Average phone motion time
PHONE MOTION TIME
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
PHONE MOTION BY SEASON
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
PHONE MOTION DURING BACK TO SCHOOL
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
Distraction minutes per driving hour
PHONE MOTION TIME
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
Back to school Annual average
Winter SummerSpring Fall
2020 2021 2022
2020 2021 2022
0:01:00
January 2020 January 2021 January 2022 January 2023
0:01:15
00:01:30
0:02:00
0:01:45
This ip in the seasons has also impacted back-to-
school driving, which we dene as from the beginning
of August through Labor Day. In 2020, phone motion
during back-to-school was 7% higher than the annual
average. Back-to-school phone motion rose slower
than the annual averages from 2020 through 2022,
increasing 5% to the annual average’s 21%. By 2022,
phone motion during back to school was 6% lower than
annual rates.
Weekly patterns for phone motion show that
weekdays have higher phone motion times compared
to weekends. The average phone motion time on
weekdays was 1 minute and 37 seconds, while the
weekend average was 1 minute and 32 seconds,
5.2% lower.
0:01:10
0:01:20
00:01:30
0:01:50
0:01:40
0:01:25
0:01:30
0:01:35
0:01:45
0:01:40
2020
0:01:26
2021
0:01:36
2022
0:01:44
16 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 17
TIME SPENT INTERACTING WITH PHONE SCREENS
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
Screen interaction has followed a similar pattern to phone motion since 2020, but more aggressively. It has
increased every year in both duration and the percentage of trips. Since 2020, screen interaction time has increased
by over 10% every year. By 2022, screen interaction time had skyrocketed over 23% to reach 2:12 of every driving
hour, the equivalent of traveling over 1 ¼ miles at 35 mph. The percentage of trips with screen interaction reached
58% in 2022, an 8% increase over 2020.
During the back-to-school period, both phone motion
and screen interaction times increased from 1:54 in
2020 to 2:07 per hour in 2022. Back-to-school driving
saw higher rates of screen interaction in 2020 and
2021, but was lower than the annual averages in 2022.
Drivers were more engaged with screen interaction
on weekends than on weekdays for the past 3 years.
The average screen interaction time on weekdays was
1:57. On weekends, it increased to 2:03, marking a 5.1%
change.
SCREEN INTERACTION TIME
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics Screen interaction time Average screen interaction time
Distraction minutes per driving hour
0:01:00
January 2020 January 2021 January 2022 January 2023
0:01:30
0:02:00
0:03:00
0:02:30
SCREEN INTERACTION TIME BY SEASON
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
SCREEN INTERACTION DURING BACK TO SCHOOL
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
2020 2021 2022
Like phone motion, drivers interact with their screens at dierent rates throughout the year. From 2020 to 2022, winter
had the lowest rate of screen interaction at 1:52, about 9% lower than summer driving. Spring and fall follow at 1:59 and
2:01, respectively. Summer averaged 2:02 per hour. In 2020 and 2021, winter had the lowest rate of screen interaction.
However, by 2022, the seasons essentially ipped. Winter had the highest levels of screen interaction at 2:16, followed by
spring. Summer and fall were the lowest in 2022.
Winter SummerSpring Fall
Back to school Annual average
2020 2021 2022
0:01:30
0:01:45
00:02:00
0:02:15
0:01:40
0:01:50
0:02:00
0:02:10
Screen interaction
KEY TRENDS 2020 - 2022
0:02:12
2022
2020
0:01:47
2021
0:01:58
18 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 19
As with seasonal uctuations, specic days throughout the year have higher levels of distracted driving. To uncover
the days that see higher levels of distraction, we analyzed the percentage of trips with screen interaction throughout
the year. We identied the major US holidays and cultural events, like the Super Bowl and Election Day, that would
impact broader driving trends and measured their level of trips with screen interaction from 2020 through 2022. (For
an event like Election Day, we only measured 2020 and 2022 when there were presidential and midterm elections.)
HOLIDAY TRIPS WITH PHONE INTERACTION
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
What we found was that almost every holiday and cultural event we measured had higher levels of trips with screen
interactions than the average day. For the past 3 years, 56% of trips had a screen interaction event. Only Election
Day, Valentine’s Day, and the Super Bowl had lower levels of screen interaction. Labor Day, Mother’s Day, Halloween,
and Memorial Day were all higher than the daily average, but by less than 2%. Easter, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s
Day, and Christmas Eve were 2-3% higher than the average day.
ELECTION
DAY
LABOR
DAY
JULY 4SUPER
BOWL
HALLOWEEN NEW YEARS
EVE
NEW YEARS THANKSGIVINGVALENTINE’S
DAY
MOTHER’S
DAY
EASTERDAILY
AVERAGE
MEMORIAL
DAY
CHRISTMAS
EVE
CHRISTMAS
The two holidays that stand apart are Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thanksgiving sees 60% of trips with screen
interaction, an 8% increase over the daily average. Trips with screen interaction on Christmas are nearly 11% higher
than average, over 61%. However, looking at the daily average masks the seasonal trends for the Christmas holiday.
The average winter day for the past 3 years saw 51% of trips with screen interaction, 20% lower than Christmas.
These ndings show that while drivers need to focus on the road while driving every day, it’s extra important for
them to stay vigilant during the major holidays. On average, 118 people died on US roadways every day in 2021.
The National Safety Council estimates there were
515 fatalities on Thanksgiving and 371 on Christmas that year.
Screen interaction
THE WORST DAYS OF THE YEAR
54%
55%
55%
56%
56%
56%
56%
56%
57%
57%
57%
57% 57%
60%
61%
20 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 21
Distraction minutes per driving hour
0:00:00
January 2020 January 2021 January 2022 January 2023
0:00:15
0:00:30
0:00:45
0:01:00
Handheld calls, which have been banned in 35 states, have been declining both in time and percentage of trips since
2020. Handheld call duration has dropped from 31 seconds to 25 seconds per hour in the past 3 years, a dierence
of over 19%. The percentage of trips with handheld calls has also diminished since 2020, falling from 3.9% to 3.6% of
all trips, an 8% decrease.
Seasonal trends for handheld calls have shifted since 2020. The season with the highest level of handheld calls was
spring 2020, when drivers spent 35 seconds per hour on the phone. Spring 2020 includes the start of the Covid-19
pandemic, when roads opened up and risky behaviors increased. Since 2020, handheld calls in the spring have
dropped to 25 seconds an hour. Handheld call duration has fallen during the back-to-school period as well, matching
the annual 25-second-an-hour rate in 2022.
Handheld calls last longer during the week, averaging 30 seconds on weekdays compared to just 21 seconds on the
weekends, a 31% change. The longest phone calls happen on Wednesdays, lasting 31 seconds.
HANDHELD CALL TIME
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
TIME SPENT MAKING HANDHELD PHONE CALLS
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
TIME SPENT MAKING HANDHELD PHONE CALLS BY SEASON
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
TIME SPENT MAKING HANDHELD CALLS BY DAY
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
2020
0:00:30
0:00:31 0:00:31
0:00:30
0:00:29
0:00:21
0:00:20
2021 2022
Winter SummerSpring Fall
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNEDSDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY
Handheld call time
Average handheld call time
0:00:20
0:00:25
0:00:30
0:00:35
Handheld calls
KEY TRENDS 2020 - 2022
0:00:31
2020
0:00:26
2021
0:00:25
2022
22 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 23
PERCENTAGE OF PHONE MOTION ABOVE 50 MPH
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
PHONE MOTION ABOVE 50 MPH BY SEASON
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
PERCENT OF PHONE MOTION ABOVE 50 MPH BY DAY
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
Winter SummerSpring Fall
33%
34%
34%
Context helps when assessing driver risk. This is why CMT analyzes distraction risks and puts them in the context of
other behaviors, like speeding. CMT’s percentage of phone motion above 50 mph metric helps us understand how
often distracted driving is happening at high speeds. The metric measures the percentage of phone motion that
happens above 50 mph.
Between 2020 and 2021, phone motion above 50 mph increased by 4.5% from 33% to 34%. In 2022, that number
increased by a minimal 0.6%. Unlike the other distraction metrics, seasonal averages for phone motion above
50 mph were relatively consistent, with winter averaging 33%, spring and fall both averaging 34%, and summer
averaging 35%. The back-to-school period saw phone motion above 50 mph higher than the annual average. As with
other metrics, the annual average is growing faster than the back-to-school period, with less than a 0.5% gap in 2022.
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNEDSDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY
The largest variation in phone motion above 50 mph is throughout the week. The average percentage on
weekdays was 33%. The weekends see that number rise to 36%, a 12% increase. Sunday is the worst day of the
week for phone motion above 50 mph, reaching 37%.
2020
2020
2021
2021
2022
2022
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
33%
32%
32% 32%
34%
36%
37%
Phone motion above 50 mph
KEY TRENDS 2020 - 2022
24 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 25
TIME SPENT SPEEDING BY SEASON
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
TIME SPENT SPEEDING BY DAY
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
Winter SummerSpring Fall
Speeding has fluctuated greatly throughout the pandemic years. CMT defines speeding as when the vehicle
is traveling 9.3 mph over the speed limit for at least 5 seconds. As we highlighted in our 2022 report, speeding
increased when there were fewer drivers on the road during strong Covid-19 variants. Despite those swings, the
amount of time drivers have spent speeding on US roadways has increased every year since 2020. By 2022, drivers
were speeding for 2:14 of every hour on the road, a 7% increase over 2020.
T
IME SPENT SPEEDING
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
Speeding also increases dramatically during the summer months. From 2020 to 2022, the average time spent
speeding during the summer was 2:15, compared to winter’s 1:58, a 14% dierence. However, in 2022, spring had
overtaken summer as the season with the most speeding. Winter also caught up with summer in 2022, registering
2:16 of speeding per hour each. Speeding during back-to-school tracks with other risk metrics. From 2020 to 2021,
speeding was higher than the daily average. In 2022, the daily speeding average surpassed the back-to-school
period.
General speeding matches the trends we saw with phone motion over 50 mph. Weekend driving sees
35% more speeding than on weekdays. Sunday is the worst day of the week, reaching 2:49, almost a
minute more than Tuesday’s 1:52. Both Monday and Friday have elevated levels of speeding compared
to Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
2020 2021 2022
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNEDSDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY
0:01:40
0:01:50
0:02:00
0:02:10
0:02:20
Speeding
KEY TRENDS 2020 - 2022
0:02:14
2022
0:02:05
2020
0:02:07
2021
0:02:03
0:01:52
0:01:53
0:01:55
0:02:02
00:02:26
0:02:49
26 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 27
The impact of
distracted driving
on crash risk.
CMT uses advanced sensor processing and machine
learning to understand driving risk and when crashes
occur. These insights enable us to develop a deeper
understanding of how individual risk factors like
distracted driving impact the likelihood of crashing.
In a study across multiple US auto insurers, we analyzed how
often distracted driving had occurred in the minute before a crash.
We found that drivers who crashed were 2X more likely to have
interacted with their phone in the minute before the crash.
The second nding from the study shows how prevalent distracted
driving is among drivers who crash. Thirty-four percent of all drivers
who crash interact with their phone in the minute before the crash.
DRIVERS WHO CRASH ARE
2X MORE
LIKELY
34%
TO USE WITH THEIR PHONE
THE MINUTE BEFORE A CRASH
OF DRIVERS WERE DISTRACTED
THE MINUTE BEFORE THEY CRASHED
28 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 29
The state of distracted driving
on American roads: State by state
While the national trends point to a country racing
towards higher distraction levels every year, each
state tells a dierent story. To understand distinct
driving patterns in states, CMT analyzed the behaviors
of drivers new to telematics programs. There are
clear leaders among states reducing distracted
driving. There are also states that are far behind.
According to CMT data, the US saw an average of 58%
of trips with screen interaction in 2022. The 10 worst-
performing states were 4% higher, reaching 62% of
trips with screen interaction. Louisiana and Mississippi
The Distraction Gap Between the
Safest and Riskiest States
Distraction has increased at dierent rates across states. The 10 worst
states for screen interaction saw a 3% increase in 2022 compared to 2021.
States with the heaviest distraction nes saw improvements of about 6%.
On a state-by-state basis, the dierence between the safest
and the most distracted states, in terms of the share of
distracted trips, is over 20%. Oregon has the smallest share
of distracted driving trips, with 47% of all journeys.
Among the states with the highest share of trips with screen interaction
are Louisiana (68%), Mississippi (65%), Alabama (63%), South Carolina
(63%), Oklahoma (62%), and Georgia (61%). This high rate of screen
interaction tends to correlate with the absence of strong regulations.
Mississippi, Alabama, and South Carolina don’t have hands-free
laws. Louisiana and Oklahoma have weak distracted driving laws.
were the most distracted, with 68% and 66% of trips
including screen interaction, respectively. Louisiana
reported 151 fatal crashes linked to distraction in 2022.
In contrast, the 10 best-performing states were
well below the national average, with 52% of trips
seeing screen interaction, 6% less. A dierence
of 6% in distraction reduces crash risk by 0.84%.
At the national level, this would prevent over
119,000 crashes a year. Notably, in Oregon and
Washington, less than half of trips included phone
interaction, 48% and 49%, respectively. Oregon
had 35 distraction road fatalities in 2022.
SHARE OF TRIPS WITH SCREEN INTERACTION PER STATE
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
WORST 10 PERFORMING STATES TOP 1O STATES WITH STRONGEST FINES
LOUISIANA
NEW YORK
ARKANSAS
WEST VIRGINIA
MISSISSIPPI
MASSACHUSETTS
MISSOURI
VIRGINIA
SOUTH CAROLINA
CONNECTICUT
NEW YORK
NEVADA
ALABAMA
ILLINOIS
KENTUCKY
MAINE
OKLAHOMA
NEW JERSEY
GEORGIA
OREGON
Worst 10 performing states
Top 10 states with strongest nes
65% 59%
64% 58%
62% 57%
61% 56%
61% 56%
60% 56%
59% 55%
59% 55%
59% 53%
59% 45%
30 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 31
With 63% of trips seeing some type of distraction, 58% with screen interaction, and 37% with phone motion,
distracted driving is a scene that has become all too common in daily American life. It’s so common that a CMT
survey found that 3 in 4 Americans in states without a handheld ban see drivers texting while driving daily. Nearly 9
in 10 see drivers talking on the phone while driving.
Not surprisingly, Americans see the risks of distracted driving every day. They also say texting is the most dangerous
activity you can do while driving. In a survey of over 1,000 Americans on driving risk, CMT found that Americans were
most concerned with texting and driving, followed by speeding, and running red lights. Nearly 70% of people said
texting and driving was riskier than speeding.
Driver Perspectives
Drivers from the survey confessed to driving distracted
themselves. In states with handheld bans, 1 in 3 drivers
said they had texted while driving at least once a
month. This gure was even higher in states without a
ban, reaching nearly 6 in 10 drivers.
Young drivers are even more distracted. Drivers under
29 are 63% more likely to send text messages and 33%
more likely to make phone calls while driving than the
average driver.
NEARLY 6 IN 10 DRIVERS SAY THEY
TEXT ONCE A MONTH IN STATES
WITH NO HANDHELD BANS
PRIORITZE THE DRIVING BEHAVIORS THAT CONCERN YOU MOST
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
HOW OFTEN ARE YOU DISTRACTED BY YOUR PHONE AT THE WHEEL?
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
WHAT’S THE RISKIEST THING YOU CAN DO WHILE DRIVING?
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
At least once a month At least once a day
States with handheld bans
States with no handheld bans
At least once a week Multiple times a day
DRIVE LATE
AT NIGHT
DRIVE LONG
DISTANCES
CORNER QUICKLY
ACCELERATE
QUICKLY
SLAM ON
BRAKES
TAILGATE
SPEED
TALK ON PHONE
AVG. DRIVER DRIVER <29
TEXTING
AGGRESSIVE
TALKING ON
PHONE
RUNNING RED LIGHTS
OR STOP SIGNS
SUDDEN
BRAKING
SPEEDING
TALKING OR
EATING
USE APPS
TEXT
To better understand the impact of
legislation on drivers’ perceptions,
CMT compared drivers from states
with handheld phone bans to
those without. The results were
similar, but there were noticeable
dierences. For example, 48% of
people from states with texting
laws said texting while driving was
a problem, compared to 52% of
people from states without bans.
In general, people from states
with handheld bans were more
concerned with other forms of
risky driving, like speeding than
those without. This could be
because they see it less frequently.
Talking on the phone while driving
was a low-level concern for
respondents. Only 5% said they
were most concerned by talking
on the phone. People in states
without bans rated the level of risk
for handheld phone calls lower
than eating while driving.
Despite engaging in distracted driving on a monthly basis, drivers are
aware of how risky it is. In a separate study, CMT surveyed 1,000 drivers
to understand how they perceive the risk of behaviors that could aect
their insurance premium through a usage-based insurance program. 67%
of respondents chose texting while driving as their top two highest risk
factors, more than twice any other factor. App use came in second, with
31% of people ranking it as their top two concerns, followed by talking on
the phone at 28%.
For half the respondents, texting, using apps, or talking on the phone was
even riskier than speeding. Despite this risk, most drivers are still doing it.
4% 4%
16%
19%
20%
8%
12%
13%
48%
47%
44%
22%
18%
13%
8%
52%
40%
46%
17%
17%
15%
13%
67%
31%
28%
22%
17%
8%
6%
8%
7%
7%
32 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 33
Changing behaviors
& improving road safety
Making roads safer by changing behavior with telematics
At the end of the program, the impact of the feedback
on driving behaviors was clear. Group 1 averaged
2.1 hard brakes per hour. Group 2 averaged 1.8 hard
brakes per hour, a 15% reduction. Providing drivers with
feedback on their behaviors was able to signicantly
reduce a driving risk factor.
In a separate study on feedback, CMT partnered with
a top auto insurer to run an experiment across tens
of thousands of drivers to understand the impact of
distracted driving awareness. The rst group only
received their standard risk scores, braking, speeding,
and acceleration. The second group received a
distraction score as well. The score was for education
purposes only — it did not aect drivers’ premium.
The results showed that drivers who received a
distraction score were 25% less distracted than the
drivers who didn’t.
CMT has also researched the role engagement plays
in improving driving safety. Research across hundreds
of thousands of usage-based insurance drivers shows
that drivers who engage with their telematics app more
than 3 times per week are 65% safer. This means they
produce fewer risk events while driving. This same
group was 57% less distracted.
Like driving feedback, engagement can also improve
behavior. In a separate study, CMT analyzed the level
of driver engagement with a telematics program and
their improvements in behavior over time. After 1 month
of driving, there was a signicant gap between highly
engaged and unengaged drivers. Unengaged drivers
spent 1:41 per hour on the road distracted. Highly
engaged drivers, dened as interacting with their
usage-based insurance app 20 or more times a month,
spent just 29 seconds an hour distracted, a 73% gap.
After three months of driving, unengaged drivers
became even more distracted behind the wheel.
However, the engaged drivers reduced their distraction
levels even more. After 3 months, engaged drivers
averaged just 23 seconds of distraction per hour, 6
seconds less than month 1, a 20% reduction.
Telematics provides a wide range of programs for drivers to save money, drive safer, and get help after a crash.
Drivers who opt into usage-based insurance programs primarily do so to save money on their auto insurance by
proving they’re a safe driver.
Drivers enter telematics programs at dierent risk levels. CMT wanted to understand how driver feedback impacts
driver risk. We conducted a study comparing two groups of drivers. Both groups knew they were in a study to
understand driving behaviors. Both groups drove for 3 months with an app on CMT’s DriveWell platform. Group 1
didn’t receive any feedback or interactivity during the program. Group 2 received no feedback for the rst month.
Then, starting in month 2, they received a behavior score, trip maps with risk events like hard brakes and distracted
driving, and leaderboards. Group 2 did not receive messages outside of the app during the program.
THE IMPACT OF FEEDBACK ON HARD BRAKING
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
No feedback Feedback
Hard brakes per hour
1.5
-20
0
20 40
60
2.0
2.5
3.5
3.0
15%
FEWER
HARD
BRAKES
34 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 35
How cities are using telematics to change behavior,
reduce crashes, and limit economic damage
City and state governments have been using telematics
to reduce driving risk for years. Starting in 2016, cities
and states like Boston, Seattle, San Antonio, LA, and
Oklahoma have partnered with CMT to run Safest
Driver programs. These Safest Driver programs last
between 3-6 months, but can run indenitely. The
programs have prizes for participants in categories like
least distracted, slow and steady, safest youth driver,
to overall safest driver. Cities work with national and
local businesses to fund the prizes. The businesses
get good visibility for supporting a popular cause.
Grand prizes for the programs have reached $20,000.
The programs have all seen impressive results
in reducing risky behaviors. Boston’s Safest
Driver Program in 2019 reduced distracted
BASED ON THIS DATA,
THE AVERAGE CRASH COSTS
THE US ECONOMY ABOUT
$24,000
driving by 48%, speeding by 38%, and hard
braking by 57%. This kind of behavior change
results in signicant road safety improvements,
reducing crashes and injuries by over 12%.
Let’s look at what this would mean for a program
like LA’s Safest Driver, which ran in 2019 with 12,000
drivers. In a typical group of 12,000 drivers and
a crash rate of 6.2%, we would see 745 crashes
and 2 fatalities. With Safest Driver, and a reduced
crash rate of 5.4% from lower distraction, speeding,
and hard braking rates, there would be 92 fewer
crashes overall. With an average $24,00 cost per
crash, based on NHTSA’s crash cost estimates
in 2019, the city would save over $2.1 million.
CALCULATING CRASH COSTS
IN ITS REPORT THE ECONOMIC
AND SOCIETAL IMPACT OF MOTOR
VEHICLE CRASHES, 2019, NHTSA
ESTIMATES THAT
1.42 MILLION
CRASHES
COST THE US ECONOMY
$340 BILLION
IN 2019
36 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 37
Hands-free legislation
How states are ghting distracted driving
TIMELINE OF THE LATEST CHANGES IN REGULATION
RH
ODE ISLAND
Handheld ban for all drivers.
GEORGIA
Handheld ban for all drivers.
MINNESOTA
Handheld ban for all drivers.
TENNESSEE
Handheld ban for all drivers.
IDAHO
(HB 614) Handheld ban for all drivers.
INDIANA
(HB 1070) Handheld ban for all drivers.
MASSACHUSETTS
Handheld ban for all drivers.
SOUTH DAKOTA
(HB 1169) Texting ban now a primary offense, including social media.
VIRGINIA
(SB 160/HB 874) Handheld ban for all drivers.
TEXAS
Handheld phone use and texting ban in school zones only. Bus drivers have
an “all cell use ban” when carrying passengers under 21 years old.
ARKANSAS
Handheld ban definition change for 18 to 20 years old. Phone use in school
and work zones is now a primary infraction.
OHIO
(SB288) Effective April 2023, handheld phone use while driving is a primary
oense. There are some exceptions to the ban: Drivers are allowed to use a
phone when the vehicle is parked or stopped at a red light. Emergency calls.
The criteria used to assess the eectiveness of these laws include fatality rates per 100,000 drivers, the presence
of handheld bans or texting bans, restrictions on bans, and enforcement and ne levels. Despite the introduction
of numerous regulations in the past three years, the map of distraction laws in the US has remained relatively
unchanged since 2019.
However, there has been progress since 2020. Idaho, Indiana, and Massachusetts enacted handheld bans in 2020.
Virginia introduced a handheld ban at the start of 2021. Texas implemented a handheld and texting ban in school
zones that same year. In 2022, Maine took a step back, repealing the all-cellphone ban for school bus drivers.
Arkansas updated its handheld ban denition for drivers aged 18 to 20. Ohio is introducing a handheld ban in April
2023 that will be a primary oense. The law allows for some concessions on phone use.
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
HANDS-FREE REGULATIONS FROM STRICTEST (4) TO NON-EXISTENT (1)
Source: The map is a continuous evolution of the 2019 map built by Siegfried & Jense
1
4
As nearly every metric for distracted driving grows, the need to respond has become increasingly urgent.
Since 2020, 9 states have enacted 12 distracted driving bills with mixed results.
38 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 39
The impact of handheld bans on phone motion
To evaluate the impact of regulations, CMT analyzed millions of trips in 8 states that have introduced handheld bans
since 2018: Rhode Island, Georgia, Tennessee, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Idaho, Indiana, and Virginia, representing
over 34 million drivers. On average, these states saw a 13% reduction in phone motion within three months of the
law going into eect. With a sustained 13% reduction in distracted driving, these states could prevent over 38,000
crashes and save close to 100 lives each year.
As we saw with the Los Angeles example above, there are economic benets to this level of sustained reduction
of distracted driving. Across these 8 states, with an average cost of $24,000 per crash, preventing 38,000 crashes
would save these states a combined $930 billion every year. Minnesota, which had the largest gains after three
months, would see 10,000 fewer crashes, over 20 fewer fatalities, and save over $240 million in crash costs.
News reports play a big role in reducing distraction after a handheld ban goes into eect. News and awareness
around the law peak when the law begins. In our analysis, phone motion dropped by an average of 16% in the week
after handheld bans began. Minnesota, Georgia, and Virginia all saw drops of over 20% in the rst week. Every state
experienced double-digit reductions in phone motion, except for Massachusetts, which increased by 4%.
PHONE MOTION TIME PER STATE
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
HANDHELD BANS & PHONE MOTION
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC AWARENESS ON HANDHELD LAWS
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
RHODE
ISLAND
GEORGIA TENNESSEE MINNESOTA MASSACHUSETTS IDAHO INDIANA VIRGINIA
1 month before law 3 mos after law1 week after law Oct.-Dec. 2022
1 month before law 1 week after law
STATE DATE 1 MO BEFORE LAW 3 MOS AFTER LAW CHANGE
Rhode Island June 2018 0:02:25 0:02:25 0%
Georgia July 2018 0:01:34 0:01:18 -17%
Tennessee July 2019 0:01:34 0:01:21 -14%
Minnesota August 2019 0:01:01 0:00:44 -28%
Massachusetts February 2020 0:01:21 0:01:24 4%
Idaho July 2020 0:01:36 0:01:15 -22%
Indiana July 2020 0:01:14 0:01:06 -11%
Virginia January 2021 0:01:34 0:01:19 -16%
RHODE
ISLAND
GEORGIA TENNESSEE MINNESOTA MASSACHUSETTS IDAHO INDIANA VIRGINIA
Out of the 8 states, 6 saw reductions greater than 10%. Minnesota roads had a reduction in phone motion of 28%.
Phone motion in Idaho, Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, and Indiana dropped 22%, 17%, 14%, and 11%, respectively.
Only Rhode Island and Massachusetts didn’t see reductions. Massachusetts introduced its handheld ban on
February 23, 2020, just weeks before the WHO declared Covid-19 a global pandemic. As we wrote in our 2020
report, distracted driving spiked over 18% in the first few weeks of the pandemic, making it hard to gauge the impact
of the Massachusetts law.
00:00:30
0:01:00
0:01:30
0:02:00
0:02:30
00:00:30
0:01:00
0:01:30
0:02:00
0:02:30
40 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 41
D
EEP DIVE
The power of public awareness on distracted driving
News coverage of the handheld laws can play a part in their eectiveness. In Virginia, where the new handheld ban
went into eect on January 1, 2021, CMT identied 14 online articles related to the law, starting in late October 2020.
Seven of the articles were from local TV news stations that typically air TV segments in addition to an online article.
Ten of the articles were within one week of the law’s start date.
To estimate Virginia drivers’ awareness of the law, CMT analyzed Google Trends data for the search term “phone
law” in Virginia. Searches for “phone law” reached their peak the week of January 1, doubling the amount from the
week before. During that same week, Virginia saw its steepest decline in phone engagement while driving, falling
21% compared to the month before. A 21% drop in distracted driving in Virginia for 1 week helped reduce the crash
rate by 2.9%, prevented over 200 crashes, 1 fatality, and saved the state $4.9 million in crash costs.
AWARENESS PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE: VIRGINIA
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
Phone motion “Phone law”
To understand the link between people’s awareness of phone usage laws and how much they use their phones
while driving, we analyzed the relationship between phone usage and online searches for “phone laws.” We did this
by calculating the correlation coecient.
We rst looked at a period with fewer articles about the topic, from November 2020 to March 2021. During this time,
the correlation coecient was -0.45. This means there was a moderate relationship between awareness and phone
usage while driving — when people were more aware of the laws, they tended to use their phones less.
Next, we focused on a time with more media coverage and many people searching for “phone use” from December
20, 2020, to January 10, 2021. The correlation coecient during this period was -0.65, which shows a strong
connection. The results suggest that as people became more aware of phone usage laws, they reduced their phone
usage while driving.
Minutes per driving hour
“Phone law” searches
0:01:25
0:01:00
November 2020
December 2020
January 2021 February 2021
March 2021
0:01:50
0:1:75
0:02:00
42 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 43
The long-term eects of handheld bans
TOUGHEST FINES APPLIED FOR DISTRACTION CITATIONS ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 10 (10 BEING TOUGHEST)
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
1
10
The impact of nes and enforcement on handheld bans
The handheld bans in these 8 states had various levels of success after 1 week and 3 months of being enacted.
But what about the long-term eects? To get a better understanding, we analyzed the same phone motion data for
these 8 states at the end of 2022, from October through December. What we found was that only 4 of these states
had lower levels of phone motion than they did before the handheld bans: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Idaho, and
Indiana. Only Idaho and Indiana had seen gains at 1 week, 3 months, and now at the end of 2022 after the law. After
3 months, Rhode Island had seen no improvement in phone motion and Massachusetts was 4% higher. Before the
end of 2022, Rhode Island was 18% and Massachusetts 15% below their pre-handheld ban levels.
The states with the biggest gains at the beginning of their handheld ban saw the highest levels of phone motion at
the end of 2022. Minnesota, which had dropped 28% after 3 months, saw 34% higher phone motion than when the
law began at the end of 2022. Phone motion in Georgia had fallen by 17% 3 months after the law. By the end of 2022,
phone motion was 27% higher.
The broader implications of these ndings are that handheld laws, enforcement, and public awareness go hand
in hand. We’ve seen that news reports and awareness have a strong impact on the law’s performance the week
after it’s enacted. After that, it’s up to the states to ensure that the law remains in the public’s mind and that police
departments have the resources and mandate to educate the public and enforce the laws.
For state legislators, building support and developing
the handheld law is the
rst step. As we’ve seen, when
these bans begin, distraction can decrease from
general awareness from news reports and other media.
For long-term eects, however, legislators need to make
sure these laws are strong enough to make an impact
on driver behavior, that they can be enforced, and that
there’s a plan to maintain the public’s awareness.
To gauge the strength of enforcement policies across
states with bans on handheld phone use, we developed
an index ranging from 1 to 10 based on factors such
as the ne amount, the increase in nes between
oenses, the inclusion of insurance surcharges, and
the use of point systems and license suspensions.
To understand the impact of nes, we analyzed data
from New Jersey, which has among the strongest nes
for distraction in the country. New Jersey was also the
second to introduce a handheld ban in the country,
making it a primary offense in 2007. The fine for the first
oense for distracted driving ranges from $200 - $400,
among the highest in the country. Fines double for the
second oense, $400 - $600, and are over $800 for the
third oense. Drivers can lose 3 points on their license
and face getting their license suspended on their third
oense.
Despite the strength of these fines, New Jersey saw
nearly 80,000 distraction-related crashes between
2012
and 2016. A recent State Police report showed
that distracted driving was the cause of 194 fatal
crashes in 2021. Screen interaction in New Jersey has
also increased since 2020, when drivers spent 1:35 of
every hour interacting with their screen. By 2022, that
number increased by 29% to reach 2:03.
The takeaway is that it’s hard for nes alone to reduce
distracted driving. The challenge for policymakers is
to devise a comprehensive strategy that goes beyond
nancial penalties to include education and public
awareness programs.
A good example of a public awareness campaign
comes from New York in 2017. The state launched
Operation Hang Up, a crackdown on distracted driving
that increased patrols and checkpoints. During the
campaign, State Police issued over 2,000 tickets for
distracted driving.
44 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 45
DISTRACTION REGULATION: DRIVERS’ UNDERSTANDING OF THE LAW
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
DRIVERS WANT GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS TO FIGHT DISTRACTED DRIVING
Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
Drivers are confused about handheld laws
One of the reasons nes have trouble impacting driving behavior is that drivers are confused about the bigger issue:
Do they have a handheld ban in their state? To better understand what drivers understand about the handheld laws
in their state, CMT conducted a study of over 1,000 drivers in January 2023.
The ndings show that most drivers do not know what the law is in their state. In states with a handheld ban, just
32% of drivers said they knew about it. About 40% didn’t know about the regulation or didn’t understand what it
meant. In states without a handheld ban, drivers were even less clear about the laws. Only 8% of drivers correctly
said their state doesn’t have a ban. Fifty-three percent thought there was a ban, and 58% didn’t understand the
details of the laws.
UNDERSTAND THERE
IS A HANDHELD BAN
MY STATE OFFICIALS ARE NOT DOING ENOUGH
TO REDUCE PHONE DISTRACTION
DO NOT KNOW OR
UNDERSTAND THE LAW
MY STATE OFFICIALS SHOULD DO MORE
TO IMPROVE PHONE DISTRACTION IN MY STATE
UNDERSTAND
THERE IS NO BAN
I EXPECT MY REPRESENTATIVES
TO TAKE DISTRACTION SERIOUSLY
AND LEGISLATE ACCORDINGLY
THINK THERE IS A BAN
I EXPECT MY REPRESENTATIVES TO PUSH
FOR STRONG, CLEAR, AND ENFORCEABLE
REGULATIONS THAT COMBAT DRIVING DISTRACTION
DO NOT KNOW OR
UNDERSTAND THE DETAILS
States with handheld bans
States with handheld bans
States with no handheld bans
States with no handheld bans
32%
28%
40%
40%
8%
35%
53%
53%
58%
Despite the confusion around the laws, drivers want government ocials to do more to ght distracted driving.
In states with hands-free laws, CMT’s survey data shows that 68% of drivers believe their state ocials aren’t
doing enough to ght distracted driving. In states without handheld bans, 88% of drivers want more action
from their state ocials.
Drivers may agree that they want government ocials to do more, but they don’t have a unied solution. In states
without handheld bans, 43% of drivers said they want stronger regulations that prohibit phone use and distraction.
Just 5% are happy with the status quo.
In states without handheld regulation, an overwhelming majority of voters want their state governments to take
action. This sentiment is especially strong in large states like Texas, Pennsylvania, and Florida, where over 94% of
respondents want legislators to introduce distraction regulations.
46 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 47
The importance of future-proong
hands-free legislation
Oregon's Distracted Driving Task Force is also
searching for solutions to the limitations in existing
legislation. The Task Force has created evidence-
based proposals that include amendments to the
current cell phone statute that would redene "mobile
communication device" as "mobile electronic device.”
They’re also proposing higher nes for distracted
driving oenses and education alternatives for rst-
time oenders.
As lawmakers search for the best language to
use to reduce distracted driving while balancing
drivers’ freedom, they’ve introduced complex hands-
free legislation that makes it dicult for drivers to
understand what’s illegal. They make tradeos by
creating legislation that denes distracted driving
as a secondary oense, which is harder to enforce.
As we saw in New Jersey, a primary oense carries
signicant nes and other penalties like license points
and suspension. Secondary laws send mixed signals
about the importance the handheld bans.
A good example of this complexity is in Ohio, where
legislators have made handheld phone use while
driving a primary oense for all drivers. Prior to the
new law, eective April 3, 2023, distracted driving was
a primary oense only for drivers under 18. Penalties
with the new law for driving distracted include a ne of
up to $150 for a driver’s rst oense and two points on
their license, unless they complete a distracted driving
safety course. However, the exceptions to the law
make it more complex and dicult to enforce. Drivers
can make handheld phone calls in emergencies and
use their phone while stopped at a red light.
Legislation for handheld bans faces a number of
hurdles to be successful, including the severity of
the nes, education and awareness programs, and
enforcement. However, there is another problem that’s
more fundamental to solving the distracted driving
crisis.
How we talk about distracted driving is critical. Experts
argue that distracted driving doesn’t have a social
stigma like drunk driving, making it a challenge to
gain support and funding for it. The words we use to
describe distracted driving are constantly evolving,
complicating the eorts to dene and legislate it.
For instance, drivers don’t just “text” today. They send
direct messages, or “DMs.” They don’t just make phone
calls. They FaceTime, Zoom, and WhatsApp. Social
media platforms like Instagram and TikTok further
exacerbate the problem. These apps use visuals
instead of text, so drivers may not consider them
distracted driving in the context of “don’t text and drive”
legislation or campaigns.
This is one of the reasons why legislation with a narrow
focus on specic behaviors like “texting” gets stuck in
time and becomes impossible to enforce. In response,
some states, like South Dakota, have worked to make
texting a primary oense, specically referencing
social media use in their legislation. Though not a full
handheld ban, the language used in South Dakota's law
emphasizes the hands-free approach.
48 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 49
The auto insurance industry has taken signicant steps
to combat distracted driving. The industry as a whole
invests billions of dollars every year to make drivers
safer. Every top 10 auto insurer has a usage-based
insurance program that incentivizes safe driving with
premium discounts.
How auto insurers are
ghting distracted driving
Over the past few years, insurers have introduced
distracted driving into their program, either as a variable
that impacts the customer’s price or as an educational
measurement. According to a CMT analysis, seven of
the top 10 insurers use distraction as a pricing variable,
meaning that if a driver handles their phone for texting,
app use, or phone calls, their discount is at risk. Two
of the top 10 insurers use distracted driving insights to
educate drivers on their levels of distraction.
Auto insurers are taking this approach of focus and
awareness around distracted driving and adding a level
of gamication to it. For example, Farmers Insurance
offers its usage-based insurance customers a monthly
contest for distracted driving. Here’s how the Farmers
website describes the program: “Every month, if you
drive safely with a focused driving score at 80% or
better, you’re automatically entered into a drawing for
rewards worth up to $100.”
Beyond adding distracted driving metrics to their
usage-based insurance and rewards programs, auto
insurers are actively advocating to reduce distracted
driving. In 2022, the Travelers Institute partnered with
CMT to release an educational guide on distracted
driving entitled “Ev
ery Second Matters®: Reducing
Distracted Driving, One Voice at a Time.” The guide
educates people on the dangers of distracted driving
and gives them practical advice on how they can
reduce their own distracted driving, as well as speak
up if they are in a car with a distracted driver. The
guide recommends adopting a professional driver’s
mindset, avoiding texting while driving, utilizing the “do
not disturb” feature on their phones, and participating
in a telematics program. The report also covers how
telematics programs can help safe drivers save money
on insurance and reduce their driving risk.
In 2022, Nationwide ran a
campaign advocating for
states to pass hands-free laws. As part of the campaign,
Nationwide released a study that found that 86% of
drivers support hands-free legislation. Nationwide’s
CEO, Kirt Walker, said: “Despite fewer people on roads
and highways during the pandemic, more people
are dying in fatal crashes. While it isn’t practical to
remove every distraction from motor vehicles, making
it a primary oense for the use of handheld devices
will reduce crashes and save lives.” Nationwide
mentioned its work with CMT to “make distracted
driving technology available to drivers to help correct
dangerous driving behaviors.”
In 2019, GEICO launched a campaign to spread
awareness about the dangers of distracted driving
called Smartdogs, developed by The Martin Agency.
The ad begins: “Experts estimate one in three crashes
are caused by distracted driving. But nobody listens
to the people telling people to stop. What we need is
a non-person drivers will actually pay attention to….
Smartdogs!” The ad goes on to inform audiences
that GEICO isn’t introducing smartdogs. Instead,
they should activate Do Not Disturb While Driving on
their phones. TV ad measurement company iSpot.TV
estimates the ad ran on television from April 4, 2019, to
January 1, 2020, had 2.5 billion impressions, and cost
$33.5 million in television ad buying.
TV ESTIMATES THE AD
RAN ON TELEVISION
FROM APRIL 4, 2019,
TO JANUARY 1, 2020,
AND HAD 2.5 BILLION
IMPRESSIONS, AND
COST $33.5 MILLION IN
TELEVISION AD BUYING.
State Farm has released multiple reports on the
prevalence and impact of distracted driving. In 2022,
State Farm published
findings from a survey on
distracted driving. Among the insights they shared
was that more than half of drivers said they “always” or
“often” read or send texts, and that nearly half interact
with apps while driving.
In 2017, Progressive released a report showing that 1
in 3 drivers feel condent that they can text and drive,
while the majority believe distracted driving is the
biggest cause of crashes. More than 90% said driving
distracted should be illegal. Progressive’s usage-based
insurance leader at the time said: “We’re optimistic that
personalized feedback will encourage safer behavior
[among Snapshot drivers.]”
In 2019, USAA published advice on how to avoid
distracted driving. “Studies have proven over and over
again that driving is not automatic,” said Sean Scaturro,
Director of Insurance Advice for USAA. “We need to
make certain our hands are on the wheel, eyes on the
road, and mind is focused on the drive.” He continued:
“You’re splitting focus between the conversation and
driving, which can cause you to be distracted.”
50 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 51
How grassroots
organizations
are changing
distracted driving
in America
Safe driving organizations are all too aware
that distracted driving crashes are signicantly
underreported. To gain national awareness to combat
this dangerous behavior, these organizations work
to educate the public, raise awareness, collaborate
with legislators to enact distracted driving laws, and
leverage telematics data to spark change.
The Kiefer Foundation, Stop Distractions, Oklahoma
Challenge, Safe Roads Alliance, and EndDD.org
are just a few of many organizations changing the
culture around distracted driving. In this section, we’ll
introduce you to each of them.
From tragedy to
national change
In 2016, the Kiefer family experienced a tragedy no
family should ever have to face: their 18-year-old
son, Mitchel Kiefer, was killed in a car crash caused
by a distracted driver. Steve Kiefer, Mitchel’s father,
who was SVP and President of South America and
International Operations at General Motors prior to his
retirement in April 2022, founded the Kiefer Foundation
in Mitchel’s memory with the goal of ending distracted
driving. To ght distraction, the foundation focuses
on three pillars: awareness, policy, and technology.
The foundation’s work includes advocating for
hands-free legislation across the country, like the
bill passed by the Michigan state legislature in 2022.
“The statistics show that 10 people are killed each
day by distracted drivers in the US — some estimates
are as high as 50 people killed each day,” Kiefer
said. “This is a senseless, selsh behavior that must
change. Drivers need to take personal accountability
when they’re behind the wheel and just drive.”
To raise awareness of the dangers of distracted
driving, the Kiefer Foundation engages in various
campaigns and initiatives, partnering with schools
and community organizations. They also collaborate
with law enforcement agencies, advocating for
stronger policies and stricter penalties for distracted
drivers. The foundation supports the development
and implementation of new technologies aimed at
reducing distractions and improving road safety.
In May 2022, CMT and the Kiefer Foundation
partnered to combat distracted driving through the
foundation’s annual “Swing for Safe Driving” Ball
Golf Tournament. Mitchel was a hockey player on
the state championship Detroit Catholic Central
hockey team and a passionate disc golfer, which
he simply called “golf.” Mitchel called regular golf
“ball golf,” which is where the memorial “Swing for
Safe Driving” Ball Golf Tournament got its name.
“I’ve dedicated my working life thus far to the
automotive industry, now I intend to focus on my
passion – saving lives on the road,” said Kiefer. “This
is not a passion I chose, but one that was thrust upon
me by the loss of my son, Mitchel. Mitchel’s death in a
distracted driving crash changed my life forever, and
I want to work towards a future where no parent has
to bury a child as a result of a preventable car crash.”
In April 2023, Steve Kiefer joined CMT’s Road Safety
Board as chairperson. The Safety Board will have
access to CMT’s extensive resources, giving them an
unprecedented view into the real-time dangers facing
people on the road today. The Safety Board will focus
on developing high-impact policies and initiatives
that will make the world’s roads and drivers safer.
52 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 53
Making distracted driving a national priority
How the Oklahoma Challenge is
empowering teens to drive safer
Linda Terrell and the Oklahoma Challenge are
dedicated to promoting safe driving throughout the
Sooner State. Terrell’s focus on ghting distracted
driving stems from a deeply personal place. She’s
seen too many Oklahoma teens die from distracted
driving crashes.
“We can’t just sit back and let this continue to happen.
Distracted driving is preventable, and it’s up to us to
take action,” Terrell said.
Oklahoma Challenge, a safe driving organization
focused on empowering young drivers, adopted an
innovative approach to tackling the issue of distracted
driving. It partnered with CMT to use its Safest Driver
platform to encourage positive behavior change
among drivers.
In October 2020, Oklahoma Challenge launched
a contest using the Safest Driver app at local high
schools, promoting safe driving habits among students.
Students signed up and competed to become the
safest drivers in their community.
“So many people were talking about this, and then we
were able to start giving away gift cards. Coming from a
poor state like Oklahoma, those gift cards made a huge
impact on the kids and started a light-hearted, friendly
competition,” explained Terrell.
“One of the most important things we’ve heard from
students is that they do not want to cause death. No
one wants their friends to die. No one wants their family
to die. And they do not want to be the ones to cause
anyone to lose a loved one,” she said.
to create, change, and enforce distracted driving laws.
She’s a strong advocate for the use of telematics data,
which provides critical evidence of the dangers posed
by distracted drivers.
“Now, we’re no longer just telling our stories. We
nally have the validation as families that this isn’t just
happening to me and my family, but to many other
people,” Smith said. “Everyone has always believed
the family’s stories, but having that data gives them the
support that they need.”
“My ultimate goal is to put my organization out of
business,” Smith said. “That means that distracted
driving crashes will have stopped happening, risky
driving behavior will have ended, and technological
and infrastructure solutions will be in place, so we don’t
have to work on this issue anymore.”
“We have the tools at our disposal to stop these crashes
from happening. Insurers, telematics, and driving
technologies can end distracted driving,” Smith said.
In 2008, Jennifer Smith’s life changed in an instant
when her mother was killed in a distracted driving
crash. Losing her mother sparked a mission to make
distracted driving a national priority.
Smith co-founded StopDistractions.org, a non-prot
organization dedicated to eliminating distracted driving.
StopDistractions.org’s goal is to raise awareness across
the country so others don’t have to experience the pain
of losing someone to distracted driving.
“It is no longer a matter of if this is going to happen to
someone you love, it’s when. If it hasn’t already,”
Smith said.
StopDistractions.org’s approach is multifaceted,
focusing on three main pillars of road safety: education
and awareness, law enforcement and policy, and
technology and engineering. The organization seeks
to create a cultural shift in attitudes toward distracted
driving by sharing personal stories and experiences.
One of Smith’s primary goals is lobbying lawmakers
Throughout the contest, Oklahoma Challenge provided
teachers with vital information, sparking conversations
about safe driving in the classroom. Terrell believes
that education and awareness are crucial in the ght
against distracted driving.
“Research shows now that if we explain to kids that this
could happen to them, they are more likely to listen. We
don’t want to use these horrible scare tactics that are
overwhelming. We give them real information. This can
happen to anyone. And we give them tools on how to
drive safely,” she said.
“These high school kids can change the generation,”
Terrell said. “They can work with younger kids and work
with their parents. It’s all about youth empowerment.
We want them to own the message and share it. It’s
about positive peer pressure.”
54 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 55
How Emily Stein and Safe Roads Alliance are educating
parents to end distracted driving and promote road safety
Emily Stein, President of the Safe Roads Alliance,
has made it her mission to tackle distracted
driving head-on, championing safer roads
and a more responsible driving culture.
Stein’s dedication to ghting distracted driving is
personal. In 2011, her father was killed by a distracted
driver who was programming her GPS while driving.
In 2016, Stein transformed her tragedy into action,
joining the Safe Roads Alliance to advocate for
stricter laws, increased awareness, and improved
road safety. Under Stein’s leadership, the Safe
Roads Alliance collaborates with policymakers,
law enforcement agencies, and the public.
Stein and her team are working to change the way
we perceive and approach distracted driving. “We
call them crashes, not accidents, because 94% of
all crashes are due to human error – usually risky
behavior that we know can cause a crash: speeding,
aggressive driving, drunk or drugged driving, distracted
driving, and not wearing a seatbelt,” Stein said.
Education and awareness also play a signicant role in
the Safe Roads Alliance’s strategy. Stein has developed
programs and campaigns to inform drivers of the
potential consequences of their actions on the road.
“Parents play a critical role in teen driver safety and
communicating important driving safety information,”
said Stein. “New teen drivers are still gaining
experience behind the wheel, which increases the
chance of dangerous situations for the teen and other
roadway users around them. This is why it’s important
for parents to have these discussions with their teens.
Start the conversation today and continue it every day.”
EndDD.org ghts distracted driving through
education and personal storytelling
Stein’s advocacy has led to tangible results. Her
work in lobbying for stricter distracted driving laws
contributed to the passage of crucial legislation in
multiple states, including Massachusetts, where
she successfully pushed for a hands-free driving
law, which began in 2020.law, which began in 2
Joel Feldman lost his daughter Casey in a distracted
driving crash after a driver took his eyes o the road for
a couple of seconds. Joel and his wife Diane, made it
their mission to honor their daughter’s life by creating
the Casey Feldman Foundation and EndDD.org.
“I can handle it. I know how to multitask. It’s just a
few seconds,” Feldman said of how distracted drivers
rationalize their decision. “Each and every one of those
excuses have thousands of deaths under them.”
EndDD.org ghts distracted driving through education.
Since 2012, volunteer speakers like nurses, physicians,
safety experts, driver’s education instructors, lawyers,
and others have given distracted driving presentations
to over 500,000 teens and adults. These presentations
are science-based education programs that teach
people how to stop driving distracted and speak up
when they see others drive distracted.
By targeting younger generations, EndDD.org aims
to shape the attitudes and behaviors of future drivers
who refuse to accept distracted driving as the norm.
“Studies show, and we teach this, kids have incredible
power to change those behaviors. 90% of kids say they
put their phone down if their friend asks them to.” Joel
credits kids being open-minded to new ideas as one of
the reasons for this change.
56 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 57
In an eort to combat distracted driving, the
National Distracted Driving Coalition has united
over 60 private, non-prot, governmental, and
academic organizations to spearhead a range of
initiatives at both the national and state levels. The
member-funded organization focuses on four key
areas: legislative action, distraction prevalence
research, enforcement training, and education.
As a resource for legislative action, the coalition works
to introduce hands-free bills and plans to establish
committees in 15 states for 2023 hands-free bill
support. The coalition also evaluates existing bills
and laws to enhance eciency and eectiveness
and prepares templates for policy development.
The coalition seeks to provide more accurate data
on crashes caused by distraction, summarize
available resources, identify data gaps and
underreporting, track improvements to the Fatality
Analysis Reporting System (FARS), and identify
new technologies to bolster enforceability.
National distracted driving coalition
PRIVATE COMPANIES
Alliance for Automotive Innovation
American Property and Casualty
Insurance Association
American Trucking Associations
Cambridge Mobile Telematics
CAN-AM IT Solutions
Carbon Express Inc
Google Android Auto
Imagine!
Indiana Motor Truck Association
J. J. Keller and Associates, Inc
Just Drive
National Tank Truck Carriers
NoCELL Technologies,LLC
Ocial Driving School
ORIGOSafeDriver
PathZero.ai
Piedmont Heart Institute
Physicians
Pulse Labs
Seeing Machines
State Farm
Travelers
Veoneer
ASSOCIATIONS
Auto Club of Missouri
Auto Club of Southern California
National Waste & Recycling
Association
NDDC Steering committee and stakeholders
NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
Ad Council
Advocates for Highway and Auto
Safety
Colorado Drive Safe
DRIVE SMART Virginia
EndDD
Governors Highway Safety
Association
Impact Teen Drivers
Insurance Institute for Highway
Safety
International Association of Chiefs
of Police
Local Motion
Lutzie 43 Foundation
Mercy Hospital
Missourians for Responsible
Transportation
National District Attorneys
Association
National Safety Council
National Transportation Safety Board
Oklahoma Challenge
Safe Roads Alliance
Stopdistractions.org
Students Against Destructive
Decisions
TBWA/Chiatt/Day
The Kiefer Foundation
Together For Safer Roads
Trac Injury Research Foundation
ACADEMIA
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
Montana State University
Upper Great Plains Transportation
Institute (UGPTI), North Dakota
State University
Virginia Tech Transportation
Institute
Yale University
GOVERNMENT
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
Delaware Oce of Highway Safety
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
Georgia House of Representatives
National Highway Trac Safety
Administration
National Sheris Association
Ohio DoT
The coalition also encourages studies to evaluate
the eectiveness of distraction laws and researches
technologies that directly impact driver distraction.
The coalition collaborates with the International
Association of Chiefs of Police and the National Sheris
Association to oer training on distracted driving
prevention and laws. The organization emphasizes
the importance of data collection, informs law
enforcement about new enforcement technologies,
advocates for equitable enforcement, and identies
the information jurisdictions should collect to evaluate
the eectiveness of distracted driving laws.
The coalition works on developing or identifying
campaign materials to educate drivers, engages
with children and young drivers to increase
distracted driving prevention strategies, and
develops educational messaging to raise
awareness about the risks associated with
hands-free communication technologies.
58 2023 Distracted Driving Report 2023 Distracted Driving Report 59
Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT) is the world’s largest telematics service provider. Its mission is to make
the world’s roads and drivers safer. The company’s AI-driven platform, DriveWell®, gathers sensor data
from millions of IoT devices — including smartphones, proprietary Tags, connected vehicles, dashcams,
and third-party devices — and fuses them with contextual data to create a unied view of vehicle and
driver behavior. Companies from personal and commercial auto insurance, automotive, rideshare, smart
cities, wireless, nancial services, and family safety industries use insights from CMT’s platform to power
their risk assessment, safety, claims, and driver improvement programs. Headquartered in Cambridge,
MA, with oces in Budapest, Chennai, Seattle, Tokyo, and Zagreb, CMT serves millions of people through
over 95 programs in 25 countries, including 21 of the top 25 US auto insurers. Learn more at CMT.ai.
CMT’s mission is to
make the world’s
roads & drivers safer.
314 Main St Suite 1200, Cambridge, MA 02142
cmtelematics.com
© 2023 Cambridge Mobile Telematics
