Why You Need To Stop Texting And Driving in 2024

A 2023 report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that 3,522 people died from motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers in 2021.^[1] The fact remains that no matter how careful you think you’re being, texting while driving puts your and other people’s lives at risk. It doesn’t take more than a few seconds of looking at your phone to accidentally run your car off the road, rear-end another car or hit a pedestrian.

Keep reading and you’ll see why texting and driving is simply not worth it.

Key Takeaways Texting while driving is a dangerous driving habit that can put you at a higher risk of getting into a motor vehicle accident and being the at-fault driver. Forty-nine states have passed legislation that makes texting while driving illegal. Getting ticketed for texting while driving can result in fines, the suspension of your license, higher insurance premiums and even jail time.

What Type of Distraction Is Texting and Driving?

It can be argued that texting while driving meets the criteria for all three types of distractions: visual, manual and cognitive. It is a visual distraction because you are looking at your phone to either read or write a text instead of scanning the road ahead. It is a manual distraction if you’re using one or both hands to type out that text instead of having both hands on the driving wheel. Finally, it is a cognitive distraction because you’re processing the text you just read or thinking of a response instead of being fully alert of your surroundings.^[2]

What Are the Risks of Texting and Driving?

Below, we’ve compiled some of the safety, financial and legal risks associated with choosing to text while driving.

Getting Into Motor Vehicle Crashes

Visual distractions like texting and driving prevent you from assessing your surroundings and slow down your reaction time. For example, reaching for something in the back seat or reading a text message can distract you from seeing the car in front of you brake suddenly, which can lead to you rear-ending the other car.

In addition, cell phone usage while driving accounts for a high number of distracted-driving-related deaths and injuries in the United States.^[3] After all, if you are driving 55 miles per hour, looking at your phone to text for just five seconds would be the equivalent of driving the distance of a football field with your eyes closed.^[3]

Engaging in Other Risky Driving Behaviors

Texting and driving may also put you at a higher risk of engaging in other risky driving behaviors. One study compared student drivers who text and drove with those who did not and found that those who texted and drove just once within the 30 days before completing the survey were:^[4]

• 1.3 times more likely to not always wear a seat belt while driving
• Nearly twice as likely to have ridden with a driver who had recently drunk alcohol
• Over 10 times more likely to haven driven after drinking

Financial and Legal Consequences

Even if no one is hurt in an accident, you may dent and damage your car and the other driver’s car because of a car crash you caused by texting and driving. Insurance companies paid out $5,313 on average for auto liability claims for property damage in 2022.^[5]

Keep in mind that moving violations can have an impact on your insurance premium and having one on your record can result in your rate going up when you renew your policy.

Moreover, the majority of states charge a fine ranging from $25 to $200 for your first offense of texting and driving.^[6] However, fines can be much higher depending on your state. For example, an adult driver might pay a fine of up to $1,000 for texting and driving in Colorado.^[7] In Oregon, this fine can increase to $2,000 if the fine contributed to a crash.^[8] In many states, the fine increases for subsequent offenses.

In addition, drivers who text and drive risk getting their license suspended and spending time in jail, especially if there was an injury or fatality involved. For example, in Pennsylvania, drivers may spend five years in jail if their texting while driving contributed to a death.^[9]

How Does Texting and Driving Affect Others?

As a distracted driver, you are no longer in full control of your car. By texting and driving, you run the risk of automatically being at fault for a motor vehicle crash, whether it’s because it led you to stray out of your lane or brake in time so you could avoid hitting the car in front of you. Worse yet, you increase your chances of injuring or killing others on the road and on the sidewalks and walkways.

Victims of texting and driving collisions could suffer permanent injuries like traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injuries, whiplash, broken bones, organ damage and even death. If someone is hurt in a car accident, they will need time to heal. This could equate to loss of income and earning capacity, mounting medical bills, high out-of-pocket costs and property damage.

You will be responsible for paying for the victims’ losses once you exceed your car insurance policy’s limits, unless you have an umbrella policy. Fatal crashes are very expensive and traumatic.

Which Age Group Texts and Drives the Most?

In 2021, texting and driving statistics showed that drivers within the 25-to-34 age range had the highest number of distracted driving instances (820) but only 14% of those instances were related to using cell phones. Meanwhile, there were 368 distracted drivers in the 15-to-20 age range but these drivers accounted for the highest percentage (17%) of distracted drivers within their age range who showed cell phone use while driving.^[1]

Texting and Driving Ticket Costs: State-by-State Guide

Forty-nine states have passed distracted driving laws that have banned texting while driving, with Montana being the only state without such legislation. The fine for a first-time offense can be considerable, commonly ranging from $25 to $200 but it can be more depending on the state.^[6][10]

That said, not all states enforce a handheld ban, meaning that it may still be legal to hold your phone in the driver’s seat — putting your phone on speaker while driving, for instance. In other states, holding your electronic devices may only be prohibited in only school and work zones.

The table below outlines which states enforce handheld bans, texting bans and what fine you can expect to pay for a first-time texting-and-driving offense.^[6][10]

State	Texting Ban	Handheld Ban	Minimum Fine for Texting and Driving (First Offense)
Alabama	Yes	Yes	$25
Alaska	Yes	N/A	Up to $10,000
Arizona	Yes	Yes	$75
Arkansas	Yes	In school and work zones only	Up to $250
California	Yes	Yes	$162
Colorado	Yes	N/A	$50 for minor; up to $1,000 for adult
Connecticut	Yes	Yes	$200
Delaware	Yes	Yes	$100
District of Columbia	Yes	Yes	$100
Florida	Yes	In school and work zones only	$30
Georgia	Yes	Yes	$50
Hawaii	Yes	Yes	$300
Idaho	Yes	Yes	$75
Illinois	Yes	Yes	$75
Indiana	Yes	Yes	$35.50
Iowa	Yes	N/A	$45
Kansas	Yes	N/A	$60
Kentucky	Yes	N/A	$25
Louisiana	Yes	For learner/intermediate license drivers and in school zones	$175
Maine	Yes	Yes	$250
Maryland	Yes	Yes	Up to $75
Massachusetts	Yes	Yes	$100
Michigan	Yes	Yes	$100
Minnesota	Yes	Yes	$275 for second offense
Mississippi	Yes	N/A	$100
Missouri	Yes	Yes	$150
Montana	N/A	N/A	N/A
Nebraska	Yes	N/A	$200
Nevada	Yes	Yes	$50
New Hampshire	Yes	Yes	$100
New Jersey	Yes	Yes	$200
New Mexico	Yes	N/A	$100
New York	Yes	Yes	$50
North Carolina	Yes	N/A	$100
North Dakota	Yes	N/A	$100
Ohio	Yes	Yes	Up to $150
Oklahoma	Yes	For learner/intermediate license drivers	$100
Oregon	Yes	Yes	Up to $1,000; up to $2,000 if activity contributed to crash
Pennsylvania	Yes	N/A	$50
Rhode Island	Yes	Yes	Up to $100
South Carolina	Yes	N/A	$25
South Dakota	Yes	N/A	Up to $500
Tennessee	Yes	Yes	Up to $50
Texas	Yes	In school zones only	Up to $99
Utah	Yes	N/A	Up to $100
Vermont	Yes	Yes	$100
Virginia	Yes	Yes	$125
Washington	Yes	Yes	Up to $250
West Virginia	Yes	Yes	$100
Wisconsin	Yes	In work zones only	$100
Wyoming	Yes	N/A	Up to $75

Does Distracted Driving Increase Insurance Rates?

Your driving history can affect your insurance premiums, which means that a texting-and-driving ticket can result in your rate going up. That said, most insurers look at the past three to five years of your driving history, so any violations beyond that will usually be dropped.^[11] Once you have a clean history, your rates will likely go down.

Will a Texting and Driving Ticket Go On My Record?

Getting cited for distracted driving will add points to your driving record in most states and first offenses will usually result in a fine. However, subsequent offenses can be more costly and may include jail time depending on your state.^[8]

Additionally, receiving too many points for traffic violations could result in a suspended license. In many states, you will have to file form SR-22 as a condition of reinstating your license, which will almost certainly increase your insurance premium.

Are There Ways To Prevent Texting and Driving?

Reaching for your phone, reading messages and texting a reply can all significantly increase the chance of distracted driving accidents happening. Here are some tips to prevent you from texting while you’re behind the wheel:

• Place your phone out of your reach, like in your purse, the console or the back seat.
• Put the phone on silent mode.
• Personalize a response text that alerts people that you’re driving.
• Let your family and friends know that you will be unavailable when you are driving.
• If you need to respond, pull over in a safe area to do so.
• If you are a passenger, ask the driver to stop texting or talking on their phone.