Distracted driving is creating new safety and financial risks

Distracted driving, which compromises all critical driving mechanisms and skills, causes new safety hazards by endangering the growing number of road users. It also creates new and "worse" financial risks, such as bigger vehicles leading to more significant property damage and injuries. 

The number of larger vehicles in the U.S. is continuously increasing. A July 2026 article from AOL noted that, in 2025 alone, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) accounted for 62.8% of new vehicle registrations.

The problem is that the bigger the vehicle, the greater the damage it can cause to property and people if its distracted driver causes an accident.

What Is the Meaning of Distracted Driving? 

Distracted driving, one of the worst types of bad driving habits, involves multitasking, in which a motorist does something else while driving. Driving, however, isn't something one can multitask, as it requires a driver's continuous, undivided attention. 

Distracted driving is so dangerous that it can significantly elevate one's risk of getting into or causing a motor vehicle collision (MVC).

The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), in collaboration with Cambridge Mobile Telematics, explained in a September 2025 report that motorists who engage in cell phone use while driving have a 240% greater likelihood of crashing. 

Failing to focus one's attention on the road while driving can lead not just to property damage and injury-causing MVCs but also to deadly crashes. Thousands of people die in the U.S. due to this reckless behavior. 

Per the latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), distracted driving led to the loss of 3,208 lives in 2024. It also injured 315,167 people. 

How and Why Does Distracted Driving Create New Safety and Financial Risks? 

Distracted driving creates new safety and financial risks by potentially putting more people in danger, given the nation's growing population. There's also the increased risk that new, larger vehicles bring to roads and their users. 

More Road Users Mean More Potential Car Crash Victims

In a January 2026 update, Consumer Affairs noted that as of 2025, around 86% of Americans 25 and older had a driver's license and that the U.S. was home to an estimated 242 million licensed drivers. The figures represent an increase from 2024's 240 million and 2023's 238 million licensed drivers.

Such growth means more people use the roads, and more road users could be in harm's way due to distracted drivers. 

New Vehicles Are Growing in Size and Posing Increased Dangers 

Many of today's passenger vehicles offer better protection and safety features, particularly bigger cars like pickups and SUVs. As physics dictates, the larger a vehicle is, the longer its crumple zones and the heavier it is.

Both features help a larger car absorb more impact. All that can add to the protection that occupants of today's bigger vehicles get.

Unfortunately, bad driving habits, like distracted driving, speeding, or recklessness, can quickly negate all those benefits and even lead to worse outcomes for other road users. They create new and much worse safety and financial risks for:

• Drivers and passengers of smaller cars (e.g., sedans)
• Pedestrians
• Cyclists

Such individuals have little to no protection against the weight, force, and impact that bigger cars with distracted drivers can cause. 

What Habits and Technologies Can Help Make Roads Safer? 

One of the most helpful habits to avoid driving distractions is preparing for each drive before you start moving your vehicle.

If you need to use the GPS, for instance, program your destination into your car's navigation system before you even back out of your driveway. Doing so can help reduce your visual, manual, and cognitive distractions.

Another habit (and technology) that can help make drivers and roads safer is to activate a mobile phone's "Do Not Disturb" setting before driving. With this feature turned on, the phone won't vibrate, light up, or make a sound even if there's an incoming text, email, or call.

Learning and practicing defensive driving skills (e.g., the three-second rule and SIPDE method), obeying speed limits, and never drinking and driving are other habits that make a safe driver.

Take advantage of all your vehicle's safety features, too. Examples include:

• Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB)
• Lane-keeping assist
• Adaptive Cruise Control

With these habits and technologies, you can be a much more responsible, prudent, and safe driver. As a bonus, know that safe drivers who own and operate safety-rated vehicles can enjoy discounts, per this HH Insurance auto insurance guide. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

What Are the Three Types of Driving Distractions? 

The three types of driving distractions include visual, manual, and cognitive.

Visual distractions are those that force drivers to take their eyes off the road. Looking at one's phone, even for just a "second," is already a distraction.

Manual distractions are activities that require a driver to use their hands for something other than operating the steering wheel. An example is twiddling with the car's infotainment system or air conditioner controls.

Cognitive distractions are activities or thoughts not related to driving. An example is text messaging while driving, which forces a driver to think of what to say and type in their message as they maneuver their vehicle.

The combination of texting and driving is extremely dangerous because the former constitutes all three types of driving distractions. 

What Is the Biggest Cause of Distracted Driving? 

Cellphone use remains one of, if not the primary, causes of distracted driving. Whether it's reading a message, sending a text, or making/taking a call, all these can significantly reduce a driver's focus on the road, increasing their risk of getting into an injury-causing, even deadly, crash.

Using a vehicle's infotainment system, such as entering destinations in the GPS or twiddling with the radio, is also a common cause of distracted driving. The same goes for interacting with passengers or eating while driving. 

Avoid Driving Distractions to Help Make Roads Safer 

Distracted driving is a dangerous, even deadly habit that should never have a place on public roads. Avoiding it at all costs should therefore be a top priority for all drivers, something they can achieve by eliminating potential distractions and practicing defensive driving. 

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