Men three times more likely than women to be involved in fatal distracted driving crashes in Tennessee, study shows

A recent study conducted by Zutobi shows that men in Tennessee are nearly three times more likely than women to be involved in a fatal crash that involves distracted driving. That is higher than the national average that shows men are two times more likely than women to be involved in a distracted driver fatal crash.

Distracted driving is defined as driving while doing another activity that takes your attention away from driving. Being less focused on driving will drastically increase the chance of being involved in a motor vehicle crash.

Since 2015, the total number of distracted driving crashes resulting in an injury have bounced between 265,000 to 295,000 crashes each year. In 2020 this number has dropped significantly, down to 215,000.

What is the major cause of distraction?

About 8% of crashes with injuries can be attributed to cell phones. Cell phones can be attributed to about 13% of fatal distracted driving accidents. This is not surprising, since cell phone use will directly impact your ability to react to hazards. Speaking on a cell phone while driving increases crash risk by 2 times, while texting increases the crash risk by up to 6 times.

Men are more than twice as likely to be involved in a fatal distracted driving accident compared to women. What does this mean exactly? Well, male drivers were distracted in 2125 fatal crashes in 2020, whereas women drivers were only distracted in 781 fatal crashes during the same period.

In Tennessee, reports indicate that 51 male drivers were involved in fatal distracted crashes in 2020, compared to 18 women for a total of 69. See all state numbers provided by Zutobi below: