Smartphones’ Impact on Crash Rate Is Much Greater Than People Realized
May 12, 2025- Categories: Personal Injury
Technology has helped humanity accomplish great things. Unfortunately, it also has led to great losses. Many people are attached to their phones even behind the wheel, and that kind of distraction can have deadly consequences. But just how great is the impact of smartphones on car crashes? Here’s a closer look.
Avoiding smartphone use can help you avoid car accidents, but it unfortunately can’t protect you from other drivers who choose to use their phone behind the wheel. If you are seriously injured by a distracted driver, a car accident attorney may be able to help.
Major Increase in Smartphone Use and How We Use Them
Smartphones are used much more today than just a few years ago — and that has led to more distracted driving accidents. In the United States, 97% of adults own a cellphone, and 90% own a smartphone.
Americans are using phones differently when they get behind the wheel. Most of us use a cell phone for more than just talking. Texting and social media sites and activities are what occupy drivers the most. The problem is that each of these complex tasks requires drivers to divert attention from the essential tasks of safe driving. Unfortunately, this distracted behavior, combined with factors like fatigue, can lead to incidents where one might need a drowsy driving accident lawyer.
One 2022 study found that in California, smartphone use by drivers caused a 2.9% increase in car accidents. That increase resulted in 3,500 additional deaths.
Reliable Distracted Driving Data Difficult to Come By
There Are More Smartphone-Related Fatalities Than You Might Realize
It is clear that using a smartphone behind the wheel is dangerous, but determining exactly how much smartphone use impacts highway safety can be difficult. Mobile phone traffic is drifting away from voice communication to texting and social network surfing, making it difficult for public officials to have a clear idea of how many deaths are definitely being caused by smartphone use.
NHTSA data from 2022 showed just 368 deaths directly linked to a smartphone. But safety advocates say that mobile phones are likely much more of a fatal problem than this. If you look closely, the data suggests this, too. In 2022, three kinds of single-car crashes made up 54% of crash fatalities:
- Crashes into stationary objects
- Collisions with pedestrians
- Crashes where no collision was involved.
Drivers in fatal accidents often hit relatively small things like cyclists or pedestrians — things that might be easy to miss if you are distracted by a mobile device. With one recent study indicating that 70% of drivers admit to using smartphones behind the wheel, it’s reasonable to conclude that smartphone-related crashes happen more often than we realize.
Hurt in a crash? Call 888-407-2955 for a free consultation.
What Can Be Done to Save Lives
If we are to reduce the number of motor vehicle deaths due to smartphone use, every driver needs to commit to avoiding distractions on the road by doing the following:
- When driving, use your cell phone only for an emergency and pull over to the side for that purpose.
- Put your phone out of reach while you are driving.
- Block incoming texts and calls with an app.
- If you use a smartphone for GPS, have it mounted on your dashboard.
- Make a 100% commitment to never use your phone while driving.
If more drivers would commit to these actions, it is likely that deaths due to smartphone use would decline.
Distracted Driving Accident Lawyers in Southern California
Hurt in an Accident? We Can Help.
Neale & Fhima is an experienced distracted driving law firm serving Southern California, with offices in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, and San Francisco. Our attorneys can assist if you have been injured due to a distracted driver on a smartphone.
If you need legal advice about an accident with a distracted driver, we’re here for you. Call us at 888-407-2955 to schedule a free consultation.
Attorney Aaron Fhima
Aaron Fhima is a trial attorney who has secured numerous settlements and verdicts against large corporations and some of the largest auto manufacturers in the world. Representing consumers and injury victims throughout the state of California, Aaron’s practice areas include personal injury, and lemon law litigation. Aaron has a long record of success taking on large defense firms; and he doesn’t hesitate to take cases to trial when necessary to enforce his clients’ rights. [ Attorney Bio ]
