Distracted driving linked to thousands of fatal crashes every year, statistics show

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and some of the statistics associated with this unsafe practice are startling.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says distracted driving was blamed for more than 3,100 deaths in 2020.

That's an average of almost nine lives lost per day.

Another 400,000 people are injured every year in distraction-related crashes.

Just this year, the LAPD has issued citations to more than 5,000 drivers for using a cellphone while driving.

The Auto Club says texting is the main cause of distracted driving crashes. The group says more than half of driver admitted in a 2021 survey to texting or emailing on their phone while alone in the vehicle.

"People don't realize that if you're traveling just 55 mph, looking down for just five seconds - that's like traveling the entire length of a football field blindfolded," said Auto Club spokesman Doug Shupe.