Florida ranks in the top 10 when it comes to the safest states of fatal crashes involving a mobile phone.
At the end of last week, the Zinda Law Group released a report that “analyzed all 50 states to determine the total number of fatal vehicle crashes between 2017 – 2021 and the number of occupants involved in fatal vehicle crashes caused by mobile phones over the same period” as the “findings were converted into a percentage for each state to show the extent to which mobile phones contributed to total fatal crashes.” The report factored in “the driver in each crash being distracted by listening, talking, or manipulating their mobile phone, and other relevant incidents involving passengers in each vehicle using similar devices.”
Florida placed 43rd on the list with 15,342 fatal crashes since 2017, of which 102 involved the use of cell phones or a percentage of .66 percent.
Wyoming led the list at 4.07 percent, followed by North Dakota at 3.81 percent, Kansas at 3.79 percent, Minnesota at 3.53 percent and Vermont at 3.40 percent.
Rhode Island stands at the bottom of the list with “zero fatalities reported as a result of mobile phone involvement,” but the Zinda Law Group urged caution about those findings.
“Whilst there have been 313 reported vehicle crashes in total, none of these incidents were reported to have been caused by mobile phones. It’s important to note however, that this may be due to a difference in how Rhode Island reports their data,” the law firm noted. South Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma and North Carolina followed Rhode Island in the report.
A spokesperson for Zinda Law Group commented on the findings.
“It is extremely sad to see the number of fatal vehicle crashes that could have been prevented had the occupants not been using their mobile phones or distracting the driver as a passenger,” the spokesperson said. “We hope that these figures highlight why it is so important to keep phones out of reach when driving or to find a solution that will minimize distractions, alongside ensuring passengers do not distract their drivers on the roads.”
The Zinda Law Group offered some insight into the methodology used in the report.
“This study looked at the US states that had the highest percentage of occupants involved in fatal vehicle crashes due to mobile phones when compared of the total number of crashes between 2017 – 2021. All 50 states have reported data for the total number of crashes each year, alongside the type of crash and how many occupants were involved. This allowed for analysis to determine the relationship between each of these datasets,” the law group noted.
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