These states have the most distracted professional drivers

Which states have the most distracted professional and commercial drivers? Southwestern states and the most densely populated states reign supreme, according to recently published data.

Analyzing customer data from July to September 2024, fleet operations platform Samsara identified where CDL holders are most distracted on the road as well as when the threat of distraction is most prominent.

See also: Data reveals a rising trend in fatal accidents involving trucks

Top 5 states with the most distracted drivers

Arizona is home to the most distracted commercial drivers in the nation, according to data from Samsara’s AI dashcams, which detect distracted driving events among customer fleet drivers. The data shows that Arizona has the most distractions per 1,000 miles driven.

New Jersey, California, Nevada, and Hawaii round out the top five states with the most distracted professional drivers. Samsara’s data does not include context into what causes these distracted driving events but concludes that multiple factors could play a role. Factors outlined include geography, state driving laws, and traffic volume.

For example, long, uninterrupted highways that are prevalent in the Southern U.S. could increase distracted driving, a Samsara senior data scientist, Erin Post, explained in a blog post. Other factors, such as bridge and tunnel traffic, could impact distracted driving in a state like New Jersey.

The top 10 states with the most distracted professional drivers include:

1. Arizona
2. New Jersey
3. California
4. Nevada
5. Hawaii
6. Texas
7. Florida
8. New Mexico
9. Oklahoma
10. Massachusetts

The five states with the least amount of distracted professional drivers include:

1. Alaska
2. New Hampshire
3. Vermont
4. Kentucky
5. Wisconsin

See also: States with the largest decrease in fatal truck accidents

Most distracted U.S. highways

Samsara also published data on the most distracted U.S. highways. A major east-to-west U.S. highway that runs from Florida to Texas made the top of the list. U.S. Highway 90 experienced 61.9 distracted driving events per 1,000 miles driven on a span of the highway located in Louisiana.

A stretch of U.S. Highway 422 in Pennsylvania takes second place with 28.8 distracted driving events per 1,000 miles. Rounding out the top three highways with the most distracted driving is U.S. Highway 24 in Indiana. It experienced 26 distracted driving events per 1,000 miles.

Samsara also recorded the speed at which these distracted events took place and found that the average miles per hour the vehicles traveled when these incidents occurred were higher than the speed limits posted on these highways.

“This suggests that driver distractions are associated with faster driving and that going even a few miles per hour over the speed limit can worsen distracted driving,” Post explained.

See also: Three studies find the states where driving is considered the riskiest

When are professional drivers the most distracted?

Samsara also released results on what times drivers are more likely to be distracted, as its technology includes time stamps when distracted driving incidents occur.

Drivers display more distracted driving in the middle of day. According to Samsara’s data, these distracted events peak at 1 p.m. Further, drivers who work overnight hours experience much less distraction, and drivers that work between the morning hours of 3 and 6 experience the least distractions, data concludes.