Louisiana has the seventh-highest rate of distracted driving incidents in the nation according to a report by QuoteWizard.
5,037 drivers died in what was deemed distracted driving incidents in Louisiana between 2013 and 2017. State Police Sgt. Melissa Matey says it’s not just cellphone related incidents.
“There are many other things that take your eyes and mind off the road, and that could be as simple as a simple conversation in the car, it could be eating, it could be children, anything that takes your focus off of the road,” says Matey.
That’s good for roughly 13 percent of driving fatalities in the state.
Matey says distracted driving is so dangerous because even if you take your eyes off the road for just a second or two, a car could make an abrupt stop in front of you and you may not have time to react.
“Your brain has to see that, it has to scan your memory to figure out how to get out of this situation, and then apply the brakes, steer around, or whatever else it may need to be,” says Matey.
The report notes distracted driving has declined slightly over the past few years, and Matey credits that to an aggressive driver education campaign at national and state levels.
“Those are pushed out from young kinds, all the way to adults, and even to the elderly that are driving,” says Matey.
New Mexico, New Jersey, and Washington State topped the list. Mississippi was the least distracted state.
