Mobile Phone-Related Fatal Car Crashes Highest in Tennessee

by Nathan Eddy

Tennessee reported the highest number of fatal crashes involving cell phones, at 93.

Texas reported 38 mobile phone-incurred fatal accidents, but in a sign that reporting is uneven, its neighbor state Louisiana reported none.

The nation’s most populous states recorded just 22 of these fatal accidents in 2011.

Say what you want about elderly drivers, but the retirement capital of the United States only recorded 21 mobile phone-related driving fatalities.

The numbers fall off sharply once we move to Illinois, where the state recorded just 14 fatalities in 2011, although as was mentioned, faulty reporting may have had much to do with that.

This infographic gives us an incomplete picture as to where mobile phone-related fatalities occur, thanks to a fragmented reporting process.

The report found that, when cell phone factors are missing from national data, most often it was not included in original police crash reports. (Photo credit: La Cara Salma)

It may not be possible to ever know how many crashes involve drivers using cell phones, the report indicated.

State agencies compile, code, audit and validate data. Paper forms are manually coded into electronic systems, and crash data from multiple-source documents are recorded for national uniformity.

Drivers may be reluctant to tell the truth or they are seriously injured or deceased. Also, witnesses’ memories and statements may be inaccurate, and there are no definitive ways to confirm that use of a mobile phone was the cause of the accident.