Enacting a comprehensive distracting driving law will save lives
Vote YES on Senate Bill (SB) 28!
The Issue:
- Distracted driving is a major contributor to motor vehicle crashes, deaths and injuries on U.S. roads.
- In 2024, there were an overall estimated 714 traffic fatalities in Kentucky according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
- The annual cost of traffic crashes in Kentucky is $6.2 billion – amounting to a “crash tax” of $1,378 on each resident according to a 2019 analysis. When updated for inflation alone, in 2025, costs would equate to $7.8 billion.
- In the U.S. in 2023, 3,275 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver, accounting for 8 percent of all crash fatalities. An estimated additional 324,819 people were injured. It is important to note that distracted driving crashes are known to be underreported due to differences in police crash report coding, database limitations and other challenges.
- Nationally, crashes in which at least one driver was identified as being distracted imposed an economic cost of $98.2 billion in 2019. In 2018 alone, distracted driving crashes cost employers nearly $19 billion. Updated for inflation only those numbers in 2025 dollars are $124 billion and $24 billion respectively.
- Research has shown that because of the degree of cognitive distraction these devices cause, the behavior of drivers using mobile phones (whether handheld or hands-free) is equivalent to the behavior of drivers at the threshold of the legal limit for alcohol in most states (0.08% blood alcohol concentration).
- Text messaging increases the risk of a safety-critical driving event by 23.2 times.
- Sending or receiving a text message causes the driver’s eyes to be off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. When driving 55 miles per hour (mph), this is the equivalent of driving the entire length of a football field with one’s eyes closed.
- According to NHTSA, the percentage of drivers visibly manipulating handheld devices while driving increased by 36.4% between 2014 and 2023.
- A poll Advocates commissioned in December 2024 found that 96 percent of Americans are concerned about distracted driving, with 83 percent “extremely” or “very” concerned.
The Solution – Upgrade the Distracted Driving Law to Curb Distracted Driving:
- SB 28 will prohibit handheld use of mobile electronic devices while driving. SB 28 also will update the texting ban to reflect technological advances in mobile electronic device capability and usage including prohibiting the watching of images such as videos, movies, video calls and games while driving.
- These actions are consistent with the recommendations of Using Electronic Devices While Driving: Legislations and Enforcement Implications, by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) which comprehensively reviewed the issue of distracted driving and state distracted driving laws. The report identifies key components in a model distracted driving law including:
- Provisions that prohibit handheld use of devices and visually distracting uses including the use of “an electronic device to stream, record, or broadcast video.” This includes when the device is used hands-free.
- A ban on holding or supporting an electronic device.