Each day, more than 700 people in the United States are injured in auto accidents caused by distracted driving, according to the National Safety Council. That non-profit organization, founded nearly 70 years ago to promote health and safety in the U.S., selected April to be designated as Distracted Driving Awareness Month 10 years ago to educate drivers about the dangers of taking their eyes off the road to chat, text, eat, groom or participate in any other non-driving-related task. The NSC recently postponed its Distracted Driving Awareness Month events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that doesn't change the significant peril posed by this activity or its impact on the insurance industry. The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published research in 2014 that determined distracted driving cost nearly $129 billion annually and accounted for 15% of the harm done by motor vehicle crashes. There's been increased public awareness around the dangers of distracted driving since 2014. But according to research conducted earlier this year by The Zebra, the insurance comparison site, many drivers persist in the behavior despite knowing its risks. Roughly one in three drivers conceded that distracted driving is dangerous, but 28.6% of respondents to The Zebra's January 2020 distracted driving survey said they persist in texting while driving as well as video-chatting, checking and responding to email, and taking photos or videos with their phones. More than half of survey respondents said they eat or drink while driving. The Zebra fused its research with findings from Quartz and Zendrive to determine how much time, on average, drivers in each U.S. state are distracted while behind the wheel. Oregon drivers were reported as the least distracted drivers, but drivers in the states outlined in the slideshow above statistically use their phones the most while operating a vehicle. Related:

• 5 ways insurers can help reduce distracted driving
• What independent agents can do about distracted-driving risks
• Deaths due to red light running hit 10-year high