Kentucky: One of the Worst States for Distracted Driving in 2025

Distracted driving in Kentucky is so bad that they are among the top five worst states in the entire country.

We all have heard of the term distracted driving, right? Most people associate that term with being on their cell phones, texting, or scrolling through social media while driving. However, there's much more than just being on your phone that can be considered distracted driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says:

Distracted driving is any activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, fiddling with the stereo, entertainment, or navigation system — anything that takes your attention away from the task of safe driving.

A recent study by Bader Law found the worst states for distracted driving. The study examines distracted driving in America for 2025. They used the latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),  where they analyzed fatalities and the involvement of distracted drivers. Also in this study, they looked at age, gender, and timing related to these incidents. From the data, Bader Law ranked the states based on their distracted driving statistics.

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The worst state for distracted driving in 2025 was New Mexico. However, not too far behind it was the Bluegrass State, Kentucky. Let's see where it ranked and the data behind the ranking.

Kentucky is One of the Worst States for Distracted Driving in 2025

According to Bader Law, Kentucky came in as the fourth worst state for distracted driving in 2025. That's not a good thing. Here's what the study said:

Kentucky ranks fourth on our list with a final score of 37.91. In 2022, the state reported 128 fatalities due to distracted driving. This accounts for 17.20% of all fatal accidents in Kentucky, which is more than twice the national average of 7.78%.

When looking at driver involvement, 7.32 out of every 100,000 licensed drivers in Kentucky were involved in fatal crashes caused by distracted driving. Additionally, 2.83 people per 100,000 residents were killed by distracted drivers, highlighting the significant impact of this issue within the state.

Kentucky's data reveals a troubling trend in distracted driving incidents, with higher-than-average fatalities and driver involvement rates. This points to the necessity for stronger laws and greater public awareness efforts to combat distracted driving in Kentucky.

Now look, most people are guilty of texting while driving, heck, I can recall seeing a few people in Kentucky scrolling through Facebook while stopped at a red light. These things can wait. It's not worth losing your life or causing someone else to lose theirs because you had to see what was going on in the world of social media. So please, stay safe, drive responsibly, and put that phone down until you get home.