April is Distracted Driving Awareness month, which makes it the perfect time to reflect on your own driving behaviors and break any bad habits you've formed that could put you and others on the road in danger. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), over 29,000 people were killed because of distracted drivers between 2012 and 2020. In 2020 alone, distracted driving crashes made up 8% of fatal car crashes overall and 324,652 people were injured and 3,142 died because of them. These potentially deadly actions can become habits if they go unchecked, and the NHTSA encourages everyone to remind those they ride with that when they're in the driver's seat, their full focus should be on driving. If you see the driver you're riding with engaging in distracted behavior, speak up and let them know their actions are unsafe. Travelers recently released the results of their 2023 Risk Index for Consumers, and while 70% of respondents to their survey said they see distracted driving as a bigger problem now than it was in the past, many still admitted to engaging in these behaviors while behind the wheel. In the slideshow above, we'll look at what they found were the top causes of distracted driving.

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