Americans drive 3.3 miles distracted every day

February 21, 2018

Millions of people hit the road every day, but what does daily driving behavior look like for the average American? We dug into the data and looked at over 3,000 drivers to find out.

The average American is in the car 72 minutes per day and travels 40 miles. They typically take 4.5 car trips per day and drive at 31 MPH.

Out of these 72 minutes, they spend 6.5 minutes actively using their phone, 1.5 minutes making handheld phone calls, and 2.6 minutes with hands-free calls. They drive 3.3 miles actively distracted every day.

But not all times and days are created equal. The worst hour for distracted driving is 5:00 PM, where 12.6 minutes per hour are spent distracted. After all, 43% of people admit to using their smartphone while driving not to upset their boss – they can make up for time not in the office during the evening rush. Not to put all the blame on the bosses, some of the most frequent texts include “Coming home” and “Heading home.” On the flip side, drivers are the least distracted at 5:00 AM, with just 4.6 distracted minutes per hour. This is most likely because the boss – and everyone else – is asleep.

Wednesday and Thursday are the worst days for distracted driving, followed closely behind by Friday. 11.4 minutes per hour are spent distracted on these days on average. Sunday has the least amount of distraction during the week with 9.2 distracted minutes per hour.

While overall crash and distraction statistics can be staggering, we all have the power to change our own behaviors to make the roads safer for everyone. The first step to change is being aware of our own behaviors.

Want to measure your own driving behavior? Try our free apps – TrueMotion Family, for families who want to driver safer together, and Mojo, which rewards you for safe driving.