New Jersey Drivers Among the Top 10 Most Distracted in America

It's another Top 10 list New Jersey should not be proud to be part of. We're distracted in the Garden State, and not in a good way.

The notion of distracted driving hits all too close to home for me having lost a loved one that way.

And, I'm no angel. I'll freely admit I've been nabbed twice for being on my cell phone while behind the wheel of a moving vehicle. Once for texting, once for talking. I'm ashamed of BOTH.

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That was a long, long time ago and I've since learned my lesson, but I'd imagine at some point MY infractions ended up being a statistic.

WhistleOut, who helps consumers search and compare cell phone and internet plans, is breaking down some distracting driving numbers across the United States we should all really pay attention to.

The folks at WhistleOut dove into the most recently data collected by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which found that more than eight percent of all fatal motor vehicle accidents can be traced back to distracted driving. That's approximately 3,500 a year.

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And, unfortunately, New Jersey is a big contributor to the problem.

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New Jersey ranks #8 in the whole U.S. in distracted driving crashes where someone died.

The majority of the fatal distracted driving collisions in the Garden State are the fault of male drivers ages 25-44, according to NHTSA and whistleout.com.

The Top 10 Most Distracted Driving States are:

1. New Mexico
2. Louisiana
3. Kansas
4. Kentucky
5. Montana
6. Hawaii
7. Illinois
8. New Jersey
9. Idaho
10. Florida

NJ is the only state in the tri-state/Northeast region inside the Top 10. Pennsylvania is 42nd, Delaware is 13th, and New York is 34th.

WHATEVER it is that takes your mind off the road, IT CAN WAIT. Your family wants you home alive, and someone out there driving the same roads you are want THEIR family members home alive, too.

Think distracted driving is all about your mobile device? Think again. Check out some other actions police consider distracted driving below.