Texting and driving. Sigh. Let’s face it: Many of us still do it, despite the fact that it’s against the law. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve cruised down Route 1 only to see some guy next to me pounding away on their phone and realize they’re drifting into my lane. But how does the Bay State stack up to its New England brethren when it comes to breaking the law this way?

According to a study by local insurance company Plymouth Rock Assurance of  3,300 consumers with valid drivers’ licenses living in all six New England states and New Jersey, 26 percent of those surveyed who call the commonwealth home text and drive at the same time. Luckily, this appears to be the start of a downward trend that saw 39 percent of residents answer similarly in 2013.

As it so happens, though, texting and driving isn’t the most distracting action by someone behind the wheel. The data contends that 95 percent of those surveyed are most distracted by talking with passengers, followed by tuning the radio (92 percent), reaching for items in the passenger seat (84 percent) and eating or drinking (83 percent).

But which state texts and drives the most? And which state is the most law-abiding? Vermont sees 61 percent of those polled pull over in a safe location to send texts and 39 percent send a text for the driver. Both of those numbers are the percentages for those respective questions.

New Jersey has the most drivers try and rip a text while stopped at a red light or stop sign while the Garden State as well as Rhode Island have 10 percent of drivers try and fire one text off while sitting in traffic. Rhode Island and Vermont are both home to seven percent of drivers who continue driving while dispatching a text.

Overall, 28 percent of Connecticut drivers text and drive at the same time as does 26 percent of drivers who hail from Massachusetts and New Jersey. The lowest instances of texting and driving is in Maine, where only 19 percent of drivers do it.

Massachusetts, for its part, sits snugly in the middle for nearly every single category. So it’s time to lose the Masshole stigma, Bay Staters. We’re starting a safe driving revolution.

For more information about distracted driving tactics in New England and New Jersey, check out Plymouth Rock’s data here.

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