The big increase in state police tickets, and the big drop in Chicago tickets, comes as evidence of the dangers of cellphone use while driving continues to mount. The number of deaths from distraction-affected crashes was 3,166 nationally in 2017, or 8.5 percent of total fatalities, according to federal data. Safety advocates say distracted driving is likely under reported as a factor in crashes, and that it poses a similar or greater risk than drunk driving.