Is distracted driving to blame for so many traffic fatalities in the Upstate?

While I am an Upstate native, I have lived and worked in the media in 6 different states since 2010. Having been in various places, I have noticed since coming back to the Upstate the high number of fatal crashes. It is nearly everyday we get a report from the Highway Patrol of a fatal collision. Sometimes, we have multiple incidents of that type in the same day. It makes me wonder if the ever increasing dependency on our cell phones, we have as a society is to blame? Today's question, Is distracted driving the reason for so many fatal crashes in the Upstate?