Why are American roads so dangerous?

I don't know about phone-use while driving laws in the US but in Australia, the fine of 3-4 hundred dollars for holding a phone at all while driving means there has to be some form of "hands-free" system in the car.

That means the driver isn't looking at the phone at all. Most cars these days have phone controls on the steering wheel, some form of bluetooth phone-car connectivity, and also voice-controlled phone usage such as "Call MaryLou."