Which states have the worst drivers?

It is a constant debate throughout the country: which state has the worst drivers? Of course, we all know about the traffic horrors of Los Angeles, Boston, New York City, etc., but collectively, which state has the worst drivers? Lucky for us North Carolinians, we do not even make the top third.

The study

The national study was conducted by website, Carinsurancecomparison.com, who used data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, including the NHTSA’s CrashStats and Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Their researchers then broke down that data into death rates per 100 million miles driven as it related to four categories: speeding, failure to obey, careless driving and drunk driving. A failure to obey includes car accidents that involve traffic safety devices, safety restraints not used and those driving without a valid driver’s license. Careless driving analyzed cyclist and pedestrian death rates, and drunk driving looked at both illegal drunk drivers with BACs at 0.08 or above and tipsy drivers with BACs between 0.01 and 0.07. The researchers then ranked each category and ranked the states by those rankings.

The results

Death rates in the top 10 worst states were 1.34 per 100 million vehicle miles driven, but surprisingly, none of the states in the Northeast made the top 10. At the bottom of the top 10 was Nevada, who ranked as the worst speeders and one with some of the most careless drivers. Next, is Oregon (9) and Arizona (8), and tied at 6 were Hawaii and Alabama. At spot 5 is Louisiana, and tied for 3 are South Carolina and Montana. Finally, the state with the worst drivers is a tie between Texas and New Mexico. Texas has a pedestrian per capita death rate of 2.24 and nearly a third of fatal car accidents involved speeding. Similarly, New Mexico’s pedestrian fatality rate was the worst in the country at nearly 4 per capita.

Insights into bad drivers

The researchers made several discovers about these epic bad drivers. They ranked distracted driving as a preeminent reason behind bad drivers, along with roadway issues that exacerbate the consequences of distracted driving (poor snow and rain mitigation, pot holes, etc.). Accordingly, researchers recommend driving without distractions to avoid joining the ranks of the worst drivers in America.

What about North Carolina?

Of course, our Fayetteville, North Carolina, readers want to know where our state ranks. We tied for 24th with careless driving being our worst category. This is why we should all pay more attention to the road to avoid car accidents.