10 States with the WORST DRIVERS (Florida is #6)

Road rage, careless driving, swerving cars: these may all be things you encounter during your normal commute. And the thought “This state has got to have the worst drivers!” may cross your mind from time to time.

It’s time to update our findings with the latest driving statistics and ask once again, “Which state has the worst drivers?“. Keep in mind that not only are bad drivers aggravating and dangerous, but they contribute to increased auto insurance premiums in your State!

Methodology

The rankings are based on statistics pulled from several sources, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the National Motorists Association, and Mothers Against Drink Driving.
There are five categories for each score, including:

• Fatalities Rate per 100 Million Vehicle Miles Traveled
• Failure to Obey (Traffic Signals + Seat Belts)
• Drunk Driving
• Tickets
• Careless Driving

We translated all of this information into one Total Score: the higher the score, the worse off the states were.

For example, the state with the most Careless Driving, Florida, got a 51 on the scale (District of Columbia is included in the rankings). The higher the score in each category, the worse the drivers, and the higher your state’s car insurance rates could be.


Here are the Top 10, in descending order:

Ten States with the Worst Drivers:

#10) North Dakota

Best Ranking Factor: Tickets: 6th
Worst Ranking Factor: Drunk Driving: 50th

Source: commons.wikimedia.org

North Dakota was not in the “Top 10″ in our previous edition, but they’ve dropped three places with the latest statistical updates. They kept their Ticketing Rate low, but increases in the Drunk Driving and Fatality Rate categories leaving them with a lot of room for improvement.

#9) Montana

Best Ranking Factor: Tickets: 2nd
Worst Ranking Factor: Fatalities Rate & Drunk Driving: 51st (the worst possible rank)

Source: en.wikipedia.org

Montana maintained the worst fatality rate per 100 million miles traveled (this year ranked 51 because we included the District of Columbia), and received a worse Drunk Driving score than last time. What saved them from a lower overall score? Their rating of second best when it comes to likelihood of getting a ticket.

#7 ) North Carolina (tie)

Best Ranking Factor: Drunk Driving: 31st
Worst Ranking Factor: Careless Driving: 44th

Source: www.worldpropertychannel.com

North Carolina’s rankings start out just above the average, but receiving Top 10 finishes in both Ticketing Rate and Careless Driving mean they’re five spots higher than their previous position. The biggest jump in their ratings came from the Careless Driving category – 13 spots worse than our last measurement.

#7) Missouri (tie)

Best Ranking Factor: Careless Driving: 25th
Worst Ranking Factor: Failure to Obey: 48th

Source: en.wikipedia.org

Missouri has done well to improve from it’s previous #2 finish, relatively speaking. They have the same total score, but other states have gotten relatively worse. Missouri showed significant improvement in the Careless Driving category, but finished too near the bottom for Failure to Obey.

#6) Florida

Best Ranking Factor: Drunk Driving: 18th
Worst Ranking Factor: Careless Driving: 51st

Source: www.timeanddate.com

Florida has struggled in both the Careless Driving and Ticket Rate, but slight improvements in the Fatality Rate and Failure to Obey categories help improve their overall rank. It’s worth noting that their Drunk Driving rating dropped from 7th to 18th. Remember – lower ratings are better.

#5) Alabama

Best Ranking Factor: Drunk Driving: 26th
Worst Ranking Factor: Tickets: 49th

Source: www.stateintegrity.org

Alabama just managed to stay out of the Top 5 last year, but a change in Careless Driving ranking from 7th to 36th in the nation really hurt them. They have improved or stayed the same in every other category, except for Ticketing Rate.

#4) Texas

Best Ranking Factor: Failure to Obey: 33rd
Worst Ranking Factor: Drunk Driving: 47th

Source: en.wikipedia.org

Texas has improved it’s overall ranking after coming in 3rd last year, but once again, it’s mostly a matter of the other states getting worse. Their Drunk Driving ranking dropped 16 places to 47th overall. Improvements (however slight) were made in the Fatalities Rate, Failure to Obey, and Ticketing Rate categories.

#3) Mississippi

Best Ranking Factor: Drunk Driving: 30th
Worst Ranking Factor: Fatalities Rate: 47th

Source: en.wikipedia.org

Mississippi is the biggest surprise in the Top 10, having come in 23rd in our previous edition of this study. Major increases in Failure to Obey (3rd to 44th) and Drunk Driving (10th to 30th) make up the bulk of the difference.

#2) South Carolina

Best Ranking Factor: Failure to Obey: 29th
Worst Ranking Factor: Careless Driving: 50th

Source: Wikimedia

The change in South Carolina’s Careless Driving rating from 3rd best to 50th was enough to bump them from 11th overall to the number 2 spot. Their Drunk Driving rating also was a cause for concern, increasing from 30th to 49th in the US. South Carolina can take some consolation in their improvement in the Failure to Obey category.

#1) Louisiana

Best Ranking Factor: Drunk Driving: 38th
Worst Ranking Factor: Careless Driving: 48th

Source: wikipedia.org

Louisiana drivers once again have the dubious honor of “Worst in the United States”. Finishing in the Top 5 for three different categories (Failure to Obey, Ticketing Rate, and Careless Driving) means they’ve finished #1 for the second time in a row, 5 points higher than South Carolina overall.

A Lower Ticketing Rate Can Mean More Drunk Driving

North Dakota wouldn’t have made the Top 10 without ranking as the second-highest in Drunk Driving.  In fact, 10 of the 15 states LEAST likely to give you a ticket ranked in the top half of offenders for Drunk Driving! You might not want to hear it , but perhaps knowing that they’re more likely to get a ticket helps deter drunk drivers.
Be responsible – don’t drink and drive. It only takes a split second to ruin someone’s life, including your own.

Careless Driving & Fatality Rate are Good Indicators of the Worst Drivers

The best that any of our Top 10 states finished in either of these categories was 25th, with all but Missouri being in the bottom 20 in both categories.
This connection between Careless Driving & Fatality Rate should be even more reason for drivers to put down their cell phones, and keep their eyes on the road.

What do the best drivers have in common? Paying Attention to the Road

Of the 15 states with the best drivers, only 4 ranked in the bottom half for Careless Driving, meaning they were keeping an eye on the road ahead and their surroundings – NOT on their cell phones.
The bottom line: Paying attention makes a big difference, and saves lives. If you want to be a responsible driver, get rid of the distractions and focus on your driving.

Complete Rankings: Worst Drivers

State	Fatalities Rate per 100 Million Vehicle Miles Traveled	Failure to Obey (Traffic Signals + Seat Belts)	Drunk Driving	Tickets	Careless Driving	Total Score	Rank
Louisiana	41	47	38	46	48	220	1
South Carolina	49	29	49	38	50	215	2
Mississippi	47	44	30	39	40	200	3
Texas	34	33	47	45	39	198	4
Alabama	40	41	26	49	36	192	5
Florida	33	38	18	48	51	188	6
Missouri	29	48	41	41	25	184	7
North Carolina	31	36	31	42	44	184	8
Montana	51	37	51	2	33	174	9
North Dakota	46	31	50	6	30	163	10
Oklahoma	43	50	20	31	18	162	11
Nevada	24	9	34	51	43	161	12
Tennessee	37	40	21	35	26	159	13
Georgia	28	46	5	50	29	158	14
Pennsylvania	36	49	32	18	22	157	15
Arizona	39	21	12	33	49	154	16
Arkansas	48	42	8	15	34	147	17
Maryland	10	14	33	47	42	146	18
California	11	25	16	43	45	140	19
Ohio	13	43	42	28	14	140	20
Illinois	12	30	39	34	24	139	21
New York	15	23	24	40	37	139	22
Wisconsin	26	35	35	23	20	139	23
Kentucky	44	51	2	17	19	133	24
Hawaii	23	2	48	13	41	127	25
Colorado	20	45	17	25	13	120	26
Wyoming	42	20	36	1	21	120	27
Delaware	27	7	27	12	46	119	28
Indiana	21	22	22	37	17	119	29
New Mexico	38	10	9	14	47	118	30
South Dakota	32	28	40	5	10	115	31
New Jersey	9	19	14	29	38	109	32
Nebraska	18	24	43	19	2	106	33
West Virginia	50	16	15	7	15	103	34
Michigan	17	15	13	22	35	102	35
Virginia	16	34	11	30	11	102	36
Idaho	25	39	23	9	4	100	37
Kansas	35	32	3	27	3	100	38
Washington	7	4	37	36	16	100	39
Rhode Island	8	8	46	10	27	99	40
Alaska	45	11	6	3	31	96	41
Massachusetts	1	18	44	21	9	93	42
Iowa	30	13	4	32	12	91	43
District of Columbia	5	1	10	44	28	88	44
Connecticut	4	6	45	24	8	87	45
Maine	19	26	29	4	6	84	46
Oregon	22	3	7	16	32	80	47
Minnesota	2	17	19	26	7	71	48
New Hampshire	3	27	25	11	5	71	49
Utah	14	12	1	20	23	70	50
Vermont	6	5	28	8	1	48	51