Louisiana nipped South Carolina to remain the state with the
worst drivers in the country for the second straight year,
according to a study. Vermont people were best behind the wheel.
Washington’s were 13th.
The rankings are based on statistics pulled from several sources,
including National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National
Motorists Association and Mothers Against Drunk Driving. They
combine five categories — fatality rate per 100 million miles
traveled, failure to obey traffic signals and wear seat belts,
drunk driving, tickets, and careless driving.
Carinsurancecompany.com, which constructed the report, is
interested because lousier drivers contribute to higher insurance
premiums in a state.
The worst six states (including District of Columbia) are all in
the South. Following Louisiana and South Carolina are:
49. Mississippi
48. Texas
47. Alabama
46. Florida
Rounding out the bottom 10 are:
45. Missouri
44. North Carolina
43. Montana
42. North Dakota
Besides Vermont, the best drivers live in:
2. Utah
3. New Hampshire
4. Minnesota
5. Oregon
6. Maine
7. Connecticut
8. District of Columbia
9. Iowa
10. Massachusetts
Louisiana drivers were bad across the board, but not the worst in
any particular category. Montana was worst for fatalities per mile
and drunk driving. Outside of Wyoming, it’s the last place you’d
expect to get a ticket. That all adds up. The less a driver fears
he’ll be stopped, the more he can drive drunk and crazy.
Kentucky was tops for drivers disobeying traffic signals and not
buckling up. Nevada drivers get the most tickets and Florida’s are
the most careless.
Washington remained in the 13th spot, ranking sixth in fatalities
per 100 million miles traveled, fourth in failure to obey traffic
signals and seat belt laws, 37th in drunk driving, 36th in tickets
and 16th in careless driving. The state’s drunk driving ranking
plummeted 14 spots since last year, but it was offset by a 21-spot
improvement in careless driving.
You can see the complete rankings
here.