I live just on the outskirts of Atlanta, and let me tell you that driving here can be a nightmare. When I came across a study conducted by LendingTree about the states with the best and worst drivers, I just knew that Georgia would be in the top five, if not number one. I've also spent a lot of time driving in Florida in my lifetime, and I figured it'd be close behind. Florida drivers definitely embody the whole "Florida man" vibe at times. Shockingly, neither state is even in the top 25.
So which state has the worst drivers? Massachusetts is the winner... or, uh loser. Between Nov. 5, 2023, and Nov. 4, 2024, Lending Tree found that it had the highest "incident rate" overall with 61.1 incidents per 1,000 drivers. That includes 44.4 accidents per 1,000 drivers, which also makes it the state with the most car accidents. The Bay State also rates pretty high for DUIs, with 2.0 per 1,000 drivers, placing it at number 11, tied with Tennessee.
Oddly enough, Massachusetts doesn't see many speed-related incidents. It's actually in the bottom five for that category, which makes you wonder what's causing all the accidents. Maybe it's just Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) out there trying to learn the white man's mode of transportation.
Anyway, rounding out the top five states with the worst drivers are, shockingly, Rhode Island at number two, and not shockingly, California at number three. Hey, I've spent enough time in Los Angeles traffic to understand that. Washington, D.C., which technically isn't a state but made the list anyway, is number four, and New Jersey is number five. While I can't attest to New Jersey, I do have friends who live in the D.C. suburbs and loathe driving into the city.
The states with the best drivers are spread throughout the middle of the country. Arkansas tops the list with just 14.7 incidents per 1,000 drivers. It also has the lowest accident rate at just 8.2 accidents per 1,000 drivers. Michigan is number two, followed by Vermont at number three. Kentucky and Oklahoma round out the top five.
When it comes to DUIs specifically, Washington, D.C. tops the list, followed by California, North Carolina, Wyoming, and New Jersey. North Dakota, Iowa, Utah, Idaho, and Wisconsin have the most speeders. Oddly, Washington, D.C. has one of the lowest speeding rates with less than 1.0 speed-related incidents per 1,000 drivers. I guess everyone in D.C. is stuck in traffic too long to speed.
LendingTree based these lists on tens of millions of insurance inquiries from the last year. In addition to car accidents, DUIs, and speeding-related incidents, it also calculated general citations, which included categories like reckless driving, safety violations, failure to yield, failure to signal, hit-and-run incidents involving bicycles and pedestrians, and improper lane usage.
Personally, I'm still not convinced that Georgia shouldn't be on the list, but then again, Atlanta traffic is so wild that you almost have to be a decent driver to navigate it day after day. So what do you think? Did LendingTree get it right, or do you think your state has the worst drivers? Let me know in the comments!
Do you enjoy PJ Media’s conservative reporting? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth. Join PJ Media VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member