5 Worst States to Drive In

When ranking some of the worst states to drive in, the factors usually considered include traffic, road quality and the skill level of the drivers on the road. Another factor can be bad winter and fall weather. States with a high percentage of bad drivers typically have higher percentages of traffic fatalities, failure to obey laws, drunk driving, speeding and careless driving.

Louisiana

Louisiana is one of the worst states to drive in across the board. It’s number one in the failure to obey category, fifth in both careless driving and fatalities, as well as sixth in drunk driving. The quality of drivers tends to be worse in cities and so crowded cities like New Orleans, Shreveport and Baton Rouge put more bad drivers together in a smaller space.

Utah
Utah is one of the states known for having bad weather in the winter season especially and it also ranks fifth in failure to obey and 12th in speeding, according to a Utah Salt Lake City Car Accident Lawyer. Otherwise it is 26th in careless driving, 51st in drunk driving and 32nd in fatalities. In states like Utah, you’re more likely to find the worst drivers on the open road. The weather and never-ending construction projects also combine to form a horrific driving experience.

South Carolina

The scary part of this state’s ranking is that it is number one for the most fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles. South Carolina is also ranked 10th in drunk driving and seventh in careless driving and speeding, but is 34th in the failure to obey category.

Texas

Texas is tied with Louisiana as one of the top worst states to drive with a third ranking for drunk driving and ninth for speeding and fatalities. In every other category, it is at least in the top 15, unlike Louisiana, which scored an average 30th in speeding.

North Dakota

Another number one ranking for this state plus bad winter weather makes North Dakota one of the worst states for driving. Its number one ranking is for drunk driving and it also has a sixth ranking for speeding, which can be a fatal combination. In fact, North Dakota recorded 66 fatalities in 2015 for exactly this reason. It is 15th in fatalities and 19th in failure to obey.

Careless driving tends to be the single biggest factor in predicting states with the worst drivers. This category applies to drivers who are driving distracted, such as using a cell phone, which accounts for over half of all distracted drivers.