Worst Drivers in USA, Arizona is listed at #12.

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Looked at the reasons for the accidents and I have to believe that there is a difference in the way various states report their statistics. I can't believe behaviors are so different between states. For example:

Florida

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs: 44 out of 50

Failure to obey traffic signs or signals: 11 out of 50

Careless or inattentive driving: 2 out of 50

Montana

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs: 2 out of 50

Failure to obey traffic signs or signals: 26 out of 50

Careless or inattentive driving: 11 out of 50

South Dakota

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs: 5 out of 50

Failure to obey traffic signs or signals: 5 out of 50

Careless or inattentive driving: 43 out of 50

Edit - added Virginia

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs: 45 out of 50

Failure to obey traffic signs or signals: 35 out of 50

Careless or inattentive driving: 46 out of 50

 
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I saw a story listing the worst cities for drivers and #1 was Houston. I would agree with that one. I've never seen anything quite like Houston drivers.

 
Statistics might be right on. Florida has inebriated seniors from all over moving there and Virginia has inebriated politician/government workers living there. Besides the fact that Idaho is way up the list proves the list is accurate! I love Idaho. I was born there...but, after moving back to Idaho from CA, I discovered the drivers in Boise, ID are among the worst I've ever observed in 25+ years of driving a big rig...
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About the only thing nice I can say about CA, other than its weather and "twisties", is CA drivers are relatively better than Idaho's!

 
California # 40? Those stats must be skewed by the large populous as this place is infested with incompetent, inattentive drivers. Two things, driver training, as I understand it, is basically non existent in this state vs. when I was a kid. We saw enough videos of gray matter hanging out of accident victims heads to at least get us thinking that this stuff MIGHT be dangerous. Secondly, we didn't have these stinking electronic toys to bother us while negotiating rush hour traffic. In today's society, the smart phone is king to a lot of people who can't possibly wait to respond to the latest FB post or email that comes in while they are hurdling down the Interstate at 70 +. Common thread is the 18-21 year old group, which typically can't be taught anything they don't subscribe to until they're about 30 or so. Possibly a subtle indoctrination, a year or two prior to driving age, about the dangers of this stuff might help as what most states are doing now isn't cutting the mustard and we are losing way too many of our kids!

 
Driving seems to be the most dangerous in places where there is a mix of driving styles. For example, Florida is dangerous because the population is made up of a lot of people who are either visiting or transplanted from another area.

Where I live we get a big influx of weekend people, and they come from a much more highly populated part of the state. They drive very differently than the locals and we have a lot of crashes on weekends when the two different driving styles mix.

I am surprised that some of the states which are high on the list are less populated places.

 
Looked at the reasons for the accidents and I have to believe that there is a difference in the way various states report their statistics. I can't believe behaviors are so different between states. For example:

Florida

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs: 44 out of 50

Failure to obey traffic signs or signals: 11 out of 50

Careless or inattentive driving: 2 out of 50

Montana

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs: 2 out of 50

Failure to obey traffic signs or signals: 26 out of 50

Careless or inattentive driving: 11 out of 50

South Dakota

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs: 5 out of 50

Failure to obey traffic signs or signals: 5 out of 50

Careless or inattentive driving: 43 out of 50

Edit - added Virginia

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs: 45 out of 50

Failure to obey traffic signs or signals: 35 out of 50

Careless or inattentive driving: 46 out of 50
Even neighboring states. You'd expect them to be more similar.

18, Arkansas

Fatal crashes: 523

Driver's licenses: 2,055,189

Most dangerous age: 18

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs: 34 out of 50

Failure to obey traffic signs or signals: 31 out of 50

Careless or inattentive driving: 1 out of 50

7, Missouri

Fatal crashes: 786

Driver's licenses: 4,196,682

Most dangerous age: 18

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs: 7 out of 50

Failure to obey traffic signs or signals: 32 out of 50

Careless or inattentive driving: 9 out of 50

 
Looks like they normalized the data by population to avoid the obvious higher wrecks numbers simply due to higher populations.

The numbers I thought interesting were the most dangerous age. Throughout the list that number seems the obvious 18 - 21... until you get to Washington state. Their most dangerous age is 48.

 
Interesting "Speeding" not listed as a cause by any of the States.
I hear you loud and clear Karl, this really surprised me too. Hopefully our LEO HotRodZilla AJ will chime in on that matter, after he sobers up from his Saturday night Tequila consumption! JSNS!

 
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As if I needed another reason to avoid North Dakota.
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I guess that is because you have to go through South Dakato to get to North Dakota?
I usually approach from the east via the U.P of Michigan, so not really. I just find myself heading to the Black hills instead of across the Bakkin shale play. Besides, everyone knows, ya gotta go to the Corn Palace.

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