States with the highest and lowest rates of auto collisions
Each state has unique elements that influence traffic safety, including legislation, funding, and highway safety plans. States create these plans to track federal funding and outline their safety and prevention priorities. Highway safety plans lead each state to develop different strategies and, ultimately, different outcomes.
To better understand auto safety by state, Insurify’s analysts evaluated proprietary collision data from 2023 and 2024. Analysts identified the states with the highest and lowest accident rates, calculated by the number of accidents per the total number of drivers in each state.
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| 1 | Massachusetts | 6.07% |
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| 2 | New Hampshire | 5.81% |
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| 3 | Rhode Island | 5.63% |
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| 4 | Maine | 5.38% |
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| 5 | Nebraska | 5.13% |
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| 6 | Utah | 4.98% |
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| 7 | North Carolina | 4.91% |
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| 8 | Virginia | 4.83% |
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| 9 | South Carolina | 4.83% |
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| 10 | Idaho | 4.81% |
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| 11 | Maryland | 4.77% |
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| 12 | Oregon | 4.73% |
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| 13 | Vermont | 4.72% |
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| 14 | Georgia | 4.63% |
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| 15 | Ohio | 4.62% |
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| 16 | Iowa | 4.55% |
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| 17 | Indiana | 4.54% |
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| 18 | Pennsylvania | 4.52% |
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| 19 | Alaska | 4.48% |
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| 20 | New York | 4.46% |
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| 21 | Kansas | 4.39% |
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| 22 | Colorado | 4.39% |
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| 23 | South Dakota | 4.37% |
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| 24 | California | 4.34% |
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| 25 | Missouri | 4.34% |
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| 26 | Alabama | 4.28% |
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| 27 | Delaware | 4.27% |
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| 28 | Washington | 4.25% |
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| 29 | Connecticut | 4.22% |
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| 30 | Tennessee | 4.18% |
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| 31 | North Dakota | 4.08% |
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| 32 | Nevada | 4.00% |
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| 33 | West Virginia | 3.93% |
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| 34 | Louisiana | 3.88% |
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| 35 | Arizona | 3.86% |
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| 36 | Wisconsin | 3.83% |
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| 37 | Texas | 3.82% |
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| 38 | Montana | 3.79% |
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| 39 | Wyoming | 3.78% |
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| 40 | Arkansas | 3.71% |
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| 41 | Oklahoma | 3.58% |
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| 42 | Kentucky | 3.54% |
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| 43 | Washington, D.C. | 3.53% |
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| 44 | New Jersey | 3.44% |
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| 45 | Florida | 3.41% |
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| 46 | Minnesota | 3.35% |
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| 47 | Hawaii | 3.31% |
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| 48 | New Mexico | 3.03% |
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| 49 | Illinois | 3.02% |
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| 50 | Mississippi | 2.86% |
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| 51 | Michigan | 1.68% |
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*Accident rates are based on the number of accidents per total drivers in the Insurify database.
Massachusetts had the highest accident rate
Massachusetts had fewer collisions in 2024 than 2023, but it still ranks as No. 1 for the highest crash rate each of those years. Despite the state’s adoption of a hands-free mobile phone law in early 2020 to reduce distracted driving, collisions have increased.[1]
In early 2023, the Massachusetts governor signed House Bill 5103 into law to protect vulnerable road users, like roadside workers, bicyclists, and pedestrians, and to establish safer passing practices for both them and other vehicles.
The new law requires drivers to only pass vulnerable users at a safe distance and reasonable speed, and it implements restrictions for passing other vehicles. Drivers must pass other cars at the posted speed limit, and they may cross a yellow line to pass only when it’s safe to do so.
Michigan had the lowest accident rate
Michigan has reigned as the state with the least amount of collisions each year, and it even decreased its number of vehicle accidents from 2023 to 2024. It takes a proactive approach in its statewide Toward Zero Death program to foster road safety, and it shows.
Adopting the Safe System Approach as a tool, the state’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan dedicates much to road improvements.[2] The plan highlights areas of concern, such as seat-belt use and distracted or impaired driving, and underscores Michigan’s commitment to increasing road safety by improving roads.
In an attempt to mitigate the frequency and severity of future crashes, the state has installed rumble strips, created wider shoulders, added flashing beacons, and implemented other road safety features.
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New York had the largest increase in its accident rate
New York is one of only two states with an increase in collisions from 2023 to 2024, rising by 10%. In contrast, Vermont’s increase was just 2%
New York recognizes this trend in a 2024 report by the New York state comptroller, which highlights the state’s modest 17% success rate in meeting federal performance measures. In the pre-pandemic years of 2018 and 2019, New York had been meeting the majority of the established core targets.
In addition to federal initiatives, such as the National Roadway Safety Strategy launched by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), New York has implemented its own measures to improve road safety.
The state enacted Sammy’s Law to give New York City the ability to utilize calming zones to help reduce speed. In these slow zones, the city can reduce the speed limit from 25 to 20 mph and from 15 to 10 mph.
New York also enacted a Congestion Pricing Program in January 2025, and motorists must now pay a fee to drive into the congested midtown Manhattan area. This law aims to reduce congestion by deterring people from driving in the city during busy traffic times. Less congestion could curb the number of future collisions, increase revenue from public transportation, and result in cleaner air.
In 2022, the state passed legislation to lower minimum speed limits in villages and towns by 5 mph.[3] It also has focused on vulnerable road users by requiring mandatory bicycle and pedestrian awareness training for anyone seeking a new driver’s license.
Wisconsin had the largest decrease in its accident rate
Wisconsin saw the biggest decrease in overall collisions, down 34% from 2023. The state’s current Strategic Highway Safety Plan touts a strong, structured form of local participation, reflecting the state’s partnership with counties to promote a culture of road safety.[4]
Fewer winter snowstorms and increased funding for impaired driving enforcement have contributed to the decline in motor vehicle crash deaths, according to the Wausau Police Department. The department also noted the significance of drivers wearing their seat belts.
South Dakota ranks No. 2, having decreased by 30% from 2023, and, like Michigan, has adopted the Safe System Approach. In doing so, the state noted in its Strategic Highway Safety Plan that a 38-day period from 2023 to 2024 saw zero traffic fatalities, even though the time frame encompassed both Christmas and New Year holidays.
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