Over the past year, drivers in these nine states have stood out in many noteworthy ways, but not necessarily for all the right reasons.
It’s no secret that drivers in certain parts of the U.S. have notorious reputations amongst their peers on the road. Decrying other states’ drivers as categorically the worst is an unofficial national pastime that even the most kindhearted motorists can admit to indulging in, whether the accused drivers deserve the flack or not.
Drivers in some states may be more heavy-footed on the gas pedal, while drivers in other states are more prone to collisions or driving under the influence. There are certain states, however, where drivers tend to find themselves at fault for a variety of driving infractions more frequently than most. To identify the most notorious driving states of 2022, the data scientists at Insurify looked back across their eight state-level rankings of various bad driving behaviors in 2021 to see which states made the biggest name for themselves.
Methodology
The data scientists at Insurify, a site to compare auto insurance rates, referred to their database of over 4.6 million car insurance applications to round up the most notorious states for driving in 2022. Drivers submit information including their state of residence and any prior moving violations on their record within the past seven years when applying for car insurance. Over the past year, Insurify has published eight studies identifying the top ten states whose drivers are the biggest culprits across the following measures: speeding tickets, DUIs, rude driving, street racing, tailgating, accidents, dangerous driving, and having the worst drivers overall.
The states that appeared most frequently across these eight rankings were identified as the most notorious states for driving in 2022. The “Notorious Nine” fall into three tiers based on the number of times each state ranked within the top ten nationwide across the eight studies: (Dis)Honorable Mentions (four times), Runners-Up (six times), and the Top Offender (seven times).
The findings in this article represent statistical trends found in Insurify’s database of over 4.6 million car insurance applications. The findings of this study are not meant to imply the direction nor necessarily the existence of a causal relationship. Rather, this is a presentation of statistical correlations of public interest.
Which state has the worst drivers?
Nebraska’s drivers are notoriously violation-prone, from accidents and speeding tickets to tailgating and DUIs. Other states whose drivers are cited most frequently for breaking the rules of the road include Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
(Dis)Honorable Mentions
The following states have placed within the top ten states across four national bad driver behavior rankings.
Colorado
#6 for speeding tickets
Percentage of drivers with a speeding ticket: 13.99%
#8 for worst drivers
Percentage of drivers reporting past driving incident: 25.77%
#9 for tailgating
Drivers cited for tailgating per 10,000 motorists: 12.6
#9 for dangerous driving states
Dangerous driving infraction rate: 25.35%
South Carolina
#4 for speeding tickets
Percentage of drivers with a speeding ticket: 15.47%
#5 for accidents
Percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident: 13.11%
#6 for dangerous driving states
Dangerous driving infraction rate: 26.33%
#7 for worst drivers
Percentage of drivers reporting past driving incident: 26.14%
Runners-Up
The following states have placed within the top ten states across four national bad driver behavior rankings.
Idaho
#1 for tailgating
Drivers cited for tailgating per 10,000 motorists: 33.3
#2 for street racing
Drivers with a street racing violation: 29.08 per 100,000 drivers
#3 for rude driving
Drivers cited for rude behavior: 39.97 out of 1,000
#9 for worst drivers
Percentage of drivers reporting past driving incident: 25.13%
#9 for speeding tickets
Percentage of drivers with a speeding ticket: 13.28%
#10 for DUIs
Share of drivers with a DUI on record: 3.41%
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Iowa
#2 for dangerous driving states
Dangerous driving infraction rate: 27.95%
#2 for worst drivers
Percentage of drivers reporting past driving incident: 26.72%
#3 for speeding tickets
Percentage of drivers with a speeding ticket: 15.62%
#7 for street racing
Drivers with a street racing violation: 13.12 per 100,000 drivers
#9 for DUIs
Share of drivers with a DUI on record: 3.44%
#9 for rude driving
Drivers cited for rude behavior: 34.80 out of 1,000
Ohio
#1 for speeding tickets
Percentage of drivers with a speeding ticket: 16.12%
#1 for dangerous driving states
Dangerous driving infraction rate: 29.66%
#1 for worst drivers
Percentage of drivers reporting past driving incident: 28.18%
#3 for accidents
Percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident: 13.28%
#6 for rude driving
Drivers cited for rude behavior: 37.67 out of 1,000
#6 for tailgating
Drivers cited for tailgating per 10,000 motorists: 19.2
Virginia
#1 for rude driving
Drivers cited for rude behavior: 43.26 out of 1,000
#2 for speeding tickets
Percentage of drivers with a speeding ticket: 15.76%
#4 for worst drivers
Percentage of drivers reporting past driving incident: 26.52%
#4 for tailgating
Drivers cited for tailgating per 10,000 motorists: 24.3
#5 for dangerous driving states
Dangerous driving infraction rate: 26.33%
#10 for street racing
Drivers with a street racing violation: 8.73 per 100,000 drivers
Wisconsin
#4 for DUIs
Share of drivers with a DUI on record: 3.82%
#4 for dangerous driving states
Dangerous driving infraction rate: 27.53%
#5 for speeding tickets
Percentage of drivers with a speeding ticket: 14.80%
#5 for worst drivers
Percentage of drivers reporting past driving incident: 26.30%
#7 for rude driving
Drivers cited for rude behavior: 35.29 out of 1,000
#8 for street racing
Drivers with a street racing violation: 11.03 per 100,000 drivers
Wyoming
#2 for DUIs
Share of drivers with a DUI on record: 4.68%
#3 for street racing
Drivers with a street racing violation: 28.18 per 100,000 drivers
#5 for rude driving
Drivers cited for rude behavior: 38.35 out of 1,000
#6 for worst drivers
Percentage of drivers reporting past driving incident: 26.45%
#8 for speeding tickets
Percentage of drivers with a speeding ticket: 13.74%
#10 for dangerous driving states
Dangerous driving infraction rate: 25.34%
Top Offender
Nebraska has placed within the top ten states across seven national bad driver behavior rankings.
Nebraska
#2 for accidents
Percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident: 13.28%
#3 for worst drivers
Percentage of drivers reporting past driving incident: 26.72%
#3 for tailgating
Drivers cited for tailgating per 10,000 motorists: 26.4
#3 for dangerous driving states
Dangerous driving infraction rate: 27.83%
#6 for DUIs
Share of drivers with a DUI on record: 3.65%
#7 for speeding tickets
Percentage of drivers with a speeding ticket: 13.76%
#8 for rude driving
Drivers cited for rude behavior: 35.14 out of 1,000
Data Attribution
The information, statistics, and data visualizations on this page are free to use, we just ask that you attribute any full or partial use to Insurify with a link to this page. Thank you!
If you have any questions or comments about this article or would like to request the data, please contact [email protected].
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