States With The Worst Drivers, Ranked (2024)

Fatal car accidents are on the rise nationwide. In 2021, more than 39,500 fatal car crashes occurred on U.S. roads, a 10% increase from 2020. In some states, dangerous driving tends to be more common, putting you at greater risk when you get behind the wheel. But what state has the worst drivers?

To find out, Forbes Advisor compared all 50 states and Washington, D.C., across six key metrics. Our analysis identifies which states have the worst drivers and provides insight on the types of dangerous driving behavior in each state.

Key Takeaways

• Texas tops the list of worst drivers by state, while Washington, D.C., is home to the best drivers in the nation.
• Five of the top 10 states with the worst drivers are in the South, including Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kentucky and South Carolina.
• Seven of the top 10 states with the best drivers are in the East Coast area, including Washington, D.C., Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island.
• Montana is home to the most drunk drivers involved in fatal car accidents (19.01 per 100,000 licensed drivers) and New Mexico reports the highest number of fatal car accidents involving a distracted driver (9.54 accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers).

Top 5 States With the Worst Drivers

1. Texas

Texas’ score: 100 out of 100

• Texas ranks second worst in the nation for two of the metrics we considered: fatal car accidents involving a drowsy driver (1.35 accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers) and fatal car accidents involving a driver who was driving the wrong way on a one-way street or on the wrong side of the road (1.53 accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers).
• Texas also reports the third highest number of drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes (17.24 per 100,000 licensed drivers).
• Texas has the ninth highest number of fatal car accidents involving a distracted driver (1.92 accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers).

2. Louisiana

Louisiana’s score: 89.32 out of 100

• Louisiana has the third highest number of fatal car accidents involving a distracted driver (3.74 accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers) and the eighth highest number of drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes (13.44 per 100,000 licensed drivers).
• Louisiana reports the 10th highest number of fatal car accidents involving a drowsy driver (0.9 accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers).

3. Kansas

Kansas’ score: 84.79 out of 100

• Kansas has the second highest number of fatal car accidents involving a distracted driver (4.46 accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers).
• The state has the third highest number of fatal car accidents involving a driver who disobeyed traffic signs, traffic signals or a traffic officer (1.47 accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers).
• Kansas is the fourth worst state for fatal car accidents involving a drowsy driver (1.28 accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers) and fifth worst for fatal car accidents involving a driver who was driving the wrong way on a one-way street or on the wrong side of the road (1.42 accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers).

4. Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s score: 80.53 out of 100

• Oklahoma has the seventh highest number of fatal car accidents involving a distracted driver (2.02 accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers).
• Oklahoma reports the eighth highest number of fatal car accidents involving a driver who failed to obey traffic signs or a traffic officer (1.27 accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers).
• The state is the ninth worst for drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes (13.02 drunk drivers were involved in a fatal collision per 100,000 licensed drivers).

5. Kentucky

Kentucky’s score: 78.96 out of 100

• Kentucky has the fourth highest number of fatal car accidents involving a distracted driver (3.37 accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers).
• Kentucky reports the eighth highest number of fatal car accidents involving a drowsy driver (0.93 accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers).
• The state also has the ninth highest number of fatal car accidents involving a driver who was driving the wrong way on a one-way street or on the wrong side of the road (0.74 accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers).

Related:Best Car Insurance Companies

Study Methodology

To determine which states have the worst drivers, Forbes Advisor compared all 50 states and Washington, D.C., across the following six metrics:

• Number of drunk drivers (BAC of 0.08+) involved in fatal car accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers: 18% of score. Data comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. We took a three-year average from 2018 to 2020.
• Number of fatal car accidents involving a distracted driver per 100,000 licensed drivers: 18% of score. This metric includes various forms of distracted driving, such as looking at a phone, talking and eating. Data comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. We took a three-year average from 2018 to 2020.
• Number of fatal car accidents involving a drowsy driver per 100,000 licensed drivers: 18% of score. This metric includes fatal car crashes involving drivers who are drowsy, asleep, fatigued, ill or blacked out. Data comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. We took a three-year average from 2018 to 2020.
• Number of fatal car accidents involving a driver who was driving the wrong way on a one-way street or on the wrong side of the road per 100,000 licensed drivers: 18% of score. Data comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. We took a three-year average from 2018 to 2020.
• Number of fatal car accidents involving a driver who failed to obey traffic signs, traffic signals or a traffic officer per 100,000 licensed drivers: 18% of score. Data comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. We took a three-year average from 2018 to 2020.
• Number of drivers who looked at a phone per mile: 10% of score. This metric includes the number of drivers who looked at a phone per mile, relative to the countrywide average, including texting, touching the phone to make or receive calls, and other activities that required drivers to physically interact with their phones. Data comes from Arity, a mobility data and analytics company, 2023.

The number of licensed drivers by state comes from the Department of Transportation, 2019.