FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky has the nation’s fifth worst drivers in a comparison of car accidents in the states issued by the Forbes Advisor, an arm of the business magazine media group.
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. Its 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 crashes 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 crashes 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 crashes involving a drowsy driver (0.9 events per 100,000 licensed drivers).
3. Kansas
Kansas’ score: 84.79 out of 100
- Kansas has the second highest number of fatal crashes 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 crashes per 100,000 licensed drivers).
- Oklahoma reports the eighth highest number of fatalities 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 per 100,000 licensed drivers).
- Kentucky reports the eighth highest number of fatal car accidents involving a drowsy driver (0.93 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 per 100,000 licensed drivers).
The states ranked sixth through 10th worst were, respectively, New Mexico, Wyoming, Arizona, Montana and South Carolina.
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