And We’re 6th Worst in Drunk Driving Fatalities
Is it just your imagination or are the drivers around you the worst? It turns out that you’re right: At least Texas doesn’t have THE worst, but we ranked in third place of the top worst drivers in the country.
The Car Insurance Comparison website conducted the worst drivers study based upon publically available National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The researchers reviewed the stats in different categories to derive at a score per category. Then they added up all the scores to reach the overall rankings. The lower the score the worst the driver.
When all scores were added up, South Carolina and Montana tied for first place and Texas came in third. The eyes of Texas aren’t on the road ahead of us, that’s for sure.
Unsurprisingly, drunk driving deaths was a telling indication as to a state’s overall ranking, with all of the states ranked top 10 worst drivers also ranked in the top 10 DUI fatalities. Texas came in sixth place in the percentage of drunk driving related deaths.
Factors Used to Determine Bad Driving Rankings
Upon analyzing the NHTSA data, Car Insurance Comparison researchers ranked drivers on these factors:
- Number of auto accident fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles
- Percentage of deadly wrecks involving failure to obey traffic signals, wear seat-belts or maintain a valid driver’s license
- Drunk driving related fatalities
- Speeding related fatalities
- Careless driving related casualties of pedestrians and bicyclists per 100,000 of the population
Texas Scores Poorly on All Counts
Texas had an overall score of 63, not much better than the tied-for-first worst states, which scored 60 points each. Compare this dismal showing to Minnesota, which scored best of all states at 208 total points. Drunk driving was definitely a major reason for our poor showing, but our drivers scored poorly on all factors, including:
- Overall fatalities = 12th worst
- Failure to obey = 22nd worst
- Drunk driving = 6th worst
- Speeding = 14th worst
- Careless driving = 9th worst
In 2013, Texas ranked fourth worst. Our state tied with Florida for fourth in 2011.
All Ranking Factors are Preventable
Texas does not have to be in this position. All the factors used to rank poor driving performance are preventable. Slowing down, buckling up, obeying traffic signals, watching out for bicyclists and pedestrians, paying attention and never getting behind the wheel drunk could put us in contention for the coveted last place on the list.
If you were injured by a careless, speeding, distracted or drunk driver, Berenson Injury Law can help you recover the compensation you deserve. Call our Dallas-Fort Worth auto accident law office today at 1-888-01-8585 or in Fort Worth at 817-885-8000.