The best and worst driving states
Content
After years of decline, American drivers are returning to the roads in record numbers.
According to AAA spokeswoman Julie Hall, “Americans drove 3.1 trillion miles in 2015, an all-time record and 3.5 percent higher than in 2014. The Great American Journey is back, thanks in large part to lower gas prices.”
During the summer, driving increases and many motorists gear up for adventures on the road. In preparation for the driving season, CarInsurance.com used eight metrics to determine which states are the best and worst for drivers. Minnesota and Utah top the list, while Oklahoma and California are at the bottom of the list. Utah and Minnesota lead the nation, finishing 1st and 2nd, respectively. California ranked 50th and Oklahoma 49th.
Carinsurance.com ranked each state based on the following factors:
- Insurance: Auto insurance percentage depends on the average household income.
- Uninsured Drivers: Estimated percentage of uninsured drivers.
- Road traffic deaths: The annual number of road traffic deaths per 100,000 population.
- Roads: Percentage of roads in poor/moderate condition.
- Bridges: Percentage of bridges found to be structurally defective.
- Repair Costs: Estimated extra cost to repair your vehicle due to driving on bad roads.
- Gas: Average price of a gallon of gasoline
- Travel Delay: Annual delay in hours per passenger in the state's busiest city.
- Bypasses*: Number of federally designated bypasses (an umbrella term for a collection of 150 distinct and varied roads designated by the US Secretary of Transportation, including National Scenic Bypasses and All-American Highways).
*Used as a tie-break
Weighted ratings were calculated on the following factors:
- The annual death rate due to traffic accidents per 100,000 people according to IIHS is 20%.
- The median annual cost of insurance as a percentage of median household income based on data from Carinsurance.com and the US Census Bureau is 20%.
- Percentage of roads in poor/medium condition – 20%
- The estimated cost of repairing roads and bridges per motorist in the state based on US Department of Transportation data is 10%.
- Average price per gallon of gas based on the AAA Fuel Gauge report - 10%
- Annual delay per vehicle passenger based on the 2015 Texas A&M Urban Mobility Scorecard - 10%
- Percentage of bridges recognized as structurally defective - 5%
- The estimated percentage of uninsured drivers based on data from the Insurance Information Institute is 5%.
| The best and worst driving states | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area | Rank | Insurance | uninsured Drivers | traffic Dead | Roads | Bridges | Repair | Gas | Commute Dutch |
| Utah | 1 | 2.34% | 5.8% | 8.7 | 25% | 15% | $197 | $2.07 | 37 hours |
| Minnesota | 2 | 2.65% | 10.8% | 6.6 | 52% | 12% | $250 | $1.91 | 47 hours |
| NH | 3 | 2.06% | 9.3% | 7.2 | 54% | 32% | $259 | $2.01 | 15 hours |
| Virginia | 4 | 2.14% | 10.1% | 8.4 | 47% | 26% | $254 | $1.89 | 45 hours |
| Vermont | 5 | 2.42% | 8.5% | 7 | 45% | 33% | $424 | $2.09 | 17 hours |
| Indiana | 6 | 3.56% | 14.2% | 11.3 | 17% | 22% | $225 | $1.98 | 43 hours |
| Iowa | 7 | 2.33% | 9.7% | 10.3 | 46% | 26% | $381 | $2.01 | 12 hours |
| Maine | 8 | 2.64% | 4.7% | 9.8 | 53% | 33% | $245 | $2.11 | 14 hours |
| Nevada | 9 | 3.55% | 12.2% | 10.2 | 20% | 14% | $233 | $2.44 | 46 hours |
| North Carolina | 10 | 2.09% | 9.1% | 12.9 | 45% | 31% | $241 | $1.95 | 43 hours |
| Nebraska | 11 | 2.60% | 6.7% | 12 | 59% | 25% | $282 | $2.03 | 32 hours |
| Ohio | 12 | 2.80% | 13.5% | 8.7 | 42% | 25% | $212 | $1.98 | 41 hours |
| Georgia | 13 | 4.01% | 11.7% | 11.5 | 19% | 18% | $60 | $2.01 | 52 hours |
| Delaware | 14 | 4.90% | 11.5% | 12.9 | 36% | 21% | $257 | $1.93 | 11 hours |
| Hawaii | 15 | 1.54% | 8.9% | 6.7 | 49% | 44% | $515 | $2.60 | 50 hours |
| Kentucky | 16 | 4.24% | 15.8% | 15.2 | 34% | 31% | $185 | $1.98 | 43 hours |
| Alaska | 17 | 2.27% | 13.2% | 9.9 | 49% | 24% | $359 | $2.28 | 37 hours |
| Missouri | 18 | 2.71% | 13.5% | 12.6 | 31% | 27% | $380 | $1.82 | 43 hours |
| Idaho | 19 | 2.83% | 6.7% | 11.4 | 45% | 20% | $305 | $2.09 | 37 hours |
| North Dakota | 20 | 2.95% | 5.9% | 18.3 | 44% | 22% | $237 | $1.97 | 10 hours |
| Massachusetts | 21 | 3.09% | 3.9% | 4.9 | 42% | 53% | $313 | $2.03 | 64 hours |
| Wyoming | 22 | 2.85% | 8.7% | 25.7 | 47% | 23% | $236 | $1.98 | 11 hours |
| Alabama | 23 | 4.74% | 19.6% | 16.9 | 25% | 22% | $141 | $1.85 | 34 hours |
| Tennessee | 24 | 4.14% | 20.1% | 14.7 | 38% | 19% | $182 | $1.87 | 45 hours |
| Южная Каролина | 25 | 3.88% | 7.7% | 17.1 | 40% | 21% | $255 | $1.83 | 41 hours |
| Arizona | 26 | 3.32% | 10.6% | 11.4 | 52% | 12% | $205 | $2.13 | 51 hours |
| Kansas | 27 | 3.00% | 9.4% | 13.3 | 62% | 18% | $319 | $1.87 | 35 hours |
| Texas | 28 | 4.05% | 13.3% | 13.1 | 38% | 19% | $343 | $1.87 | 61 hours |
| Maryland | 29 | 2.63% | 12.2% | 7.4 | 55% | 27% | $422 | $2.05 | 47 hours |
| Montana | 30 | 3.89% | 14.1% | 18.8 | 52% | 17% | $184 | $2.00 | 12 hours |
| Illinois | 31 | 2.73% | 13.3% | 7.2 | 73% | 16% | $292 | $2.07 | 61 hours |
| Florida | 32 | 5.52% | 23.8% | 12.5 | 26% | 17% | $128 | $2.05 | 52 hours |
| Connecticut | 33 | 3.45% | 8.0% | 6.9 | 73% | 35% | $294 | 2.16% | 49 hours |
| New Mexico | 34 | 3.59% | 21.6% | 18.4 | 44% | 17% | $291 | $1.90 | 36 hours |
| West Virginia | 35 | 4.77% | 8.4% | 14.7 | 47% | 35% | $273 | $2.02 | 14 hours |
| New York | 36 | 3.54% | 5.3% | 5.3 | 60% | 39% | $403 | $2.18 | 74 hours |
| North Dakota | 37 | 2.92% | 7.8% | 15.9 | 61% | 25% | $324 | $2.02 | 15 hours |
| Colorado | 38 | 2.93% | 16.2% | 9.1 | 70% | 17% | $287 | $1.96 | 49 hours |
| Oregon | 39 | 3.15% | 9.0% | 9 | 65% | 23% | $173 | $2.18 | 52 hours |
| Арканзас | 40 | 4.28% | 15.9% | 15.7 | 39% | 23% | $308 | $1.84 | 38 hours |
| New Jersey | 41 | 3.91% | 10.3% | 6.2 | 68% | 36% | $601 | $1.87 | 74 hours |
| Washington | 42 | 2.80% | 16.1% | 6.5 | 67% | 26% | $272 | $2.29 | 63 hours |
| Pennsylvania | 43 | 2.93% | 6.5% | 9.3 | 57% | 42% | $341 | $2.20 | 48 hours |
| Rhode Island | 44 | 3.80% | 17.0% | 4.9 | 70% | 57% | $467 | $2.08 | 43 hours |
| Michigan | 45 | 6.80% | 21.0% | 9.1 | 38% | 27% | $357 | $1.99 | 52 hours |
| Mississippi | 46 | 5.23% | 22.9% | 20.3 | 51% | 21% | $419 | $1.84 | 38 hours |
| Wisconsin | 47 | 3.23% | 11.7% | 8.8 | 71% | 14% | $281 | $2.01 | 38 hours |
| Louisiana | 48 | 6.65% | 13.9% | 15.9 | 62% | 29% | $408 | $1.86 | 47 hours |
| Oklahoma | 49 | 5.25% | 25.9% | 17.3 | 70% | 25% | $425 | $1.80 | 49 hours |
| California | 50 | 4.26% | 14.7% | 7.9 | 68% | 28% | $586 | $2.78 | 80 hours |
How states are ranked on driving conditions
Good road conditions, inexpensive gas and auto repairs, inexpensive car insurance, and low fatality and traffic delays all earn points for the states at the top of the list. Utah has high insurance spending, with only two percent of the average household income spent on car insurance, while Californians spend four percent. A whopping 68% of California's roads are in poor condition, but only 25% of Utah's roads are in that condition. New Jersey has the highest road repair costs at $601 per driver, followed by California at $586 and Utah at a measly $187. Sunny California has the longest traffic jams and the most expensive gas in the country.
Percentage of roads in poor/medium condition
The results are scattered across the states with the highest and lowest percentage of roads in poor/moderate condition. There was not a single area with very bad or very good roads. Illinois and Connecticut, at 73%, have the highest percentage of rough and pothole roads. Drivers in Indiana and Georgia enjoy smooth pavement at 17% and 19% respectively.
How bad roads affect the cost of car repairs
Drivers everywhere have to shell out to fix their cars when bad road conditions damage their cars. New Jersey residents pay an average of $601 per year, while California residents spend $586. On the other hand, Florida residents spend $128 a year, while Georgians only spend $60.
Hourly delay of suburban trains per year
Coastal states seem to be the worst for commuter traffic, while Midwestern states have the least delays. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute partnered with INRIX to create an Urban Mobility Scorecard that measures how many hours per year a passenger is delayed by traffic in the state's busiest city. Los Angeles, California is the worst, with 80 hours per year, with Newark, New Jersey and New York equaling 74 hours per year. Drivers in North Dakota and Wyoming rarely experience traffic delays of 10 and 11 hours respectively.
We used average auto insurance rates by state as the basis for our calculations of the percentage of median annual household income spent on auto insurance. Michigan and Louisiana, where almost seven percent is spent annually on car insurance, are the most expensive. The median annual income in Michigan is $52,005 and the median annual car insurance is $3,535. In Louisiana, the median income is $42,406K, of which $2,819K is spent on insurance.
In New Hampshire, the median income is $73,397 and $1,514 is spent on car insurance—about 2% of the total. Residents of Hawaii earn $71,223 and spend an average of $1,095 on car insurance - that's only $1.54%.
Driver survey: Nearly 25% hate driving; "terrible" driving
The 1000 drivers surveyed by Carinsurance.com gave their answers about the best and worst aspects of driving and how they feel about driving in general. Drivers have the following experience when running errands and commuting:
- I find it very enjoyable: 32%
- I find it stressful but not afraid of it: 25%
- I find it very stressful and afraid of it: 24%
- In any case, I don't think too much about it: 19%
The most unpleasant factors contributing to negative feelings behind the wheel are:
- Traffic: 50%
- Bad behavior of other drivers behind the wheel: 48%
- Poor physical road conditions such as potholes: 39%
- Poor infrastructure, such as poorly planned intersections: 31%
- Construction of roads or bridges: 30%
- Expensive car insurance rates: 25%
- Inclement weather: 21%
Conversely, motorists say these factors contribute to more relaxed driving:
- Most roads maintained: 48%
- Many scenic routes: 45%
- Good weather: 34%
- Cheap car insurance rates: 32%
Use this information the next time you plan a trip.
This article is adapted with the approval of carinsurance.com: http://www.carinsurance.com/Articles/best-worst-states-driving.aspx
