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Drivers in these Southern California cities rank among worst in America

By FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Updated  October 7, 2024 10:05am PDT
California
FOX 5 Atlanta

CA car insurance rates soar by more than 50%

Car insurance rates are projected to soar by 54% in California in 2024.

As we all know, driving can be dangerous. Reckless behaviors like distracted driving, speeding, and driving under the influence contribute to a staggering number of traffic-related deaths each year.

To rank the cities with the worst drivers, ConsumerAffairs calculated a "crash score" for each city by analyzing data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The data included the number of fatalities related to crashes per 100,000 people, the number of fatal crashes due to bad driving, fatalities involving positive blood alcohol content (BAC), fatalities from driving under the influence, and fatalities from speeding.

For the second year in a row, Memphis, Tennessee, ranked as the city with the worst drivers, earning a crash score of 77.3. In 2022, Memphis saw 36.2 fatalities related to crashes per 100,000 people.

Montana was the state with the worst drivers. With a crash score of 54, Montana had the highest number of fatalities involving driving under the influence and the second-most fatal crashes related to poor driving in 2022.

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The 10 states with the most dangerous drivers are primarily located in the Southern or Western U.S. Missouri, at No. 13, is the first Midwestern state on the list, and Maine, at No. 25, is the first from the Northeast.

The top 5 worst cities are:

  1. Memphis, Tennessee – Crash score: 77.3
  2. Victorville, California – Crash score: 64.0
  3. Macon, Georgia – Crash score: 63.4
  4. San Bernardino, California – Crash score: 60.6
  5. Jackson, Mississippi – Crash score: 56.1

The top 5 best cities are:

  1. The Woodlands, Texas – Crash score: 0.8
  2. Salinas, California – Crash score: 1.2
  3. Metairie, Louisiana – Crash score: 1.4
  4. Ann Arbor, Michigan – Crash score: 1.6
  5. Lehigh Acres, Florida – Crash score: 2.4

SEE THE FULL RANKINGS

The top 5 worst states are:

  1. Montana – Crash score: 54.0
  2. New Mexico – Crash score: 53.9
  3. South Carolina – Crash score: 53.7
  4. Wyoming – Crash score: 52.8
  5. Arkansas – Crash score: 47.6

The top 5 best states are:

  1. Rhode Island – Crash score: 11.5
  2. District of Columbia – Crash score: 11.8
  3. Massachusetts – Crash score: 12.6
  4. New York – Crash score: 13.2
  5. New Jersey – Crash score: 17.2

ConsumerAffairs offers the following tips for staying safe on the road:

  • Conduct regular vehicle safety checks.
  • Avoid distractions such as cellphones, eating, drinking, talking, or using in-vehicle technologies.
  • Always buckle your seat belt.
  • Don’t drink and drive.