America’s Worst Drivers – Where Does Minnesota Rank?

Is there any mundane, daily activity that’s as stressful as driving? It seems like there are so many people out on the roads who just don’t understand what they are doing out there. It’s frustrating, maddening and, sometimes, downright scary! Rochester seems full of people who tend to drive with their heads somewhere besides their shoulders, their eyes anywhere but the road and their hands everywhere but on the steering wheel!

So, just how bad are Minnesota drivers? The results of a new study might surprise you! According to a study by the Car Insurance Comparison website, Minnesota actually ranks as the state with the BEST drivers in America. Yep, that’s right! This particular study found that Minnesota had the top-ranked drivers in the entire country!

To come up with the ranking, the site looked at several factors from the National Transportation Safety Board that related to traffic fatalities, including the number of deaths per 100 million vehicles on the road, the percentage of fatal crashes due to the breaking of general traffic laws (ignoring traffic signals, no seat belt, no valid driver’s license, etc.), the percentage of fatal crashes that involved alcohol, the percentage of fatal crashes that were speed-related and the percentage of pedestrian and bicycle fatalities per 100,000 people.

It turns out that Minnesota ranked among the lowest in every category, including the lowest five in three of them!

As for the worst drivers in the country? According to the study, you’ll find them in Montana! And in terms of states around Minnesota that ranked poorly, North Dakota ranked seventh worst, finishing as the worst state for drunk driving fatalities.

So, maybe Minnesota drivers aren’t as bad as you think. Just remember that next time you’re stuck behind somebody doing seven miles an hour UNDER the speed limit, or trying to drive and pay attention to the GPS on their mobile phone at the same time!