Virginia Drivers Rank Among Best In The U.S. In New Study

VIRGINIA — We all have opinions about drivers from our area and out of state, but a new study uses driving data to determine the worst drivers in the U.S. by state. You might be surprised to learn that Virginia fared well on the 2021 list.

Friend, Levinson & Turner, a law firm in the Chicago area, compiled the rankings based on accident fatalities per capita from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2019 Fatality Analysis Reporting System, DUI arrests per capita from the FBI’s Crime in the United States 2019 database, percentage of uninsured drivers based on the Insurance Information Institute’s 2015 report, and driving-related searches per 100,000 for terms such as "how to get out of a ticket" and "car accident lawyer." The law firm ranked all 50 states from worst to best, assigning a score from 0 to 100 based on the four metrics.

Virginia ranked low on the worst drivers list, tying with Illinois and Connecticut at 45th. Neighboring North Carolina ranked just ahead at 44th, Maryland ranked 36th, and West Virginia ranked 13th.

Virginia received a score of 28.2, one of the lower scores of the U.S. states. The score was based on 292 DUI arrests per capita, 12 accident fatalities per capita, 9.9 percent of uninsured drivers, and 107 driving-related searches per 100,000 people.

New Mexico ranked as the state with the worst drivers due to its high accident fatalities per capita (25), and percentage of uninsured drivers (20.8 percent).

The study found states often labeled to have bad drivers ranked low on the worst drivers list. New York came in last, effectively being named the state with the best drivers. That's due to having the second lowest accident fatalities per capita (six) and low rate of uninsured drivers (6.1 percent).

The top states for worst drivers as determined by the study are:

• 1. New Mexico
• 2. Alabama (tie)
• 2. Arkansas (tie)
• 4. Wyoming
• 5. Montana
• 6. Delaware
• 7. Louisiana
• 8. South Carolina
• 9. Alaska (tie)
• 9. Missouri (tie)
• 9. Tennessee (tie)

The states with the best drivers, ranking lowest on the list, are:

• 50. New York
• 49. Massachusetts
• 48. Pennsylvania
• 45. Connecticut (tie)
• 45. Illinois (tie)
• 45. Virginia (tie)
• 44. North Carolina
• 42. New Jersey (tie)
• 42. Ohio (tie)
• 40. Minnesota (tie)
• 40. Utah (tie)

See the full list of rankings here.

Do you agree with the rankings? Let us know in the comments.