Worst/best drivers by state

[jordane93]

Anyone in a BMW!

 

[RyanB]

I live in Ohio, and have had three accidents in recent years, all someone else's fault. All three were lane changes right into my car. One pushed me off the road completely—they fled, I'm sure they were on drugs.

Hopefully you got their plate info!

 

[Shawn]

Anyone in a BMW!

What is the difference between a BMW and a porcupine?

...a porcupine has the pricks on the outside.

 

[Zeldman]

Absolute worst: Anywhere in the US with roundabouts. Americans still don’t know how to use them. And probably never will.

I don't have any problem with the roundabout, it's the landing that give me a little trouble....

 

[Art Rose]

I've driven in all but a handful of the states, and I honestly couldn't pick a best or worst place to drive. Most everywhere there are folks who need to be using some form of mass transit, or be walking. Funny though, if you're anal about following the rules of the road, don't ever drive a vehicle in places like Mexico, or Puerto Rico. You wouldn't last twenty minutes. It's actually pretty good here, all in all.

I have heard people talk of a solution though. Each of the States could randomly pick a handful of drivers from every region of their State, install a machine gun in the grill of their cars, and grant total immunity from prosecution for the driver. I do believe that would guarantee total driver attention to the task at hand.

 

[IK04]

I spent about 14 hours driving in interstates in the last three days.

It is obvious we need some kind of mass retraining for those lowest common denominators that are cluttering up our highways. The fact that a person can have no training at all and get a license by driving with Barney Fife for ten minutes and be good for the rest of their life is insane...

I feel like putting up a billboard that says "GET OUT OF THE LEFT LANE!

 

[kyleb]

I feel like putting up a billboard that says "GET OUT OF THE LEFT LANE!

I think it would work better if you sent a text or put it on Insta.

 

[IK04]

I think it would work better if you sent a text or put it on Insta.

The best I can legally do is this on the front of the car:

 

[cowman]

Worst: Wisconsin, the drivers are all slow, camp in the left lane AND are not courteous.

When I lived in WI, this was my #1 pet peeve on the road, people would just cruise in the left lane and not let faster traffic by.

Now, in my home state of IL I'll actually make a bit of a distinction here- Chicago drivers are horrible, I fear for my life every time I drive in that part of the state. However, outside of that metro area(and the I-39/I-90 route through Rockford into WI) people do pretty decently. No worse than any other state I've been in at any rate.

MO... I've lived near the MO border and we were always told there was no mandatory driver's ed in MO which explained the drivers. I can't say if that's true but it fits, they do all sorts of weird stuff on the road. Then again if you look at how some of their roads are laid out maybe the drivers fit the circumstances.

Now every area, every state, every town has it's own character on the road. You fly around a lot and rent cars you notice subtle differences- hypothetically the rules of the road are all the same but little things like how the lanes are painted/used, how people let each other in(or don't), how well placed signage is, how long the on/off ramps are, etc. The one place I remember just being uncomfortable as could be on the road was in the Burlington/Greensboro area in NC. I had a crappy under powered rental car and every driver there just wants to run you over. Instant acceleration off a stoplight/from a turn without hesitation- you hesitate they try to run you over and honk. I don't mean like a long hesitation I mean as in you didn't mash the gas the instant the light turned green. Oh and boy you better know exactly where you are trying to go at every interchange(I didn't, was totally dependent on google maps app). I imagine if I'd been in something quicker than the rental Hyundai I'd drawn it wouldn't have been so bad... but I still remember that trip as the worst driving experience I've had outside the Chicago area.

 

[IK04]

In North Carolina, opposing left turn signals NEVER turn green at the same time.

They can't be trusted to avoid head on collisions due to sloppy turns.

 

[denverpilot]

In North Carolina, opposing left turn signal NEVER turn green at the same time.

They can't be trusted to avoid head on collisions due to sloppy turns.

Wow. That’s impressively bad.

 

[SkyDog58]

I don’t think that you can truly judge a state’s drivers unless you have lived there for a year or more and seen them in all seasons and weather.

So my picks of my qualifying states from best to worst.
Indiana
Illinois
California
Nevada
Georgia
Florida
South Carolina
Tennessee
North Carolina

Now I have driven in numerous other states and done so rather frequently in some but while I have some impressions, I will withhold judgment. Some folks judge too quickly.

 

[Sluggo63]

Germans are pretty good drivers but they are SLOW. Too paranoid about the speed cameras.

They're great drivers. Just what you have to go through to get your Führerschein would keep half of America off the roads. I agree, they tend to adhere pretty close to the speed limit, right until you see the magic sign.

Then, it's on...

 

[Sluggo63]

Absolute worst: Anywhere in the US with roundabouts. Americans still don’t know how to use them. And probably never will.

I disagree. New Jersey has always been the land of roundabouts ("traffic circles") and "jughandles." Which almost nowhere else in the country has. New Jersey drivers have been using traffic circles since forever. Older Jersey drivers know how to use them, and they use them well. It gets screwed up when the PA, NY, MA and DE drivers get here and don't know how to navigate one. Now, NJ has been starting to take out the roundabouts over the last few years and replace them with multi-light intersections and it has made things absolutely horrible. What used to be a nice flow of traffic around a wide traffic circle is now a snarl of traffic backed up with stupid lights. And now, it seems the rest of the country is starting to catch on with the efficiency of the roundabout and states are starting to remove light controlled intersections and replace them with circles. Maybe they'll finally catch on and America will embrace the roundabout.

 

[azure]

I disagree. New Jersey has always been the land of roundabouts ("traffic circles") and "jughandles." Which almost nowhere else in the country has. New Jersey drivers have been using traffic circles since forever. Older Jersey drivers know how to use them, and they use them well. It gets screwed up when the PA, NY, MA and DE drivers get here and don't know how to navigate one. Now, NJ has been starting to take out the roundabouts over the last few years and replace them with multi-light intersections and it has made things absolutely horrible. What used to be a nice flow of traffic around a wide traffic circle is now a snarl of traffic backed up with stupid lights. And now, it seems the rest of the country is starting to catch on with the efficiency of the roundabout and states are starting to remove light controlled intersections and replace them with circles. Maybe they'll finally catch on and America will embrace the roundabout.

View attachment 77434

Car C probably has VT plates...

 

[denverpilot]

I disagree. New Jersey has always been the land of roundabouts ("traffic circles") and "jughandles." Which almost nowhere else in the country has. New Jersey drivers have been using traffic circles since forever. Older Jersey drivers know how to use them, and they use them well. It gets screwed up when the PA, NY, MA and DE drivers get here and don't know how to navigate one. Now, NJ has been starting to take out the roundabouts over the last few years and replace them with multi-light intersections and it has made things absolutely horrible. What used to be a nice flow of traffic around a wide traffic circle is now a snarl of traffic backed up with stupid lights. And now, it seems the rest of the country is starting to catch on with the efficiency of the roundabout and states are starting to remove light controlled intersections and replace them with circles. Maybe they'll finally catch on and America will embrace the roundabout.

View attachment 77434

It’s nice someone knows how to use them. It would take a massive diagram to show how western state users utilize them. Including stopping inside them.

But you do need to show a two lane version which seems to be what planners out here wanted in and around parking lots. Watching grandma exit the mall into a two lane roundabout is pretty entertaining as long as you’re not in front of her or anywhere she can project force with her 6000 lb sedan.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

I disagree. New Jersey has always been the land of roundabouts ("traffic circles") and "jughandles." Which almost nowhere else in the country has. New Jersey drivers have been using traffic circles since forever. Older Jersey drivers know how to use them, and they use them well. It gets screwed up when the PA, NY, MA and DE drivers get here and don't know how to navigate one. Now, NJ has been starting to take out the roundabouts over the last few years and replace them with multi-light intersections and it has made things absolutely horrible. What used to be a nice flow of traffic around a wide traffic circle is now a snarl of traffic backed up with stupid lights. And now, it seems the rest of the country is starting to catch on with the efficiency of the roundabout and states are starting to remove light controlled intersections and replace them with circles. Maybe they'll finally catch on and America will embrace the roundabout.

View attachment 77434

I respectfully disagree. If you are on a major road, the traffic circle is fine because everyone else has to wait. When they changed the Somerset circle, in Bridgewater, the construction to make make route 202 traffic go above the circle actually improved the traffic flow.

The rules in NJ are very different from the rest of the world:

There are no set rules for driving into, around and out of a traffic circle in New Jersey. Common sense and caution must prevail at all times. In most cases, the circle’s historically established traffic flow pattern dictates who has the right-of-way. If a major highway flows into and through the circle, it usually dominates the traffic flow pattern and commands the right-of-way. Traffic control signs, such as stop or yield signs, at the entrances to the circle also govern which motorist has the right-of-way. Never enter a traffic circle without checking all signs and determining the intentions of the motorists already moving within the circle. Whenever a motorist is in doubt concerning who has the right-of-way in a circle, he/she should exercise extreme caution and remember the basic rule governing any uncontrolled intersection: The vehicle to the left yields the right-of-way to the vehicle approaching from the right.

Reference: NJ Driver Manual: https://www.state.nj.us/mvc/pdf/license/drivermanual.pdf page 68

The rest of the word operates according to your attached image. If you come from out of state, and don't know "historically established traffic flow pattern", you will bung up the flow. If you use the rules established in the rest of the world, you will mess up the flow of traffic in an NJ traffic circle.

 

[Deelee]

I live in Ohio, and have had three accidents in recent years, all someone else's fault.

Same here! I live in northern VA and have been rear ended three times in three years. The last one, the guy hit a woman who smashed into me (we were both stopped at a stoplight). Initial estimate was $5k to repair the right rear area of my car. After the collision center got all the pieces off.... new estimate was $20k and insurance wrote it off as a total loss. What a pain in the a$$... Every time I sit a a traffic light I cringe when the moron behind me comes up fast and I can even see they have their GD phone out... I swear I have PTSD sitting at traffic lights now. My wife has told me I subconsciously clench my jaw and tense up at traffic lights now...

Oh, and don't get me started on left turners who don't actually use the entire left turn lane (hanging out in the non-turn lane without blinker on clogging up traffic), people who don't zipper merge (use all the lanes as long as possible!!!), slow mergers on to the highway (yeah, let's go 25 on the acceleration lane to get on to the beltway which is moving at 70+ in the SLOW lane), left lane slow drivers, people who don't come to a complete stop at 4-way stops, people on their phones while driving, people texting while driving,

my blood pressure is really elevated right now.... I need to go calm down and do an xc somewhere for lunch to calm down a bit... too bad the weather sucks here right now. Maybe look into that instrument rating...

 

[wsuffa]

Anyone in a BMW!

SnAABs are worse...

 

[wsuffa]

I disagree. New Jersey has always been the land of roundabouts ("traffic circles") and "jughandles." Which almost nowhere else in the country has. New Jersey drivers have been using traffic circles since forever. Older Jersey drivers know how to use them, and they use them well. It gets screwed up when the PA, NY, MA and DE drivers get here and don't know how to navigate one. Now, NJ has been starting to take out the roundabouts over the last few years and replace them with multi-light intersections and it has made things absolutely horrible. What used to be a nice flow of traffic around a wide traffic circle is now a snarl of traffic backed up with stupid lights. And now, it seems the rest of the country is starting to catch on with the efficiency of the roundabout and states are starting to remove light controlled intersections and replace them with circles. Maybe they'll finally catch on and America will embrace the roundabout.

View attachment 77434

And I'd disagree with your disagreement. It may have changed, but the rule in NJ was that cars entering a traffic circle had the right of way over those already in the traffic circle ("yield to the car on the right"). NJ started replacing traffic circles with roundabouts, which are smaller and give the folks in the roundabout right of way over those entering. (Yes, in highway engineer lingo there is a difference between traffic circle and roundabout, just like there is a difference between speed bump, speed hump, and speed table).

Jug handles are good, though. Makes for better turns.

In Virginia, they installed a couple of "diverging diamond" intersections which are IMHO not what they are cracked up to be.

 

[kayoh190]

SnAABs are worse...

Do those still exist? I don't think I've seen a Saab on the road in years.

 

[denverpilot]

And I'd disagree with your disagreement. It may have changed, but the rule in NJ was that cars entering a traffic circle had the right of way over those already in the traffic circle ("yield to the car on the right"). NJ started replacing traffic circles with roundabouts, which are smaller and give the folks in the roundabout right of way over those entering. (Yes, in highway engineer lingo there is a difference between traffic circle and roundabout, just like there is a difference between speed bump, speed hump, and speed table).

Waaaaaait a sec. Honest question. What’s the difference between a traffic circle and a roundabout then? I feel like I’m missing something here.

Of course the most excitement we have out here away from the urbanization rat colony, is apparently someone thought all county roads run straight for miles — their skidmarks where the road makes two 90 degree bends, and the tracks in the prairie grass where they barely got their vehicle stopped before going into the fence of the horse rescue and the big yellow sign showing a dead end... were worth a chuckle on the way into said rat colony this week.

At least 50 yards of tire left on the road fully locked up. Two tires. I assume the rears.

Wonder what they were driving that didn’t have ABS. Hope they didn’t hurt their classic muscle car. Hahaha.

Also wonder who’s driving a classic car who doesn’t know how to threshold brake. But the kid probably took dad’s keys. Hahaha.

Hopefully he got the grass out from under the thing before he put it away in dad’s barn with flatspotted tires.

Wonder if he got the skidmarks out of his underwear.

 

[Jeff Oslick]

Boston. No contest. Nobody GAF.

Definitely not California. Yes, we have our share of idiots, but we have a huge population to choose from, and on a per-capita basis, I've seen far worse.

 

[RJM62]

And I'd disagree with your disagreement. It may have changed, but the rule in NJ was that cars entering a traffic circle had the right of way over those already in the traffic circle ("yield to the car on the right"). NJ started replacing traffic circles with roundabouts, which are smaller and give the folks in the roundabout right of way over those entering. (Yes, in highway engineer lingo there is a difference between traffic circle and roundabout, just like there is a difference between speed bump, speed hump, and speed table).

Jug handles are good, though. Makes for better turns.

In Virginia, they installed a couple of "diverging diamond" intersections which are IMHO not what they are cracked up to be.

I always liked jug handles, too. Most New Yorkers hate them just because they think they're a Jersey thing, but I always thought they made sense.

Roundabouts, not so much -- at least not where they've been planting them here. They seem to be becoming a religion of sorts, with municipalities planting them all over the place whether they make sense or not.

The worst example was in some town I had the misfortune of driving through the last time I had to go to West Point. They have like four or five of them in a row, which is totally idiotic because the only thing worse than backing up traffic across four intersections is backing up traffic across four roundabouts. If the furthest one is busy, the portion of road leading to it gets backed up, which means people in the previous roundabout can't leave the roudabout; so they just have to keep driving in a circle and hoping that no one else enters. That in turn causes the road leading into that roundabout to back up, which causes the same thing to happen to the previous one. It's a mess.

Rich

 

[ARFlyer]

The people I can’t stand are the ones still driving at highway speed in a full torrential downpour. You can’t see more then 10’ with driving rain. How the heck do you think it’s safe to drive at 70mph?!??

I also don’t understand how people don’t go crazy in large cites. If I had to drive 635 or 35E in DFW everyday I’d be bald. I still don’t understand the whole double arrow red lights in Texas.

 

[wsuffa]

Waaaaaait a sec. Honest question. What’s the difference between a traffic circle and a roundabout then? I feel like I’m missing something here.

According to Washington State DOT:

https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Safety/roundabouts/BasicFacts.htm

Traffic circles, or rotaries, are much larger than modern roundabouts. The graphic at right shows the size of a traffic circle (in green) compared to the smaller modern roundabout (in grey). Traffic circles often have stop signs or traffic signals within the circular intersection. The Arc de Triomphe in Paris and Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., are two examples of older-style traffic cicles.

Drivers enter a traffic circle in a straight line and do not have to yield to traffic already in the circle. Traffic circles typically become congested if many vehicles enter at the same time.

And for the Canadians: https://amainsider.com/road-rules-refresher-traffic-circles-roundabouts/

And as for speed bumps/humps/tables, our "friends" in Connecticut say this ( I heard the same description of each from the folks at Virginia DOT): https://www.cga.ct.gov/2006/rpt/2006-r-0567.htm

Definitions matter....

 

[denverpilot]

According to Washington State DOT:

https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Safety/roundabouts/BasicFacts.htm

Ahhh. Yield vs no yield. Interesting. We have nearly no true roundabouts here then. But we do have multiple lane traffic circles. And people can’t figure those out.

Especially if they got into that inside lane and their exit is coming up, they’ll cut everyone off to get out. All the extra lane seems to accomplish is making the clueless feel trapped and desperate. Thus, more unpredictable behavior.

We have one near here that’s two lane for 3/4 of it but a lane gets stripped off on the other 1/4 as a little “exit ramp”. I should take a photo. The stuff you see in that one is truly impressive. Especially if someone is in the inside lane and sees that nice long exit ramp coming up on the outside not realizing that entering traffic HAS to come all the way into the inside lane to join on that 1/4 side. Wheeee.

 

[Brad Smith]

I moved from California to rural Oregon and must say the change has been great. I don’t have the stress on the streets, highway or freeways that I had in California, not even in the least. Southern Oregonians seem to be able to follow the traffic rules and not go too crazy on the speed (slow/fast). Since I ride a motorcycle I expect to live a lot longer here than in Southern California. Moving to Oregon was the greatest thing I ever did.

 

[RJM62]

Waaaaaait a sec. Honest question. What’s the difference between a traffic circle and a roundabout then? I feel like I’m missing something here.

Of course the most excitement we have out here away from the urbanization rat colony, is apparently someone thought all county roads run straight for miles — their skidmarks where the road makes two 90 degree bends, and the tracks in the prairie grass where they barely got their vehicle stopped before going into the fence of the horse rescue and the big yellow sign showing a dead end... were worth a chuckle on the way into said rat colony this week.

At least 50 yards of tire left on the road fully locked up. Two tires. I assume the rears.

Wonder what they were driving that didn’t have ABS. Hope they didn’t hurt their classic muscle car. Hahaha.

Also wonder who’s driving a classic car who doesn’t know how to threshold brake. But the kid probably took dad’s keys. Hahaha.

Hopefully he got the grass out from under the thing before he put it away in dad’s barn with flatspotted tires.

Wonder if he got the skidmarks out of his underwear.

Tailgaters are the ones who annoy me the most. I had one on my tail today while I was on my way back from Stewart's with the cargo carrier shelf full of ethanol-free mogas. Seriously. That's a special kind of stupid ass. But I found him. When we got to a prolonged hill with a slow lane, I got in the right lane and slowed down so he could pass me. The stupid ass stayed right on my tail.

Those kind are almost always Downstaters. They're not being aggressive. That's just how they drive. But the shelf full of gasoline usually keeps them back a bit. Only the dumbest of the dumb tailgate a car with a shelf full of gas cans.

That's why this is my favorite weekend of the year. All the nitwits go home. It makes me understand how the Parisians felt when the Allied Forces liberated them from the occupation in 1944.

Rich

 

[RyanB]

SnAABs are worse...

Do those still exist? I don't think I've seen a Saab on the road in years.

No kidding, I don’t recall seeing one of those in a good while.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

And I'd disagree with your disagreement. It may have changed, but the rule in NJ was that cars entering a traffic circle had the right of way over those already in the traffic circle ("yield to the car on the right"). NJ started replacing traffic circles with roundabouts, which are smaller and give the folks in the roundabout right of way over those entering. (Yes, in highway engineer lingo there is a difference between traffic circle and roundabout, just like there is a difference between speed bump, speed hump, and speed table).

Please see post #57 for the most current NJ driver manual, and quoted material about traffic circles in NJ.

 

[chartbundle]

Definitely not California. Yes, we have our share of idiots, but we have a huge population to choose from, and on a per-capita basis, I've seen far worse.

As I tell people in Oregon, Californians may be horrible drivers, but at least they're quick about it. (Dear Oregonians, your car will not fly off the road if you hit 55, no not even for that tiny curve...)

 

[Kelvin]

Pfffftttt...

EVERY and I mean EVERY single one of these asshiles you guys are taking about are exported from Fayetteville NC.

 

[denverpilot]

Do those still exist? I don't think I've seen a Saab on the road in years.

They struggled along after GM basically abandoned them and also blocked their sale to a Chinese firm, somewhat ironically considering most other stuff long gave up that fight.

The company that was trying to make a go of making them decided to stop using the name in 2016.

But there actually were models produced right up until that day.

The Swiss government still owns the parts makers and parts are amazingly accessible (and necessary) to keep them going.

The latter model 9-3 was actually a really interesting car. The convertible was really nice and we have friends who still baby one along.

But the name officially finally died three years ago on any new vehicles.

 

[Dav8or]

I have driven in a majority of the states and I can say-

The best drivers are in the state of Canada.

The worst drivers are in the state of Lower 48.

Most of America has lost it's mind.

 

[RudyP]

They struggled along after GM basically abandoned them and also blocked their sale to a Chinese firm, somewhat ironically considering most other stuff long gave up that fight.

The company that was trying to make a go of making them decided to stop using the name in 2016.

But there actually were models produced right up until that day.

The Swiss government still owns the parts makers and parts are amazingly accessible (and necessary) to keep them going.

The latter model 9-3 was actually a really interesting car. The convertible was really nice and we have friends who still baby one along.

But the name officially finally died three years ago on any new vehicles.

The Swiss government?

 

[FORANE]

what does the insurance companies say?
(2)Louisiana and (3) Florida. Both top the chart on uninsured drivers on the road, with Louisiana having a peculiar tendency for drivers to sue for personal injury claim (and I here I thought Texas' Rio Grande Valley was the king of personal injury graft).

In the case of Florida, it appears they have the highest uninsured rate in the Nation

Did someone mention graft and uninsured motorists?
https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/vehicles/#uninsured_fee.asp
The Virginia Uninsured Motor Vehicle (UMV) fee allows a motor vehicle owner to register an uninsured motor vehicle. At the time of registration, the motor vehicle owner must certify whether the vehicle is insured or uninsured.

If the vehicle is uninsured, the motor vehicle owner is required to pay to DMV a $500 uninsured motor vehicle fee in addition to normal registration fees. Payment of the $500 fee does not provide the motorist with any insurance coverage. If involved in an accident, the uninsured motorist remains personally liable. This fee is valid for twelve months but may be prorated for a shorter amount of time.

 

[Jim_CAK]

I am not on drugs here and people here try to kill each other on the roads.

And California is by far the worst.

I live in Ohio and am also not on drugs! I do agree people are trying to kill you - but I see that everywhere I go. I travel for work most of the time to nearby states and any large metro city is bad. It is hard to rank by state. Michigan has the Detroit metro area that is terrible - but the rest of the state is very different. The cities I dread driving the most - Chicago, Washington DC, New York, Huston, Detroit. It seems like you take your life in your hands every trip.

 

[azure]

I live in Ohio and am also not on drugs! I do agree people are trying to kill you - but I see that everywhere I go. I travel for work most of the time to nearby states and any large metro city is bad. It is hard to rank by state. Michigan has the Detroit metro area that is terrible - but the rest of the state is very different. The cities I dread driving the most - Chicago, Washington DC, New York, Huston, Detroit. It seems like you take your life in your hands every trip.

Yes, Detroit is awful... but I find things to be much the same everywhere in SE MI, not just in and close to Detroit. Ann Arbor is just as bad, as are the northern suburbs between Detroit and Flint. Maybe that's just the Detroit influence... but I always found you had to get very far from Detroit before things started to change... as in Ludington or even Traverse City.

 

[RJM62]

Did someone mention graft and uninsured motorists?
https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/vehicles/#uninsured_fee.asp
The Virginia Uninsured Motor Vehicle (UMV) fee allows a motor vehicle owner to register an uninsured motor vehicle. At the time of registration, the motor vehicle owner must certify whether the vehicle is insured or uninsured.

If the vehicle is uninsured, the motor vehicle owner is required to pay to DMV a $500 uninsured motor vehicle fee in addition to normal registration fees. Payment of the $500 fee does not provide the motorist with any insurance coverage. If involved in an accident, the uninsured motorist remains personally liable. This fee is valid for twelve months but may be prorated for a shorter amount of time.

Another money grab that proves that state governments place revenue above all else these days.

Rich