A comprehensive study of which U.S. cities contain the “worst drivers” was released last week and reveals 20 areas some people might want to practice their defensive driving skills before hitting that road in them.
Consumer Affairs compiled data on the cities by using four key metrics to find where the worst drivers live.
These data points include total car crash fatalities per 100,000 people and the overall number of fatal crashes due to “bad driving” per 100,000 people.
The overall number of fatalities during crashes where there was a positive blood alcohol content was taken into account, as was the number of fatalities where speeding was a factor.
“Bad driving” was categorized as instances in which drivers were erratic, careless or otherwise ignored the rules of the road.
“Everyone seems to think their hometown has the worst drivers. But the ConsumerAffairs Research Team took a more data-driven approach to find the ultimate breeding ground for vehicular chaos,” Consumer Affairs noted.
According to the data, 20 percent of the most dangerous places to drive are in Tennessee.
Consumer Affairs, using the data points above, reported that Memphis is the most dangerous place in the U.S. to drive.
Volunteer State cities Knoxville, Clarksville and Chattanooga were also on the list and were all in the top 20.
Will you stop driving in these cities with the worst drivers?
Yes: 27% (6 Votes)
No: 73% (16 Votes)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, came in second place as a haven for bad driving while Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Macon, Georgia, placed fourth and fifth, respectively.
The fifth most dangerous place to drive, per Consumer Affairs, was St. Louis, Missouri.
The worst places to drive in order from 6th to 10th are:
6. Cleveland, Ohio
7. Detroit, Michigan
8. Victorville, California
9. Hesperia, California
10. Pueblo, Colorado
Consumer Affairs also found that Rockford, Illinois, Beaumont, Texas, Greensboro, North Carolina, Independence, Missouri, Hartford, Connecticut, Lakewood, Colorado, and Tucson, Arizona, rounded out the top 20 and in that order.
Consumer Affairs also offered a list, using the same metrics, of the safest places to drive in the U.S.
Green Bay, Wisconsin, was reported to have the safest drivers while Cary, North Carolina, came in second.
Oxnard, California, Bellevue, Washington, and McKinney, Texas rounded out the top five safest places to drive in the U.S.
Other cities in the top 10 in order included Lynn, Massachusetts, Glendale, California, Pearland, Texas, College Station, Texas, and Henderson, Nevada.
Only cities with populations of more than 100,000 people were included in the study.
