Right now, students at Improv Traffic School are learning (or relearning!) the rules of the road. And we hope they make careful decisions once they’re behind the wheel.
To emphasize just how crucial safe driving is for everyone, our friends at truthfinder.com have created an interactive map that ranks the worst drivers by state.
It’s a fun way for you to see where your state ranks, AND it highlights a sobering reality: Make reckless decisions on the road, and the consequences could ruin your life.
Which U.S. Cities Have the Worst Drivers
While most people believe the city they live in has the worst drivers, they probably wouldn’t know what a bad driver was until clipped while walking in a crosswalk. Picture it – you’re walking across the street in the crosswalk, minding your own business, when suddenly a sports car or an old beat up truck with out of state plates whips around the corner. The next thing you know, your wind blown hair looks like you just stuck your finger in a light socket, and your holding the driver’s side mirror.
While throughout the entire 10 second life alternating/near death experience he/she is cussing you out as they continue their journey down the road. Now, my friends that is a bad driver, one that needs to take several traffic school classes! So, let’s take a look and see if your city has the worst drivers in the U.S.
For starters Bostonians and – well – the entire state of Massachusetts for that matter. Drivers in the state of Massachusetts are so bad that they have won the “unofficial” award for worst drivers more times than any other state. They probably have more traffic schools and defensive driving classes than all the cities in the country. They have to keep their insurance rates down somehow! A side note – not everyone who lives in Massachusetts now has lived their all their lives, so technically there may be some good drivers on their highways.
Now, keep in mind what makes a bad driver in one state may not be the same thing that makes for a bad driver in another state.
Ladies and Gentlemen – Start Your Engines!
# 1 – Miami, Florida – Miami drivers hold the record for the most pedestrian related accidents, fatal accidents, and they are well know for their obscenity laced ranting at other drivers. Along with traffic school, I think these hot tempered drivers may need some anger management classes as well. We can’t exactly blame all the locals, after all, it is Miami one of the top tourist areas the country. Perhaps some of those drivers are from Ohio or Minnesota.
# 2 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – The drivers in the city of brotherly love may be taking their motto a step to far with the fender bender love taps. Second place is a tie between crashes and hitting pedestrians. It would seem with the amount of tourists walking in Philly, a driver might notice a large group of people carrying cameras and wearing fanny packs…
# 3 – Hialeah, Florida – Hialeah is a smaller city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The drivers of Hialeah get into a mind numbing number of accidents. Hialeah ranks number 11 out of the country for accidents. These residents mean serious business when they hit a car or pedestrian. The statistics for fatalities in this city, whether it’s another car or a pedestrian are horrifying they are ranked at number three! Not only do these drivers need to attend traffic school, but they also need defensive driving classes.
# 4 – Tampa, Florida – Tampa drivers score poorly on a few things, if they could bring their score up on even one thing, it would bump them out of the cities with the worst drivers category. The rank tenth in pedestrian strikes, eleventh in DWI fatalities and eighteenth in accidents. Of course, you have to remember that when these incidents occur most often is not public knowledge and Tampa, is known as a spring break party city. With that said the Tampa drivers may be getting a bad rap because of out of state drivers. Who knows.
#5 – Baltimore, Maryland – Baltimoreans seem to have a lot of trouble on the highways not smashing into each other. They wouldn’t have even made the list if they could just learn a few things – look before changing lanes, stop at the big red STOP signs, a yellow light does not mean “put the pedal to the metal”, and a red light does not mean “Go as fast as you can!”
Alright, we’ve had a little fun with the five states who have the worst drivers. Truth be told every state has bad drivers. If you have had an accident or a few driving mishaps such as speeding taking an online traffic school course may help with the diversion of a traffic ticket. Traffic school is part of a plea with the court, if you attend traffic school you may be able to have your traffic ticket fine reduced. In addition, the traffic ticket or the fine may not be reported to the DMV, which will help keep you auto insurance rates lower.