MISSOURI — A personal injury law firm, Bader Scott, used motor vehicle crash data from the National Highway Traffic Administration to determine the most careless drivers in the U.S. Missouri ranked number one.
According to the study, from 2018 to 2022, it considered the proportion of fatal crashes where drivers were not wearing a seatbelt (or helmet in motorcycle cases), fatal crashes involving distraction, and fatal crashes involving speeding. Each state was ranked based on the combination of these three factors.
Missouri ranked the highest average with 36.5% of drivers not wearing a seatbelt or helmet involved in fatal crashes (2,486 drivers and motorcyclists), 8.2% of fatal crashes involving distractions (368 drivers and motorcyclists) and 38% of fatal crashes involving speeding from 2018 to 2022.
Rank State Percentage of drivers not wearing a seatbelt or helmet involved in fatal crashes (2018 – 2022) Percentage of fatal crashes involving distraction (2018 – 2022) Percentage of fatal crashes involving speeding (2018 – 2022) 1. Missouri 36.5% 8.2% 38.0% 2. Wyoming 35.2% 9.2% 37.2% 3. Montana 46.7% 7.5% 35.1% 4. Hawaii 25.1% 22.5% 43.4% 5.(=) New Hampshire 45.0% 6.2% 37.3% 5.(=) New Mexico 27.0% 38.5% 36.4% 6. Colorado 29.8% 8.9% 36.2% 7. Illinois 24.2% 11.9% 36.4% 8.(=) Kansas 33.1% 22.0% 23.8% 8. (=) Pennsylvania 30.9% 5.5% 39.5% 9. North Dakota 38.3% 6.9% 28.5% 10.(=) Idaho 36.1% 12.3% 22.8% 10.(=) Virginia 29.0% 10.6% 29.6% 10.(=) Wisconsin 30.9% 6.8% 31.2% Courtesy: Baderscott.com
On the other end of the spectrum, Nevada and Georgia were identified as having the safest drivers overall. In Nevada, it was reported that 16% of drivers involved in fatal incidents were not wearing a seatbelt or helmet, which translated to 404 drivers. Additionally, 2.8% of deadly crashes in the state were attributed to distraction, while 27.6% were linked to speeding.