A new study has pinpointed the states with the most careful and least careful drivers, according to a press release.

Bader Scott, a personal injury law firm, analyzed motor vehicle crash data from the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) from 2018 to 2022 to determine which states have the most careful, and least careful, drivers.

The study took into account 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.

The Most Careful

Michigan takes the fifth spot for the states with the most careful drivers. The state saw that 20.2% of fatal incidents involved drivers or motorcyclists not wearing a seatbelt or helmet, 5.9% involved distraction, and 26.2% involved speeding.

California is home to the fourth most careful drivers, documenting that 13.4% of drivers involved in a lethal crash were not wearing a helmet or seatbelt. Additionally, 3.3% of fatal incidents involved distraction, and 30.7% involved speeding.

Tennessee has the third most careful drivers, with 23.9% of drivers and motorcyclists involved in a fatal crash not wearing a seatbelt or helmet, and that distraction was involved in 5.7% fatal crashes, and speeding in 15.5%.

Mississippi was found to have the second most careful drivers. The state saw that 28.2% of drivers involved in a fatal incident were not wearing a safety restraint, 1.9% of deadly crashes involved distraction, which equates to 61 out of a total of 3,202, and 15.6% of lethal accidents involved speeding.

In contrast, Nevada and Georgia were found to have the joint safest drivers. Nevada recorded that 16% of drivers involved in a deadly incident were not wearing a seatbelt or helmet, although it is still important to note that this still equated to 404 drivers. The state also saw that 2.8% of lethal crashes involved distraction and that 27.6% involved speeding.

Georgia documented 23.4% of motorcyclists and its drivers involved in a deadly accident were unhelmeted or not wearing a seatbelt, which equated to 2,767 cases. The state also recorded that 3.6% of lethal crashes involved distraction in some way and 20% involved speeding.

The Most Careless

Following in joint fifth position for the most careless drivers are New Hampshire and New Mexico. New Hampshire recorded a rate of 45% for drivers involved in a deadly crash that were not wearing a safety measure, that 6.2% of fatal crashes involved distraction, and that 37.3% involved speeding.

New Mexico saw a rate of 27% of drivers and motorcyclists that were involved in a fatal incident who were not wearing a seatbelt or helmet, 38.5% of lethal crashes involved distraction, and 36.4% involved speeding.

Hawaii is fourth on the list for the most careless drivers, documenting 178 drivers not wearing a seatbelt (or helmets for motorcyclists), marking a rate of 25.1% for non-restrained drivers involved in lethal crashes. Hawaii also saw 22.5% of deadly accidents involving distraction and a significantly high 43.4% involving speeding, which is the highest in the US.

Montana takes third place for the most careless drivers as the state saw 566 drivers involved in a fatal accident not wearing a form of safety restraint out of 1,213 crashes, equating to 46.7%. As well as this, Montana recorded that 7.5% of deadly incidents involved distraction, and that 35.1% involved speeding.

Wyoming is home to the second-most careless drivers. The state recorded that 35.2% of drivers involved in a deadly incident were not wearing a seatbelt or helmet – a total of 279 drivers or motorcyclists. Furthermore, Wyoming recorded 51 fatal crashes that involved distraction and 206 lethal crashes that involved speeding, marking rates of 9.2% and 37.2% respectively.

The study reveals that Missouri is the state with the most careless drivers as it ranked the highest on average for the aforementioned factors. Between 2018 and 2022, 36.5% of drivers involved in a lethal accident were not wearing a seatbelt (or helmet in motorcycle incidents), equating to 2,486 drivers and motorcyclists. The state also recorded 368 fatal crashes that involved distraction, translating to 8.2%, and that 38% of fatal crashes involved speeding.

The Whole List from careful to careless: 

1. Nevada, Georgia
2. Mississippi
3. Tennessee
4. California
5. Michigan
6. Nebraska
7. Utah
8. Oregon, Arkansas
9. Florida
10. West Virginia
11. Iowa, Indiana
12. Maryland, Connecticut
13. Ohio, North Carolina, New Jersey
14. Alabama
15. Delaware
16. Minnesota, Arizona, Alaska
17. Oklahoma, Louisiana
18. Rhode Island, New York
19. Massachusetts
20. Washington, South Dakota
21. Texas
22. Vermont, Kentucky
23. South Carolina
24. Maine
25. Wisconsin, Virginia, Idaho
26. North Dakota
27. Pennsylvania, Kansas
28. Illinois
29. Colorado
30. New Mexico, New Hampshire
31. Hawaii
32. Montana
33. Wyoming
34. Missouri