Weed and cell phones are making America’s roads deadlier – Texas and Wyoming have bad driving, but which state is WORST?
America road death toll is getting worse — but the problem is not spread evenly across the country, new research shows.
Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Texas have some of the worst records in the country for dangerous driving.
But the roads of one state are the most dangerous of all, says an analysis by Forbes Advisor.
New Mexico has the worst drivers in America.
The Land of Enchantment, as it is known, has alarmingly high numbers of motorists who get into crashes because they’re distracted, intoxicated, or ignoring traffic signs.
Those seeking calmer roads should head to Massachusetts, which has the country’s safest drivers, the report says.
The survey comes as some 43.8 million people are set to hit the road and travel 50 miles or more over the Memorial Day break, the AAA says.
That’s 4 percent more traffic than last year, and nearing the 2005 record of 44 million Memorial Day travelers.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says America’s roads are getting deadlier, as well as busier.
The number of fatal crashes jumped by 12.7 percent between 2019 and 2023, estimates show.
Experts say the rise in deaths is due to several factors, including the growing prevalence of cell phones, and motorists looking at handsets instead of the road.
Legal recreational cannabis in 24 states has also led to more stoned motorists, research shows.
And, as more people move to the booming Sun Belt, they are at risk of raids that typically lack sidewalks, crosswalks and bike lanes, which makes them more dangerous.
That would in part explain New Mexico’s place at the top of Forbes’ list.
This crash killed five people in January 2024 in Whitestone, New York, which is nonetheless one of America’s safer states for motoring
The growing availability of legal weed has been linked to more high drivers, causing more crashes
It has by far the highest number of fatal crashes involving a distracted driver.
It also has high numbers of speeding and intoxicated motorists getting into deadly collisions.
Southern states dominate the top 10. They include Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Mississippi.
Conversely, the Northeast is much safer. Six of the top 10 states with the best drivers are there, including Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island.
Mississippi has the highest total number of fatal car accidents, with 31.95 deadly incidents per 100,000 licensed drivers.
Researchers used data from the NHTSA, the FBI, the analytics firm Arity, and other sources.
They recorded the number of road fatalities, cell phone use on the road, and rates of drivers who were drunk, distracted, drowsy, or speeding.
The National Safety Council says some 44,450 people died in traffic crashes in 2023.
Though falling, death rates remain higher than before the pandemic arrived in 2019.
‘The most dangerous thing most people in our country do in a single day is use the U.S. roadway system,’ warned the group’s executive vice president Mark Chung.
