For those of us that have recently been involved in a car accident, they probably think that our state has the worst drivers. Though, if we ask the question to any North Carolinian, they may say California, Massachusetts, New York or maybe, South Carolina. Well, as it turns out, the most correct answer is our neighbor, South Carolina.
Research methodology
The research and worst driver rankings were done by the website, carinsurancecomparison.com utilizing data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association. They ranked each state by categories, including failure to obey, careless driving, drunk driving and speeding, based on the rates per 100 million miles driven.
South Carolina?
As it turns out, South Carolina tied with Montana for spot 3 as the state with the third worst drivers in the United States. They tied for second-worst rates of careless driving and speeding, with a per capital car accident death rate at 1.73, the worst of all states. It also has the worst cyclist death rates and one of the highest pedestrian death rates. And, over 45% of the fatal car accidents in South Carolina involved a speeding driver, the second-highest percentage of all states. For comparison, Montana has a car accident death rate of 1.42 per 100 million miles driven, and about 31% of all fatal crashes involved speeding.
Where does North Carolina rank?
North Carolina is at the other end of the rankings, tied at spot 24. While we do have an issue with careless driving, rates of fatal car accidents due to careless driving is much lower than other states.
What can we learn?
For our Fayetteville, North Carolina, readers, we know that there are two issues we have in this state that is easily mitigated: careless (distracted) driving and speeding. Indeed, throughout the country distracted driving and speeding has become an epidemic that we can all help solve by slowing down and careful driving. Though, if one is nonetheless, involved in a car accident as a result of another’s negligence, a personal injury lawsuit is always an option.