Here’s where America’s worst drivers are found: study

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Feel like you share the roadways with some dangerous drivers? A new study shows where that’s most likely to be the case.

The study by ConsumerAffairs reviewed crash data from the U.S. Department of Transportation and information included in the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System.

The site then ranked cities based on four factors: crash fatalities per 100,000 people, the number of fatalities (per 100,000 people) due to bad driving, positive blood alcohol content, and speeding. “Bad driving” included driving the wrong way in one-way traffic; failing to yield; aggressive and careless driving; making an improper turn; following improperly; inexperience operating; passing where prohibited; and improper or erratic lane changing.

Only cities with populations of 100,000 or more were reviewed by ConsumerAffairs.

Cities with the worst drivers, according to ConsumerAffairs’ analysis, were scattered through states in the lower Midwest and into the Southeast, as well as in the Southwest.

Tennessee had the most cities appear among the top 20 at four, including the worst-ranked city. In fact, Tennessee had 34 deadly crashes per 100,000 people in 2021, which is a significant increase compared to the national average of 12 deadly crashes per 100,000 people.

Topping out the list was Memphis. According to ConsumerAffairs, the majority of deadly crashes in Memphis are caused by bad driving, causing 203 deadly crashes in 2021 — more than any other city.

Tennessee’s three other cities on the list were Knoxville (12), Clarksville (17), and Chattanooga (19).

The 10 U.S. cities with the worst drivers, based on ConsumerAffairs’ analysis, were:

1. Memphis, Tennessee
2. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
3. Albuquerque, New Mexico
4. Macon, Georgia
5. St. Louis, Missouri
6. Cleveland, Ohio
7. Detroit, Michigan and Victorville, California (tied)
8. Hesperia, California
9. Rockford, Illinois

It wasn’t all bad. ConsumerAffairs also ranked the cities with the safest drivers, which were largely in Texas and California.

Topping out the list, though, was Green Bay, Wisconsin, a state that has often ranked as having some of the worst roads in the country.

The 10 cities with the safest drivers, according to ConsumerAffairs, were:

1. Green Bay, Wisconsin
2. Cary, North Carolina
3. Oxnard, California
4. Bellevue, Washington
5. McKinney, Texas
6. Lynn, Massachusetts
7. Glendale, California
8. Pearland, Texas
9. College Station, Texas
10. Henderson, Nevada

To see the full list of cities with the worst drivers in America, click here.

The study comes after U.S. safety regulators introduced a proposal that would set higher performance standards for automatic braking systems in new cars. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the technology could save up to 360 lives per year.