Two Tennessee Cities Take The Crown For America's Worst Drivers

Tennessee is known arsenic nan Volunteer State for its population's eagerness to spell into conflict for this country, but it whitethorn conscionable beryllium processing different estimation — for bad drivers. That's because erstwhile Consumer Affairs published its schematic showing nan 10 cities pinch nan worst drivers successful nan country, 2 of them — Memphis and Knoxville — were located there.

In fact, those cities were classed No. 1 and No. 2, successful that order, while nary different authorities had much than 1 location listed. The results are based connected nan National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's 2024 estimates of postulation deaths that — wide — did show a flimsy diminution successful yearly fatalities, from 40,901 successful 2023 to 39,345 past year. On nan different hand, traffic deaths stay a "public wellness crisis" successful this country, and nan complaint of full postulation fatalities successful Memphis reached 38.79 per 100,000 group successful 2024. Knoxville's complaint was 31.49 postulation fatalities per 100,000 residents.

But Consumer Affairs dug deeper than that, too. Its wide rankings further took into relationship nan number of crashes per 100,000 group that progressive things for illustration driving nether nan influence, speeding, and conscionable plain "bad driving" — arsenic defined by a assortment of fierce aliases sloppy maneuvers. For example, successful ranking Waterbury, Connecticut, successful 3rd place, Consumer Affairs pointed to nan city's driving fatalities that progressive personification being nether nan influence. Waterbury's rate, 7.87 deaths per 100,000 people, was much than 4 times nan nationalist number.

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Of course, numbers tin beryllium funny things. As nan aged saying goes, statistic tin beryllium considered 1 of nan 3 basal forms of untruths, on pinch lies and damned lies. Here's what we mean: While NHTSA made its prime for worst drivers based connected fatal outcomes, that — though important — surely isn't nan only measurement to look astatine nan matter. For instance, erstwhile Forbes Advisor group retired to analyse folks' on-road behavior, for illustration distracted driving aliases make fierce moves to get up of traffic, Tennesseeans were among nan best-behaved drivers successful nan federation past year.

In this study, which relied connected self-reporting from drivers, nan worst driving behaviors were recovered successful Alaska, Wyoming, New Mexico, Oregon, and correct astatine nan bottommost Hawaii — wherever 20% of drivers admitted to changing lanes/turning without utilizing their indicators, 13% to going astatine slightest 20 mph supra nan velocity limit, and 8% to moving reddish lights. Indeed, nan Aloha authorities was nan top-ranked authorities successful each 3 categories, albeit successful a necktie pinch Texas and Oregon successful nan past one.

In addition, and again tying pinch different states, Hawaii had nan second-highest percent of group admitting to driving nether nan power of narcotics and/or intoxicant and nan fourth-highest percent of drivers texting down nan wheel. So it's astir apt a bully point for those states that nan caller General Motors invention that analyzes behaviour to thief get vulnerable drivers disconnected nan road is still a activity successful progress.

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Checking pinch 1 much root — Allstate insurance's 2025 Best Drivers Report — gives america yet moreover much information points for deciding wherever nan country's champion and worst drivers live. Now, correct disconnected nan bat, nan statistic successful this study show that Knoxville, which Consumer Affairs rated arsenic nan metropolis pinch nan second-worst drivers successful America, was nan 17th successful nan state for longest timespan betwixt collisions. In different words, drivers successful that metropolis are astir 8.4% little apt to beryllium progressive successful a collision than nan nationalist average. True, that's a adjacent measurement disconnected nan champion metropolis successful this study, but it's importantly amended than nan Consumer Affairs results.

FWIW, Memphis, nan worst metropolis according to Consumer Affairs, vanished 88th among nan 200 cities ranked in nan Allstate research. But it was Boston drivers who were erstwhile again declared nan absolute worst successful nan yearly rankings. They're an astonishing 244% much apt to beryllium progressive successful a clang than nan nationalist mean and tin expect to beryllium progressive successful a collision conscionable astir each 3 years. Actually, 3 Massachusetts cities made nan bottommost five, since Worcester and Springfield vanished 197th and 196th.

The different broadside of nan spectrum had America's champion drivers coming from Brownsville, Texas, wherever nan comparative collision likelihood was astir 26% little than nan nationalist average. Rounding retired nan apical 5 were Boise, Idaho; Fort Collins, Colorado; Cary, North Carolina; and Laredo, Texas.