Why This State Has the Worst Drivers in the U.S., According to a Study

Massachusetts has the worst drivers in the United States, according to a recent study from the finance site Lending Tree.

Per the study — which collected data from all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., from Nov. 5, 2023 to Nov. 4, 2024 — Massachusetts ranked first for the highest number of reported incidents, including speeding, DUIs and citations, with 61.1 incidents per 1,000 drivers.

Within those incident types, the state also had the highest accident rate, with 44.4 accidents per 1,000 drivers — marking the only state to rate above 40.

Massachusetts also holds the 11th-highest DUI rate in the country, the study said.

According to WalletHub, Massachusetts has some of the highest car insurance rates in the country due to these factors.

As to why the Bay State is seeing these high numbers, CBS affiliate WBZ attained data that shows an increase in traffic in the state between 2022 and 2023, with 5% more cars on the road in Boston, over 10% more in Newton and about 15% more in Framingham — to name just a few cities.

CBS News, meanwhile, attributed this growth to the fact that many employees returned to offices after the COVID-19 pandemic, but less of those same workers are using public transportation, instead opting for cars.  

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This, combined with the state’s hazardous winter weather conditions, creates an environment primed for traffic incidents, the outlet reported.

On a positive note, Massachusetts drivers have the fifth lowest speeding-related incident rate in the country, at just 1.3 speeding incidents per 1,000 drivers, per the Lending Tree findings.

Additional findings showed that D.C. ranks highest for DUIs at 3.6 per 1,000 drivers, while California comes in at a close second with 3.5.

North Dakota, meanwhile, ranked first for highest incidents of speeding, with 8 incidents per 1,000 drivers.

Elsewhere, Arkansas ranked first for best drivers overall, with the lowest number of reported incidents at 14.7 per 1,000 drivers, as well as the lowest accident rate at 8.2 per 1,000.

The state also rated 11th for the least number of DUIs, tied with Vermont, Kansas, Kentucky and New Hampshire.