A mix of rising drunk driving incidents, distracted driving, and gridlocked highways has given California the dubious honor of hosting the nation’s worst drivers.
Previously in second place, the Golden State now ranks first in the annual study on bad drivers by online insurance marketplace website QuoteWizard, which described the state’s drivers as “firmly the worst.”
Five of the 10 worst driving cities in the US are in California, with Sacramento topping the list, accompanied by Riverside, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Bakersfield.
Meanwhile, the states following California in the bad driver race are Minnesota, Utah, South Carolina and Washington. Rhode Island, on the other hand, has America’s best drivers.
The study also concluded that Republican states generally drive better than Democrat states, with red states having a median ranking of 21st, while blue states were at 28th. Also, 12 of the 20 worst-driving states leaned Democrat.
According to QuoteWizard, it sampled information from records of car crashes, fatalities, traffic citations, driving under the influence (DUI) offenses, and other incidents across more than two million data points.
It added that even if individuals drive well and follow all the rules, living in a “bad driver” state makes auto insurance premiums more expensive. Being surrounded by bad drivers increases the likelihood of getting into an accident, contributing to a higher risk score that insurers use to calculate premiums.
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