How Does Massachusetts Rank For Worst Drivers?
It’s no secret that Bay Staters have a reputation of being bad drivers, but are we the worst drivers on the road? According this survey that was conducted recently, the…
It's no secret that Bay Staters have a reputation of being bad drivers, but are we the worst drivers on the road? According this survey that was conducted recently, the answer is a resounding YES!
How surprised are you to see us on top of the heap? If you drive the roadways of Massachusetts even just a little bit, you know that we leave a lot to be desired when it comes to driving. It's not just how we drive, it's the way we conduct ourselves behind the wheel that give us a bad rep. How many times have you been flipped off, honked at or practically driven off the road by an upset driver?
Congrats to Massachusetts?
A website set out to determine which states have the best and worst drivers . . . and by "best" they probably mean LESS bad. When all of the data is put together, the results should explain why auto insurance in Massachusetts is one of the most expensive and getting even more so.
They calculated the number of driving incidents per 1,000 drivers in every state within four categories: Accidents . . . DUIs . . . speeding-related incidents . . . and general citations, like recklessness, failure to yield, and not signaling.
The state with the WORST drivers is Massachusetts. Rhode Island is next, followed by California . . . Washington, D.C. . . . New Jersey . . . North Carolina . . . Washington state . . . Maryland . . . North Dakota . . . and Utah.
The state with the BEST drivers (or LEAST WORST) is Arkansas. Michigan is next, followed by Vermont . . . Kentucky . . . Oklahoma . . . Alaska . . . West Virginia . . . Illinois . . . Louisiana . . . Mississippi.
New York is right after that, which may be surprising . . . since New York doesn't exactly have a reputation for AWESOME DRIVING.
Overall, the states with the WORST drivers are generally on the left and right coasts, with some of Middle America . . . and the ones with the BEST are down south . . . and, strangely, New York.
If we all work together to become better drivers this year, perhaps we can pass this undesirable distinguishment on to another more worthy state.
Worst Cities for Driving: Boston Makes the Top 10
It's a new year, and here we have a new, dubious list that Boston has landed on: the worst cities for driving in America.
So what else is new, right? Last year, we learned about how dangerous driving in Massachusetts can be. We also took a hard look at road rage in Boston. It was bad, but not the worst. Which would be a funny slogan for the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism to adopt: "Visit Boston: Our Road Rage is Bad, But It's Not The Worst!" VisitMA, I'm available to consult. Call me.
This new bit of data about the dangers of driving in the Commonwealth comes courtesy of Circuit. It's called The Worst Cities for Driving in America and, as I've already mentioned, Boston not only lands on the list, but it lands in the Top 10. "Well, how bad can it be, though? How many cities are in the study," you might ask. Bad, I would answer. As there are 80 cities in the study.
Worst Cities for Driving: Boston Makes the Top 10
The methodology for this one is pretty robust, too. Circuit collected data from a variety of sources, and used the following five variables to determine their rankings: time spent in rush hour per year, time spent in traffic congestion per year, money spent on fuel due to congestion per year, last mile speed (all from 2022), and fatal car accidents (from 2021).
You can dig into their full report here, which also includes per-category breakdowns and lots of interesting info on how driving in these cities impacts delivery drivers. Keep on scrolling to find out where Boston landed and--more importantly--which cities outranked us. That way we'll have someone else to make fun of to distract from the fact that we're as bad as we are.
10) Dallas
Final Score: 52.11
Dallas was dinged for their number of fatal crashes; they placed 6th in that category.
9) Honolulu
Final Score: 57.60
The island paradise got penalized for what you'd expect: No. 1 for worst fuel prices. Take the Skyline instead.
8) San Francisco
Final Score: 59.57
The City by the Bay landed in the Top 10 of every category except fatal crashes. So they've got that going for them.
7) Philadelphia
Final Score: 59.76
Philadelphia is No. 1!...for last mile speed rank. More like Fail-adelphia. At least their plows are cool!
6) Houston
Final Score: 60.95
Dallas was all "hey, we're sixt for fatal crashes" and Houston is like "hold our beer, we're first!" Take the bus.
5) Washington, D.C.
Final Score: 67.11
Second place for time in rush hour traffic. The Beltway is hell, they say.
4) Boston
Final Score: 67.98
Boston finished in the Top 5 of every category except fatal crashes, where we were 57th. Small victories!
3) Los Angeles
Final Score: 70.57
Again, small victories. At least Boston didn't place worse than one of the worst places to drive in the universe.
2) Chicago
Final Score: 79.46
Top 5 finishers in every category. I'm actually surprised Chicago didn't finish first. Actually, I'm not. Because...
1) New York
Final Score: 89.68
...of COURSE New York City finished first. You'd have to be mad to want to drive there.
