Michigan Has the Best Drivers in the Nation?
Mates,
Too funny to pass up and better than a 'Talking Cars Tuesday' on a Friday, lets break all the rules. A company took the time to try and objectively measure each state's drivers (n.b. insured drivers only) to decide the rankings of the states as to who is best for driving. They measured things like tickets, arrests, fatalities and such. For whatever reason they did the rankings in reverse order, so for instance Maine was '#1", but that means they had the most per capita problems, thus the 'worst' state. Michigan graded out best at #50, and the rationale for Michigan was as follows:
Drivers earn the gold medal thanks to less citations, speeding, and fatalities than last year. There’s one catch – our study only accounts for insured drivers, and this state has plenty of rule breakers. Although Michigan’s insured drivers are the best in the country, one in five don't have car insurance. Oops!
Our dear friends in ohio ranked #8, meaning they were the 8th worst state to drive in. No surprises there. Other B10 states that weren't great were Nebraska at #3 and Minnesota at #6 (Putin and SRJK need to get on the ball). And for our California Mgobloggers, well, Cal comes in at #4. Not good and yet another reason to leave that state. (ST3, Mgofunkadelic, et al)
Anyway, here's the link to the article: https://quotewizard.com/news/posts/best-and-worst-drivers-by-state-2019
Snowing up here but guessing we've had less than a foot. Drive safely as the 5:00 whistle starts your ride home.
XM
January 25th, 2019 at 1:41 PM ^
Come on! Hurry up, the roads are fine, they are just wet!!
- Sincerely, Truck Guy who you see in the ditch a couple of miles up
January 25th, 2019 at 1:42 PM ^
It's from our years of training by avoiding the vast amount of potholes.
And as a reward for our good driving behavior, we have some of the highest car insurance premiums in the country.
January 25th, 2019 at 1:44 PM ^
as to insurance, we do have the highest rates, but in general we also have the very best coverage, particularly for the grievously injured. not perfect, but way better than the 'minimums' you will see in other states and they are going to push them here soon, too.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:30 PM ^
Any state that tells me I have to wear a seat belt in a car, but don't have to wear a helmet on a motorcycle that has no seat belt has some questionable laws.
January 25th, 2019 at 1:44 PM ^
I've lived in MI, VA, MN, KS and NE. I can say, of those states MI is the best, NE second followed by KS, VA then MN. MN drivers are the WORST. They are heavily distracted by their phones and they are the worst left lane drivers ever. The attitude there is, as soon as I enter the highway I MUST get to the left lane. Doesn't matter how fast I'm going. Often times they get in the left lane while going about 50 in a 70. Not to mention the people who just got their driving permit in the US. That state made me decide it best to never get a bike. VA has a bunch of idiots too, but at least they can't show off their "skills" because of the traffic. Maybe I don't remember NE but I don't remember it being bad. But I didn't get outside of Omaha like ever. KS drivers are just dumb.
January 25th, 2019 at 1:53 PM ^
I currently live in Omaha, and I'd say drivers here are pretty bad just based on the number of accidents I see weekly on a relatively short (20 minute) commute.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:00 PM ^
Make Omaha your Homaha. I miss Omaha! I lived there for 6 years and heard about more fatalities on 29, 80, 480, 680 and 75, than I ever had here in Indiana. I lost a few of my military buddies, in Omaha, from fatal TA's.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:13 PM ^
Maybe it's different now. I was there 02-05.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:23 PM ^
Double aught to early 07 for me.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:11 PM ^
michigan drivers need to know how to drive in snow and ice/low friction environments that drivers in LA do not. I've lived on both coasts after learning to drive in Michigan and have found michigan drivers understand how to manage their vehicle better than both coasts. Virginia drivers are insane and drive way too fast for their "skills" making it incredibly dangerous for other drivers. LA drivers tailgate non-stop so other cars can't squeeze in front of them on the freeway. i literally tell all my clients relocating to SoCal that the only real issue driving is getting rear ended and a light rain causing a 45 minute drive to turn into a 3 hour drive.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:15 PM ^
Agree on the VA comment however I lived in NOVA and it was always just one big traffic jam so no one could drive fast anyhow. But you throw in a snowflake or 2 and all hell breaks loose. It's like they dodge the snowflakes.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:18 PM ^
i was in a cab in DC about 17 years ago that got rear ended because DC drivers think you stop in a 1/2 inch of snow by slamming on your brakes and sliding 30 feet.
January 25th, 2019 at 1:48 PM ^
I used to think Michigan had bad drivers, then I moved out here. No one will be able to convince me that the there worse drivers in the US than DMV drivers.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:00 PM ^
Agree with that.
It's because you have so many transplants from elsewhere, all with different driving styles.
You got the guy that switches 3 lanes at once going 90, next to the guy that insists on driving at exactly 55 mph, next to the guy that is swerving while on his cell, next to the guy that is stopping and starting freaked out by light rain.
And then when it snows even a half inch, all these morons are an even more volatile mix.
January 25th, 2019 at 1:49 PM ^
California is bad. Especially around LA. When I lived there I personally witnessed horrific accidents with regularity, including one really bad one late at night on the 10 that had multiple fatalities.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:13 PM ^
tailgating at high speed is a bad idea.
LA traffic is getting worse and the road condition is crap.
January 25th, 2019 at 1:51 PM ^
As a NC resident, their ranking is laughable. They should be a lock for top 5 worst.
If I had a dollar for every time I've seen someone stopped at the end of an on ramp to the expressway because they don't know how to merge, or turning right from the left lane, or left from the right lane, or come to a complete stop in the middle of the road so someone can pull out of a parking lot I could probably retire by now...and I've only lived here 5 years. It's embarrassing how bad people are at driving.
January 25th, 2019 at 1:52 PM ^
Things I know to be true:
1. Michigan drivers are actually really good...
2. ...at least relative to drivers in GA, where I live, which is ranked way too high here...
3. ...just like Illinois, which has the worst drivers in the nation, in my experiences with them.
So my rankings: 1. Michigan ... 49. Georgia 50. Illinois.
January 25th, 2019 at 1:54 PM ^
I believe Ohio at 8. Have you ever had the pleasure of meeting an Ohio State Trooper? They are the worst! They'd ticket their own mothers for 5 over (flow of traffic). And if you factor in LJ Scott's record that bumped them from 25th to 8th.
January 25th, 2019 at 1:54 PM ^
I have driven in a lot of places. I always thought that Michigan had very good drivers in general.
They are fast and smooth and not erratic compared to other states. They are mostly on the same page, don't fuck around, and get where they are going.
I am not from Michigan so I'm not biased. It's just what I've observed.
January 25th, 2019 at 1:55 PM ^
I've lived in Michigan but gone to school/worked in Ohio most of my life. Ohio drivers are far worse. Particularly on the highway. Holy shit they're bad.
January 25th, 2019 at 1:56 PM ^
The $14k damage done to my truck, thanks to some idiot, begs to differ.
January 25th, 2019 at 1:57 PM ^
January 25th, 2019 at 1:57 PM ^
Michigan has the highest auto insurance rates in the country at an average of $2,200.
In before thread gets political.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:41 PM ^
not political. we get way more for our insurance in regards to medical costs if injured than other states do. i am no friend of the insurance companies but the point is that rates in different states aren't an 'apples to apples' comparison to michigan rates. i still can't stand most michigan no-fault insurers, but there is a difference.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:55 PM ^
Don't know about auto rates, but I work on health insurance rate (premium) pricing. Usually there are strict laws about "premiums have to be close to the actual costs of insuring " so maybe MI drivers have less accidents, but costs are higher because the cost of each accident is higher? I don't know. Just my best guess.
January 25th, 2019 at 3:13 PM ^
it has to do with our insurance covering medical expenses - it is much better in that single and important way, but also more expensive. i don't like insurance companies and they are not your friend, generally, but at least here they can justify some of the increased premium because of legit increased medical coverage.
January 25th, 2019 at 3:23 PM ^
Michigan being a "no fault" state also raises insurance costs for people who would otherwise qualify for low rates due to a variety of rating factors (good credit score, no tickets, college grad, ect.).
January 25th, 2019 at 2:06 PM ^
One would think Michigan driver have to be good from all the practice at dodging pot holes.
I can honestly say, that in my 50 years, I've never seen such absent minded drivers as those I've encountered in Iowa.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:06 PM ^
I moved from Michigan to Pennsylvania almost a year and a half ago and one of the things I miss the most are Michigan drivers. It is almost unbelievable how much worse drivers are here than they are in Michigan.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:09 PM ^
As someone who grew up in Michigan (#50), and went straight to South Carolina (#2) after college, the disparity between the quality of drivers is real and noticeably blatant. I've seen people get away with things down here, right in front of cops, that I never would have in Michigan. Not that I really care, since I rideshare on the side, but still, it's first thing I noticed when I moved.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:11 PM ^
There are few good drivers to me. Most people drive too slowly, accelerate too slowly, and do so many other stupid things that irritate or piss me the fuck off.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:12 PM ^
Driving to Ann Arbor from the Kalamazoo area on 94 on football Saturdays means having to deal with the asshole drivers from Illinois. 9 out of 10 times when somebody is doing something stupid they have IL plates.
Also if you remove NYC from New York, the state would probably rank higher. The NYC area graded on its own would have the worst overall drivers in my opinion.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:17 PM ^
You beat me to "Really, Illinois?" by a hair. I agree. Illinois drivers, in general, are not very good and love to camp in the passing lane. I appreciate that Michigan drivers know to get the ass out of the left lane after passing.
January 25th, 2019 at 4:00 PM ^
I usually stay in the left lane, but also make sure that I'm driving much faster than others. It's the slow drivers who cause traffic problems and accidents.
January 25th, 2019 at 3:13 PM ^
Upstate NY, where I live, has very good drivers. However, they're helped by excellent quality freeways and 55 mph speed limits.
January 25th, 2019 at 5:54 PM ^
Hey- that’s probably me! I have noticed that when I cross the border into Illinois the speed of cars increases about 15%, relative to the speed limit.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:15 PM ^
How can Illinois be 46th? The drivers around here are horrible. The state police are supposedly going to finally crack down on people camping out in the passing lane(s), but I'll believe that when I see it. Illinois is the land of "pass on the right" which typically causes some accidents. Illinois has clamped down on uninsured motorists, so maybe that's what pulled the score up. Still...Illinois?
January 25th, 2019 at 2:15 PM ^
I've noticed that people on the expressways in Metro Detroit (i.e. the tri-county area) drive faster than in the Ann Arbor area. When you're going east on M-14 or I-94, at some point - assuming it isn't rush hour - the average speed starts creeping up. Going 80 in Wayne/Oakland/Macomb is more normal than in Washtenaw. This isn't to say they are worse drivers though - traffic flows pretty well. It's just something I've noticed when I head that way.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:18 PM ^
The worst drivers I have ever witnessed reside in Hawaii. While driving around the islands there on my honeymoon, I feared for my life every time I got in the rental car to go somewhere. Those people are insane.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:22 PM ^
3 kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics (credit to B. Disraeli)
January 25th, 2019 at 2:24 PM ^
as someone who moved from Michigan to North Carolina and then Maryland, I fully believe this list. Drivers in those two states are absolutely terrible
January 25th, 2019 at 2:30 PM ^
I question any list that does not have NY drivers as the worst.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:34 PM ^
As someone that lives in the Ohio, Kentucky, west Virginia area I can tell you these 3 states suck. Kentucky drivers are slow as shit, west Virginia fly around and Ohio drivers are all over the place and never use a signal.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:54 PM ^
Live in OH and drive to KY for work every day...I concur with your statement.
Cincinnati was also ranked in the #250s by a recent Allstate or Nationwide study of safest driving cities. Makes sense, the drivers here are terrible
January 25th, 2019 at 2:41 PM ^
To all the motor vehicle operators on this board and the rest of the world, get the hell out of my way!
January 25th, 2019 at 2:47 PM ^
I've always found Michigan drivers to be highly aggressive. Let me qualify that I mean this not in terms of rage but in terms of maneuvers. And I'd also like to qualify that I think that, whereas some states' drivers may crumble in the face of aggression and others' might try to be aggressive but do it talentlessly, Michigan always seemed like a place where if someone merged tightly in front of me or I did the same to someone else, no matter, the move was expertly timed and everyone stayed safe and normal.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:50 PM ^
California is horrible, particularly when it rains. I can count the number of times that I've nearly avoided being sideswiped on a freeway on all of our hands and feet put together. Thousands. Ive been rear ended 2X as well.
January 25th, 2019 at 3:47 PM ^
When it rains in California, it's "Storm Watch" on every news station. First rain after the summer is usually the worst.
January 25th, 2019 at 2:51 PM ^
Well after driving in this Big Three forsaken place for far too many years, I would have to weigh in with a "well we had better be." We have roads on par with a third world nation's rural routes. I believe the reason for this, in large part, has to do with the number of uninsured. The reason a large part of these are uninsured is because they lost their licenses due to the DWI statutes. They purchase insurance just long enough to get plates or re-tabbed. These are probably the most careful drivers in the country. They realize if they get popped for a stupid traffic violation, their asses are going to be right back in the grey bar, and they ain't diggin that chit.