Hey, @RIdrivers, you're the worst, according to Twitter
Does Rhode Island have the worst drivers in the country?
Yes, it does, according to at least one measure – negative tweets.
"The state with the worst drivers is Rhode Island," claims the Clunker Junker, a company that buys and sells used and junk cars.
The Clunker Junker says it reached that conclusion after it reviewed more than 250,000 driving-related tweets and analyzed the sentiment of each tweet using an artificial intelligence algorithm.
Rhode Island drivers came in first, meaning worst, since 71% of the tweets were negative, the Clunker Junker report said.
"Luckily, the internet has given motorists a public forum to air their grievances. While in an earlier era, the shouts of frustrated drivers were often lost amidst a sea of honks and idling engines, today’s motorists can memorialize their complaints on the internet for all of posterity," the company said in summarizing its report.
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"With the resulting data, researchers can now answer the question so many frustrated U.S. motorists have asked themselves after getting cut off, tailgated, or sped past by a sports car – are these the worst drivers in the country, or what?" the company said.
Other states finishing in the worst 5 were Mississippi, 70.6%; Virginia, 69.71%; Arizona, 67.49% and Texas, 66.86%.
The tweets were gathered in June and the report was released earlier this month.
Of course, perception on the road can vary as much as the makes, models and colors of cars and trucks. One driver's "smooth handling" might be perceived as "reckless swerving" by his fellow motorists.
"In one study proving our tendency to overestimate our own driving ability, 70.1% of motorists reported that they were better-than-average drivers – a statistical improbability," the Clunker Junker noted.
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Other, more traditional information, points to Rhode Islanders being relatively safe, if not more courteous, drivers.
Rhode Island ranked as the sixth-safest state for driving in a recent analysis by a personal injury law firm. The firm, Isaacs and Isaacs in Louisville, Ky., ranked states using factors such as the number of deaths per 100,000 people and per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2020.
Mississippi, South Carolina, and Arkansas were considered the most dangerous states. Massachusetts was the safest.
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI drivers are the worst, according to Twitter, but are among safest
