Texas is No. 1 on this Forbes list — but that’s not a good thing

Brayden Garcia
·2 min read
48

Texans finally had something they already knew confirmed: the Lone Star state is home to the worst drivers in America.

In an article analyzing the best car insurance companies, Forbes came to the conclusion that Texas tops the U.S. in bad drivers. The analysis even hints at the Red River rivalry with Oklahoma ranked below Texas.

Texas has 683,533 miles of paved roads, the most in the U.S. Texas also ranks third in the nation with 7,784,067 cars registered in the state. It is no surprise that news of car crashes on Texas highways have become all too common.

Forbes ranked each state using several metrics such as fatal car accidents involving a drowsy driver, a driver who was driving the wrong way, number of drunk drivers and distracted drivers gleaned from Department of Transportation data.

Texas led with 1.35 fatal car accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers involving a drowsy driver. Texas also scored high in fatal car accidents involving a driver driving the wrong way at 1.53 accidents per 100,000 drivers.

The Lone Star State also reported the third highest number of drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes at 17.24 per 100,000 licensed drivers. The number of fatal car accidents involving a distracted driver was good for ninth overall at 1.92 accidents per 100,000 drivers.

Here’s how other southern states scored in the Forbes report:

  1. Texas- Scored 100 out of 100

  2. Louisiana- Scored 89.32 out of 100 and had the third highest number of fatal car accidents involving a distracted driver at 3.74 accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers.

  3. Kansas- Scored a 84.79 out of 100 and had the third highest number of fatal car accidents involving a driver who disobeyed traffic signs, traffic signals or a traffic officer at 1.47 accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers.

  4. Oklahoma- Scored 80.53 out of 100 and is the ninth worst for drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes at 13.02 per 100,000 licensed drivers.

  5. Kentucky- Scored 78.96 out of 100 and had the fourth highest number of fatal car accidents involving a distracted driver at 3.37 accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers.

Washington D.C. and Vermont ranked at the top of the list along with several states on the east coast.

As for the best insurance companies to choose from, Forbes recommends USAA for military members, Geico for overall insurance rates and Westfield for family discounts.