Miami Tops the Charts for Bad Drivers

Determining which city in the US is the worst for driving isn’t always cut and dry. If going by number of accidents alone, cities with large populations are always going to be at a disadvantage since more drivers will obviously mean more accidents. This also means that these cities will have the highest number of fatalities, highest number of injuries, highest number of DUIs etc. Looking at the numbers alone is not enough to give an accurate idea of which city truly has the worst drivers. There are other factors that need be taken into account to determine which cities have the most unsafe driving conditions.

By Fatalities

One way to judge which cities have the worse drivers is by looking at auto accident fatalities, since they represent the worst possible consequence of an accident. The Center for Disease Control has a report detailing the vehicle crash deaths in the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the country.

In the report the New York metro area ranks highest for fatalities with 986 deaths overall, followed by the Los Angeles metro area with 848 deaths, Houston area with 722, Miami area with 634 and the Dallas – Fort Worth metro area with 611 deaths. However, when taking population size into account, Miami actually winds up in first place.

By Drunk Drivers

Another way of determining cities with bad drivers is looking at frequency of drunk driving. This is, without a doubt, the most dangerous way to drive and certain states have a constant problem with this issue, which has led to numerous fatalities. Texas is, by far, the worst overall  offender with 1,213 fatalities caused by drunk driving in 2011 alone. In second place is California with 774, followed closely by Florida with 718.

However, again, when keeping the size of the population in mind, Florida ends up in the top spot.

Thus, when multiple factors are taken into account, it becomes pretty clear that Miami is the worst driving city in the country. Considering the size of its population, the city has the worst record when it comes to striking pedestrians, instances of road rage and, most importantly, fatalities that are the result of vehicle crashes. What is even more worrisome is the fact that the relatively small city of Hialeah, which can be found in the Miami metro area, is also among the worst driving cities, along with Tampa which is also in the state of Florida.

Complicating Matters

Making matters worse, Florida also happens to have second highest percentage of uninsured drivers. According to the Insurance Information Institute, 23% of Floridans are driving completely uninsured.

This is why, along with Florida’s poor driving safety record, if you live in Florida, adding uninsured driver coverage to your auto insurance policy is an absolute must. Even if you drive safely, you are always at the mercy of the reckless drivers surrounding you and according to statistics, Florida has their fair share.

References:

Crash Fatalities – www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6128a2.htm?s_cid=mm6128a2_x

Drunk Driving Fatalities -www.centurycouncil.org/sites/default/files/materials/SODDFIA.pdf

Uninsured Drivers – http://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/uninsured-motorists