Who's Got The Worst Drivers in the USA?

[SubaDuba420]

These are the worst states for speed-related traffic deaths
People in South Carolina - what are you doing?
https://www.autoblog.com/2023/03/16/...raffic-deaths/

New cars are safer than they’ve ever been, but too many people still die needlessly in speed-related crashes. A recent study from Forbes Advisor found that speeding causes 29% of deadly accidents, amounting to 30 deaths every day in the U.S. on average. The publication also ranked the states with the most speeding fatalities, and some of the locations might surprise you.

First, let’s deal with the best states. With 9% of deadly crashes caused by speeding, Florida is the best state in the nation in this study. Tennessee is second-best with 15%, and Nebraska is third with 17%. Mississippi and Iowa all slid into the survey with fewer than 20% of crashes caused by speed.

The worst state for speeding-related fatalities was South Carolina, with 46% of deaths caused by speeding. Colorado was second with 46% (fewer overall deaths than in SC), and Hawaii was third with 44%. Unsurprisingly, states with higher speed limits had higher percentages of speed-related fatalities. With its 85 mph limit on some highways, Texas saw 37% of deaths due to speed, and the 80-mph-max state of Montana was at 39%. Even so, Hawaii had tons of speed deaths, and its speed limits top out at 60 mph.

Speed-related fatalities have decreased slightly since 2011, but some states have improved more than others. Maine saw 23% fewer speed-related crashes since 2010, and West Virginia clocked a 20% decline. Forbes attributes some of those declines to more active policing. Maine has conducted speed limit studies on busier parts of its highway system, raising and lowering the limit over the past decade.

At the same time, some states are backsliding. South Carolina and Colorado have both gotten way worse. South Carolina’s speed-related deaths climbed 11%, and Colorado’s grew by 10%.

Drivers know speeding is dangerous — 82% said so, even as 90% admitted to doing it.

For a full rundown on the best and worst states for speeding-related deaths, check out the full report at Forbes Advisor.

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[Sid03SVT]

Hawaii has >120 automobile accident related deaths per year
Texas has ~4,500 automobile accident related deaths per year

Texas has ~20 times the population of Hawaii, but ~38 times the amount of automobile accident related deaths. Using percentages taken out of context can be misleading, especially when speaking about a specific cause for a portion of those deaths (speeding, drugs/impairment, distracted driving, etc.)

"Hawaii had tons of speed deaths" is an inaccurate statement, they didn't have tons of deaths, let alone deaths related to speed. "A large portion of automotive deaths in Hawaii are due to speed" is an accurate statement, but without the context of relatively how few deaths they have, even that statement can be misleading.

[kayen]

I would have to say that correlation of speed to deaths, does not make it the causation for death. The causation is something else and speed just played its role.

Everyone just needs to be forced back to using a manual transmission and will have less time to stare at their phones, tablets, etc...

[kayen]

I would have to say that correlation of speed to deaths, does not make it the causation for death. The causation is something else and speed just played its role.

Everyone just needs to be forced back to using a manual transmission and will have less time to stare at their phones, tablets, etc...

[Masterauto]

poorer states have older less crash worthy vehicles and many uneducated people don't wear seatbelts . I'm amazed how often I see children standing on seats while in motion.
Florida has cacophony of driver mix , Lost tourists, old people in left lane, beat up inadequate pickups going 85, Miami Vice type cars going over 100, S Americans wandering all over road, stoned college kids barreling down long straight roads, construction equipment, seniors falling into drain canals with left signals on It's wild

[DougNuts]

Originally Posted by kayen

I would have to say that correlation of speed to deaths, does not make it the causation for death. The causation is something else and speed just played its role.

So, they died with speed, not from it.

Seriously thought, I agree that it's a murky "cause". For example, my time in Hawaii shows that there aren't a lot of high speed interstates, but there are a lot of curvy roads. Speed related deaths could simply mean that they were doing 5 over and couldn't make the turn.

When I was in a class one time, the teacher asked us why Kentucky had a higher automobile fatality rate than Indiana. My (correct) answer was "because there's nothing to hit".

[timpala11]

I was under the impression that people driving below the speed limit are more likely to cause accidents but maybe that's just my speedster bias.

[JustyWRC]

Originally Posted by DougNuts

So, they died with speed, not from it.

Seriously thought, I agree that it's a murky "cause". For example, my time in Hawaii shows that there aren't a lot of high speed interstates, but there are a lot of curvy roads. Speed related deaths could simply mean that they were doing 5 over and couldn't make the turn.

When I was in a class one time, the teacher asked us why Kentucky had a higher automobile fatality rate than Indiana. My (correct) answer was "because there's nothing to hit".

Speed has higher impact forces. You drive 30 and hit a fire truck, you'll likely survive. Driving 70+ and hit that fire truck(while doing FaceBook Live) and you don't survive. Now, the "cause" of the accident was dumbassery. The cause of the death was directly correlated to speed.

[Cowboy Neal]

"Speed has never killed anyone, suddenly becoming stationary. That's what gets you."

[JustyWRC]

Originally Posted by Cowboy Neal

"Speed has never killed anyone, suddenly becoming stationary. That's what gets you."

[19std]

Speed, maybe long term brain and heart damage. Heroin, serious killer.

But on a less serious note, speed has nothing to do with force.

[Genericuser1]

I picked up a Z H2 SE a couple of weeks ago I hope I don't become a statistic...what a beast.

[SCRAPPYDO]

Originally Posted by 19std

Speed, maybe long term brain and heart damage. Heroin, serious killer.

But on a less serious note, speed has nothing to do with force.

I see what you did there... but really come on.
I think you are being purposely overly technical. You know darn well speed relates to force in terms that velocity (a.k.a. speed) is derived from the integral over time of acceleration is change of velocity. F=ma is true of course. It takes force to move an object and thusly accelerate it from a constant speed.

but once you are at speed, sure acceleration is zero, and thus no force is needed (neglecting friction and wind resistance etc). However, the DEcceleration from a higher speed will net a larger force.

so sure, Velocity, is not in the force equation directly, but it is certainly a part of force for a larger picture.

[19std]

Hey velocity is vector lolol! I was just poking fun at how that saying about speed never killed anyone is completely accurate, it is the sudden decel.

[Mystery Machine]

Speeding doesn't make you a "bad" driver, per se. It highlights your willingness to take risks - which is not inherently good or bad. Typically, motor vehicle deaths are evaluated with respect to miles driven, not the number of drivers. Miles driven represents the proper "exposure". Consider for 2021:

Death rate per 100 million vehicle miles = 1.50
Death rate per 10,000 registered vehicles = 1.66
Death rate per 100,000 population = 14.26

Note the scaling here. Americans drive A LOT.

[Mystery Machine]

Speeding doesn't make you a "bad" driver, per se. It highlights your willingness to take risks - which is not inherently good or bad. Typically, motor vehicle deaths are evaluated with respect to miles driven, not the number of drivers. Miles driven represents the proper "exposure". Consider for 2021:

Death rate per 100 million vehicle miles = 1.50
Death rate per 10,000 registered vehicles = 1.66
Death rate per 100,000 population = 14.26

Note the scaling here. Americans drive A LOT.

[samagon]

Originally Posted by Sid03SVT

Hawaii has >120 automobile accident related deaths per year
Texas has ~4,500 automobile accident related deaths per year

Texas has ~20 times the population of Hawaii, but ~38 times the amount of automobile accident related deaths. Using percentages taken out of context can be misleading, especially when speaking about a specific cause for a portion of those deaths (speeding, drugs/impairment, distracted driving, etc.)

"Hawaii had tons of speed deaths" is an inaccurate statement, they didn't have tons of deaths, let alone deaths related to speed. "A large portion of automotive deaths in Hawaii are due to speed" is an accurate statement, but without the context of relatively how few deaths they have, even that statement can be misleading.

it's even more complicated.

they are comparing all fatalities to 'speed related' fatalities.

so it's not even caring about vehicle miles driven, or population. the size of Texas vs the size of Hawaii, I'm pretty sure the miles of roads in Hawaii is probably fewer miles than the miles of roads within the city limits of Houston. so vehicle miles traveled will be a lot lower in Hawaii compared to Texas.

according to this website
https://www.policygenius.com/auto-in...iven-by-state/
Hawaii had 11 billion vehicle miles annually.
Texas had 288 billion vehicle miles annually.

so...
Hawaii: 85 fatalities per 11 billion vehicle miles traveled annually.
Texas: 3874 fatalities per 288 billion vehicle miles traveled annually.

so for every 129 million miles driven, someone dies in Hawaii, and every 74 million miles driven, someone dies in Texas.

drilling down any deeper to decide 'was this accident related to someone going over the posted limit' is complete lunacy in my mind. especially when you consider how speed limits are set for a road. honestly, just because 80% of drivers go a certain speed on the road doesn't mean that is the appropriate vehicle speed for that setting, and that's how they set speed limits. complete stupidity.

the speed limit should be set by the setting of the road, not how fast people go on average. and if people go too fast for the setting, then the road needs to be redesigned to naturally make people want to go slower. narrower lanes for instance will make a driver naturally want to drive slower.

the Netherlands have really perfected the psychology of building a road that makes people want to go the appropriate speed for the setting, rather than the American way of building a road as big as possible and then setting the speed based on how fast the average speed people go on that road is. cart leading horse, or whatever.

to go a bit further, some government in whatever state of USA may notice that fatalities on a specific road are higher than other roads (averaged for the number of vehicles that drive that road), they see the speed limit is 45, and they decide to set the speed limit to a 'safer' 40, but the thing is, people are still going to go 45, and they were probably already going 50, so they'll actually keep doing that, and then, if someone dies and they were going 45, it's a 'speed related death'. should be a road design related death?

[SCRAPPYDO]

Originally Posted by samagon

it's even more complicated.

they are comparing all fatalities to 'speed related' fatalities.

so it's not even caring about vehicle miles driven, or population. the size of Texas vs the size of Hawaii, I'm pretty sure the miles of roads in Hawaii is probably fewer miles than the miles of roads within the city limits of Houston. so vehicle miles traveled will be a lot lower in Hawaii compared to Texas.

according to this website
https://www.policygenius.com/auto-in...iven-by-state/
Hawaii had 11 billion vehicle miles annually.
Texas had 288 billion vehicle miles annually.

so...
Hawaii: 85 fatalities per 11 billion vehicle miles traveled annually.
Texas: 3874 fatalities per 288 billion vehicle miles traveled annually.

so for every 129 million miles driven, someone dies in Hawaii, and every 74 million miles driven, someone dies in Texas.

drilling down any deeper to decide 'was this accident related to someone going over the posted limit' is complete lunacy in my mind. especially when you consider how speed limits are set for a road. honestly, just because 80% of drivers go a certain speed on the road doesn't mean that is the appropriate vehicle speed for that setting, and that's how they set speed limits. complete stupidity.

the speed limit should be set by the setting of the road, not how fast people go on average. and if people go too fast for the setting, then the road needs to be redesigned to naturally make people want to go slower. narrower lanes for instance will make a driver naturally want to drive slower.

the Netherlands have really perfected the psychology of building a road that makes people want to go the appropriate speed for the setting, rather than the American way of building a road as big as possible and then setting the speed based on how fast the average speed people go on that road is. cart leading horse, or whatever.

I am not sure that is practical in the states. It is an interesting theory to tailor the road to the speed you want people to drive. I am sure regulations would prevent that though.

Also, I wager you are giving people to much credit in making commons sense decisions on speed of automobile.

[samagon]

Originally Posted by SCRAPPYDO

I am not sure that is practical in the states. It is an interesting theory to tailor the road to the speed you want people to drive. I am sure regulations would prevent that though.

Also, I wager you are giving people to much credit in making commons sense decisions on speed of automobile.

it's weird, it's not really a conscious thing, so common sense doesn't even apply.

and you can see it in effect in Houston (I think I recall you live in the area).

head down to Westheimer between Bagby and Shepherd. the posted limit is 30mph, but people routinely go under that.

then, head down to Bissonnet between Montrose and Shepherd. the posted limit is 30mph, but people routinely go over that.

Westheimer in that area is 2 lanes in each direction (4 total), total width of the road is 36' from curb to curb, so 9' lanes. cars tiptoe through there and because the lanes are so narrow, drivers don't ever even want to pass another car. there are also areas of that stretch where you can park on the road, so one of the lanes goes away for parking.

Bissonnet in that area is 1 lane in each direction (2 total), total width of the road is 30', which is a whopping 15' per lane. so even though it's less width for the road in total, the lanes are wider, so subconsciously, a driver feels like they have more room (well, actually they do for the width of their lane), they can stretch out a bit and be less tense.

so yeah, absolutely, the way the road is built will have a subconscious effect on how fast people drive, if you have 9' lanes on a wider road, people go 25-30mph, if you have 15' lanes on a narrower road people go 35+mph, when both roads have the same speed limit.

[SubaDuba420]

Audi S4 drivers are the most accident-prone, insurance report says
Three Subarus are among the highest in terms of accidents
https://www.autoblog.com/2023/06/25/...ts-10-highest/

Culling data from more than 4.6 million automobile insurance applications, researchers at the Insurify insurance comparison marketplace picked a winner — or more to the point, a loser — in its determination of the car model with the most accidents so far in 2023: the Audi S4.

Why does the sporty, luxury-class German sedan rank so high (or so low)? The organization found that S4 drivers, piloting a car with almost 350 horsepower, are among those who collect the most speeding tickets, and that they get into accidents at a rate 54 percent higher than the national average.

If the S4 isn’t a surprise with an at-fault accident rate of 11.7 percent, consider the “family friendly” brand that appears three times on the Insurity list: Subaru. It is represented by three models, including the turbocharged WRX and XV Crosstrek, and at the better-performing bottom of the list, the Subaru Impreza, with an accident rate of 10.3 percent.

In 2023, 7.6 percent of U.S. drivers were involved in at least one at-fault accident in the prior seven years. For drivers of cars on this list, the average at-fault accident rate was 10.5 percent, meaning these drivers are 1.4 times as likely to have an at-fault accident on record.

According to its statement, the Insurity data science team explored key safety features, driver behavior, and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) evaluations to pinpoint possible reasons behind these cars’ high accident rates.

Following is the list, counting down to the models with most reported accidents:

10. Subaru Impreza (percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident on record: 10.3 percent; MSRP base model): $19,795)

9. Kia Niro (percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident on record: 10.4 percent;
MSRP base model): $26,590)

8. Chevrolet Silverado LD (percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident on record: 10.4%, MSRP base model): $34,500)

7. Subaru XV Crosstrek (percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident on record: 10.5 percent, MSRP

6. Subaru WRX.(percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident on record: 10.7%
MSRP base model): $29,605)

5. Toyota GR86 (percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident on record: 10.8 percent
MSRP base model): $29,900)

4. Hyundai Veloster N (percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident on record: 10.9 percent; MSRP base model): $32,500)

3. Chevrolet Volt (percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident on record: 11.0 percent;
MSRP base model): $33,520)

2. Scion iA (percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident on record: 11..5 percent;
MSRP base model): $15,700

1. Audi S4 (percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident on record: 11.7 percent;
MSRP base model): $51,900)

[KC]

Originally Posted by SubaDuba420

Audi S4 drivers are the most accident-prone, insurance report says
Three Subarus are among the highest in terms of accidents
https://www.autoblog.com/2023/06/25/...ts-10-highest/

Reworded: People that have had at least 1 at-fault accident in the last 7 years *now* own/drive these cars, but we won't tell you what they were driving when they had their accidents.

I mean, I know why I drive an impreza, insurance is cheap.

[SubaDuba420]

you'd need a mercury foot to have this new bill effect you...
NY's chronic speeders may be required to install speed limiters
The state wants to be able to cap the speeds of cars driven by repeat offenders
https://www.autoblog.com/2023/08/04/...peed-limiters/

Most of us are guilty of speeding now and then, but some drivers seem to spend their lives in the passing lane. Newly proposed legislation in New York aims to curb chronic speeders with a device that limits their vehicle’s speed. A whopping 30 percent of traffic fatalities in New York come from speeding drivers. If passed, the bill would require drivers to install a special device that holds the vehicle’s speed to five miles per hour over the posted limit.

New York City is generally packed with slow-moving cars, but it saw an uptick in pedestrian deaths in 2022. Shockingly, the city saw 59 fatal incidents in the first quarter of the year, and 131 people died in the first half of this year. This type of legislation will likely start popping up in other states. Pedestrian deaths reached a 41-year high in 2022, with more than 7,500 people killed by vehicles.

Though it sounds heavy-handed, the bill in its current form gives drivers plenty of chances to slow down before the device comes into play. Drivers who get six tickets in a year or rack up 11 or more points on their license in 18 months are candidates for the device, but some feel the number should be much lower. Speaking with CBS News, one Brooklyn resident said, “Give them three. Three is enough. After three, let’s do something.”

New York City has piloted the devices in city vehicles and found that drivers obeyed the speed limit 99 percent of the time with them installed. Lawmakers said they were inspired by the interlock devices that convicted DUI offenders have to install in some cases. Several states require the breathalyzer boxes, but New York would be the first to require a speed-limiting device. We don’t know how much the speed limiters cost, but drivers will likely be on the hook to pay for them.

[Sid03SVT]

Originally Posted by SubaDuba420

you'd need a mercury foot to have this new bill effect you...
NY's chronic speeders may be required to install speed limiters
The state wants to be able to cap the speeds of cars driven by repeat offenders
https://www.autoblog.com/2023/08/04/...peed-limiters/

Having lived in Brooklyn & worked in mid-town, while also spending time travelling the boroughs and state I'm going to weigh in:

First off, it's a bull**** classist law.

The pilot program was in NYC limits, that means the data is essentially useless. When you drive in NYC (or any of the boroughs) you drive as fast as traffic permits; the majority of the time, that is below the speed limit because there is so much congestion; there is a window from like 2:30am-5:30am where the roads are fairly empty, and guess what, the same driving style applies (as fast as traffic permits).

This doesn't say it's restricted just to the boroughs though, further invalidating the pilot program, it talks about New York state - 80mph+ is the default flow of traffic rate, people like me may throw CC on and limit themselves to 5/9 over depending on roadway, but just about nobody else does.

I'll reiterate though, it's a bull**** classist law and that for me, is grounds enough to reject it on face value. If it gets on the books as currently written, it's only a matter of time until it's revised to affect a wider swath of people and auto-ticketing/fining to be applied under the false guise of public safety, when in reality, it's just a way to squeeze more money out of people.

[SCRAPPYDO]

It is NY, you don't expect to have any actual freedom did you. You need more government in your life, for your 'safety'.

[Sid03SVT]

Originally Posted by SCRAPPYDO

It is NY, you don't expect to have any actual freedom did you. You need more government in your life, for your 'safety'.

Don't get me wrong here, traffic laws are strict in the boroughs, but not so much in the majority of the state (which hint: is not the boroughs). A flawed study that focuses on the most congested portion of the state should not be the basis for laws that govern the entire state.

Also, aren't you from Texas? A state that writes laws based on interpretations from the most recent English translation of a religious text that was written 2,100-3,500yrs ago in a combination of Aramaic, Hebrew & Greek?