There are few places in the United States that present more difficult and common driving challenges than Alaska.
Obviously, the weather here can make any driving distance difficult if not impossible to handle for many motorists
But the short days and long nights in winter only add to the hurdles that must be overcome in order for people to arrive at their destinations safely. One would possibly think that because of all of these natural barriers to easy driving that Alaska drivers would be considered among the worst in the country, whether that belief was fair or not. As it turns out, that is the opposite of the truth.
A survey that was recently completed by Carinsurancecomparison.com reviewed several different data points for each state and for the District of Columbia to determine which drivers were the best and which were the worst in the country. Alaska drivers finished behind only 10 other jurisdictions and ahead of 40. The different variables that were incorporated into this overall analysis included:
- Fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled
- Failure to obey traffic signals and to wear seatbelts
- Drunk driving rate
- Rate of getting tickets
- Rate of careless driving
A link to the full survey and to the descriptions of the different sources of information can be found here, but Alaska scored very poorly in terms of driving fatality rate and scored among the safest states in terms of drunk driving and tickets rates. The 10 states considered to have the worst drivers in the country listing from number 10 to the state with the worst drivers included:
- North Dakota
- Montana
- North Carolina
- Missouri
- Florida
- Alabama
- Texas
- Mississippi
- South Carolina
- Louisiana
The 10 places with the safest drivers in the United States, from 10 through number 1, included:
- Massachusetts
- Iowa
- District of Columbia
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Oregon
- Minnesota
- New Hampshire
- Utah
- Vermont
Alaska did much better this year than in the same survey that was done in 2011, when it was seen as the state with the 20th most dangerous drivers in the United States. Louisiana ‘repeated’ as the state with the worst drivers in this most recent survey, a dubious honor indeed.
What this should tell us here in Alaska is that our motorists know how to deal with the elements and we tend to follow the traffic laws that govern particular situations. What it should also tell us is that people who are wrongfully harmed in accidents that occur here because of negligent driving need to continue to stand up and hold those responsible for these losses accountable, as that can act as a deterrent in the future.
If you or someone you love has been injured in a crash that was caused by someone else, you need to seek the help of Alaska accident lawyers who have been fighting for the rights of clients for years. Contact Barber and Associates, LLC today to schedule a free initial consultation.