This week our email inbox featured the results of a study that ranked the top 10 states for reckless drivers.
The study was produced by a slip-and-fall law outfit called The Barnes Firm.
We can’t decide if the study was a marketing tool, a public service, part of a campaign to encourage mass transit ridership or just a gambit to get the firm’s name in the news. (Congratulations if it was No. 4, you succeeded!)
If you needed another reason to leave California the study provides one.
California finishes number one for reckless drivers.
"The state leads in fatal crashes involving speeding and alcohol-related incidents. Additionally, DUI arrests are relatively high at 311 per 100K people, contributing to California's hazardous driving conditions."
The firm has offices in California, so it could be they speak from personal experience with California drivers. Number two on the list is the state where many California exiles wash ashore: Texas.
Drivingwise it’s not quite out of the frying pan and into the fire.
It’s more like changing frying pans.
Comparing composite scores from the study California and Texas should have been a tie a 9.1 each. For Texas, "This high score is largely due to the state's alarming number of alcohol-related fatal crashes, the highest in the nation.
"Additionally, Texas faces significant issues with road rage, impacting overall driving safety. The state also leads in fatal crashes caused by distracted drivers."
We couldn’t help but notice the top three states were also border states: California, Texas and Arizona.
These race-to-the-bottom ratings don’t always agree. Smart Asset ranked the States With the Most Irresponsible Drivers and in the booby prize there went to Mississippi, which evidently is a repeat offender. "For the fifth year in a row, Mississippi ranks as the state with the most irresponsible drivers, according to our metrics.
"Why does the Magnolia State rank worst overall? It has the highest percentage of uninsured drivers and the second-most fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles driven."
Texas doesn’t even make the top five, according to Smart Asset, but California comes in a solid number three.
California’s rating is not so much due to hard numbers, but instead a fairly arbitrary metric: Google searches.
"The Golden State has the eighth-most Google searches for speeding and traffic tickets relative to searches for gasoline, while it also has the ninth-highest percentage of drivers who are uninsured. Meanwhile, DUI arrests rank 19th-most overall."
Participating in a car crash is bad enough in and of itself.
But a car crash with an uninsured driver is even worse.
In the Barnes’ study the worst state for uninsured drivers was New Mexico with almost 22%, followed by Florida at 20%.
Both of these studies — and for that matter, all the rest — are a strong endorsement for staying off the highway and limiting driving to daylight hours.
Or maybe just staying at home altogether and depending on delivery services to take their chances with a hostile driving environment.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker's bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now With Added Humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.