There were 36,650 traffic fatalities in this country in 2018. Texas plays a major part in deadly motor vehicle accidents because it tied for third as the state with the worst drivers in 2020, according to Car Insurance Comparison researchers.
National rankings
Texas tied with Montana in the third-place ranking. This is the sixth year since 2011 that Texas was among the 10 worst states.
States were judged in 10 categories and their ranking was based on the average of these categories. The worst category for Texas was drunk driving. Its best category was speeding. Montana’s worst category was failure to obey traffic signals.
Alaska was ranked as the worst state and drunk driving and speeding were its worst categories. New Mexico was second and careless driving was its lowest category.
The 10 states with the worst drivers had careless driving as its greatest weakness. An average of 133 pedestrians and cyclists were killed each year in traffic accidents in these states.
Drunk driving is still a dangerous problem. In the 10 worst states, 40.5 of all traffic deaths were attributed to drunk driving.
Texas data
Texas has experienced a disturbing trend, according to this study. It ranked as the fifth worst state in 2019 and rose two slots to third last year.
Texas, along with Montana and South Carolina, appeared nine times since 2011 in the Car Insurance Comparison yearly listing of states with worst drivers. These were the most appearances on this list for all states.
Drunk driving grew as a problem in Texas. It ranked third worst among all the states and the District of Columbia in 2018. Drunk driving was involved in 45.9 percent or 1,673 of the 3,642 traffic deaths in Texas in 2018.
In its best category, speeding, Texas had 990 speeding deaths in 2018. This comprised 27.2 percent of all vehicle deaths in this state.
Vehicle accident victims may face medical cost, lost wages, and other losses. An attorney can help victims and families seek compensation from negligent or reckless drivers.