California has narrowly missed being named the state with the worst drivers, according to a new study from LendingTree.
The online loan marketplace released its annual Best and Worst Drivers by State report earlier this week, and two cities, both in New England, edged out the Golden State atop the list of worst drivers.
Researchers analyzed millions of insurance inquiries on it site from November 2023 to November 2024, calculating the number of driving incidents per 1,000 drivers in every state.
Key factors to determine the 2024 Worst Drivers rankings were crashes, DUIs, speeding-related incidents and “general citations,” including tickets for careless or reckless driving, hit-and-runs, safety violations and driving without insurance or a license.
With all those factors taken into account, California ended at No. 3 on the nation’s worst drivers list, trailing Rhode Island at No. 2 and Massachusetts, which garnered the unenviable top spot.
Below are the 10 states with the worst drivers in 2024, according to LendringTree.
| Rank | State | Driving incidents per 1,000 drivers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | 61.1 |
| 2 | Rhode Island | 60.6 |
| 3 | California | 55.0 |
| 4 | District of Columbia | 54.6 |
| 5 | New Jersey | 45.8 |
| 6 | North Carolina | 39.6 |
| 7 | Washington | 37.4 |
| 8 | Maryland | 34.9 |
| 9 | North Dakota | 34.7 |
| 10 | Utah | 32.1 |
Massachusetts was hurt the most by leading the nation in driving accident rate with 44.4 accidents per 1,000 drivers. California and Rhode Island shared second in this ranking with 39.7 accidents per 1,000 drivers.
While California avoided the top spot for accidents, it did take the crown for DUIs among states. California’s DUI rate of 3.5 per 1,000 residents was the second-highest in the nation, behind only the District of Columbia.
Both Massachusetts (11) and Rhode Island (13) landed outside the top 10 for DUI rate, but were still among the worst-half of offenders.
All three states fared much better when it came to speeding-related incidents. Rhode Island landed at 28th worst, while Massachusetts came in at 46th worst and California at 48th.
As for the states with the best drivers, LendingTree says Arkansas, Michigan, Vermont, Kentucky and Oklahoma had the lowest number of incidents per 1,000 drivers.
LendingTree, which is a financial marketplace, says living in a state with bad drivers has a direct impact on one’s insurance rate.
“If you live in a city with low crash rates, you may pay a little less for car insurance than a friend or relative who lives in a part of your state with higher crash rates, even if you both have clean driving records and good credit,” said LendingTree auto insurance expert Rob Bhatt.
Drivers with their own blemishes on their records hurt their wallets even more.
“Individually, a driver with an incident on their record is going to pay more for insurance than someone with a clean record,” Bhatt said. “For example, a speeding ticket raises car insurance rates by an average of 23% nationwide.”
Crashes have an even bigger impact on insurance rates, he added.
In other words, it pays to drive safe.
LendingTree says you can never be too careful on the road, even if you live in a state with overall good drivers. The company says it’s wise to prioritize adequate insurance coverage by opting for higher deductibles over reduced coverage and periodically shopping for better rates.
Uninsured motorist coverage, which isn’t required in California but is in other states, is an affordable add-on that can protect against medical and car damage expenses caused by uninsured drivers, LendingTree said.
For the complete list of states with the best and worst drivers, as well as more detailed breakdown of the methodology used in the annual ranking, click here.
