If there's one thing you've learned from your years of driving, it's that there are bad drivers everywhere.

I feel like every state hates some neighboring state and says that they have the worst drivers in the country. In my opinion, the worst drivers in America are 100% from Florida.

Florida drivers use the speed limit as more of a suggestion as opposed to a speed they are supposed to follow. Iowans might get a bad rap for not using blinkers but I'm 100% convinced that in Florida they skip blinker usage in drivers training courses. Plus, stop signs in Florida are apparently optional if they have a white circle around them.

See Also: What Do People Hate About Iowa Drivers?

Despite my clear bias of Floridians being the world's worst drivers, the stats would say I'm wrong. Florida ranks pretty close to Iowa when it comes to the worst drivers in the country.

Where Does Iowa Rank?

According to Forbes, fatal car crashes saw an increase of almost 13% from 2019 to 2023. Unsafe driving habits are the biggest culprit as "more than half of all drivers engage in dangerous behavior." Whether that is speeding, driving while distracted, or engaging in aggressive driving.

ALMOST every single state that's considered to have the worst drivers is in the central portion of America. Does this include Iowa?

Thankfully, no. Driving in Iowa wouldn't necessarily be considered that dangerous. Iowa ranks 31st for states with the worst drivers. That's in the lower half of the 50 states that were studied, which is a decent score. Do we want Iowa to be somewhere near the bottom of the list? Absolutely. But overall 31 out of 50 isn't that bad.

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The study reveals that 13.48 car accidents are fatal in Iowa, per 100,000 licensed drivers, and 4.5 Iowans are involved in fatal car accidents while intoxicated per 100,000 drivers. There is surely room for improvement here in Iowa but it could be worse.

Top 10 Worst States

The central portion of the country dominates this study of states with the worst drivers. I would personally consider Montana in the "central portion" which would make the center of America by far the most dangerous vicinity to drive in. Iowa's direct neighbors to the south make an appearance in the top 10.

• 10 - Missouri - *this state has the 4th highest number of fatal car accidents involving speeding.*
• 9 - Mississippi - *this state has the highest number of fatal car crashes of any state.*
• 8 - Kansas - *the highest number of fatal crashes with drivers disobeying traffic signs, signals, or traffic officers.*
• 7 - Kentucky - *the highest number of distracted drivers who put others at risk of deadly crashes.*
• 6 - Louisiana - *the second-highest number of fatal car accidents involving distracted drivers.
• 5 - Montana - *highest number of drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes in the country.
• 4 - Oklahoma - *6th highest total number of fatal car accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers.
• 3 - Texas - *the second highest number of drunk drivers involved in fatal car accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers.
• 2 - Wyoming - *highest number of drivers who are involved in fatal accidents because the driver is tired.
• 1 - New Mexico - *the state with the most fatal car accidents involving a distracted driver.

Put on your seatbelt, stay off of your phone, don't drink and drive, don't drive if you're too tired, obey the speed limit, and obey traffic signs.

Stay safe on the road Iowa!