Best, worst states to drive in revealed in new study

[Kamaji]

Best, worst states to drive in revealed in new study

By Emily Lefroy
August 23, 2023

Stick to the boardwalk.

New Jersey is the worst state to drive in, as it has the highest road congestion nationwide and the second-worst road quality, a new study by MoneyGeek finds.

Researchers considered traffic, transportation costs, safety, road infrastructure and weather in its rankings, released last month.

New York fared slightly better than the Garden State, earning the title of the 16th worst state to drive in. 

Nebraska was named the best state, thanks to the lowest vehicle-related costs nationwide and its infrastructure quality.

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Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/08/23/best-worst-states-to-drive-in-revealed-in-new-study/

[Fishrrman]

Top 10 best states to drive in
Nebraska
North Dakota
Minnesota
Iowa
Kansas
Idaho
South Dakota
Alaska
New Hampshire
Wisconsin

Top 10 worst states to drive in
New Jersey
California
West Virginia
Missisippi
Maryland
Florida
Hawaii
Delaware
Louisiana
Rhode Island

[Kamaji]

I used to love driving, but I've been in the Northeast for 20+ years now, and it is the rare instance that I actually enjoy driving anymore, except when it's on a long trip out of the Northeast.

Too many shitty roads and too many shitty drivers will do that to you.

[Fishrrman]

Kamaji:
"and it is the rare instance that I actually enjoy driving anymore, except when it's on a long trip out of the Northeast."

Well, heck.
You're on Long Island.

Get above Patterson on Route 22, and things are just beautiful.
And stay that way, pretty much all the way up to the Canadian border.

[The_Reader_David]

I guess the raters didn't actually try driving in all 50 states.  If they'd driven I-80 from the Iowa border to Lincoln, there's no way Nebraska would have rated #1.  Drivers in Omaha drive like New Yorkers, and there are too many 18-wheelers on that stretch of the interstate.

I lived in Omaha for a year during my wife's psychology internship. Was glad to move back to Kansas, in part because I hated driving in Omaha and environs.

[Hoodat]

Not fair.  North Dakota has like two roads in the entire State.

[Smokin Joe]

Not fair.  North Dakota has like two roads in the entire State.

Zoom in. Two interstates.

[Hoodat]

OK.  Four roads.

[Smokin Joe]

OK.  Four roads.

https://travel.dot.nd.gov/

Gee, I lost count at twenty-one...Maths is hard.

But those are just the paved roads. We have a LOT more gravel/dirt roads.
(178,845 miles of road, at last count, which puts us 23rd in the country for miles of road, as States go). source https://blog.cubitplanning.com/2010/02/road-miles-by-state/

Bet whoever drove them didn't do so in winter,  and we put the interstates where it was easiest to build them--where it's really flat.

Not so much in places like this:

[Polly Ticks]

Researchers looked at five factors:

• Cost: Gas prices per gallon, annual car maintenance costs and annual toll expenses per vehicle comprise this category, as well as average annual premiums from the cheapest full coverage auto insurance options available in each state.
• Congestion: Factors include average morning commute times and vehicle miles traveled per lane mile, which measures how many vehicles are using a particular length of road over a certain period of time.
• Safety: MoneyGeek analyzed fatal crashes per 100,000 people and car thefts per 100,000 vehicles.
• Infrastructure: This category considers the percentage of roads and bridges that are in acceptable condition in each state.
• Weather: MoneyGeek analyzed fatal car crashes per 100,000 people in snowy and rainy conditions.

I'm not sure about this criteria. Where is the data on what percent of drivers cut you off, weave in and out of traffic, ride your bumper, slam on their brakes at the very last minute, etc.??   

A high rate of car theft may have relevance on a 'best/worst place to live' evaluation, but doesn't really speak to driving.[/list]

[Kamaji]

I'm not sure about this criteria. Where is the data on what percent of drivers cut you off, weave in and out of traffic, ride your bumper, slam on their brakes at the very last minute, etc.??   

A high rate of car theft may have relevance on a 'best/worst place to live' evaluation, but doesn't really speak to driving.[/list]

Congestion and safety probably act as proxies for those sorts of behaviours, because both of those things tend to be aggravated by that sort of driving.