Are Massachusetts Drivers Terrible? - See the National Ranking

Monday, November 30, 2015

GoLocalWorcester News Team

It is not like we needed a group of scientists in white lab coats to know that Massachusetts drivers are among the worst in America and a new study looks at National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data for a range of categories.

Overall, Massachusetts ranks 41st in the United States and looking inside the numbers and the trends is disturbing. The study uses data and ranks the states by how bad their drivers score. The 1st ranked state is the worst drivers and 50th is the best driving state.

In Worcester, there have been a series of hit-and-runs including a police officer hit in the past few weeks. One of the most infamous hit-and-runs was the case of a Sarah Ewing, a 24-year-old woman that was killed in Kelley Square when she was pinned down by the rear wheels of a tractor trailer in May. She was from Hudson.

SEE BELOW SLIDES AS TO HOW EACH NEW ENGLAND STATE RANKED

Ewing was freed from the wheels of the truck and transported to a hospital. She was in critical condition at the scene of the accident and was pronounced dead at the hospital.

According to a Worcester Police Department, "the preliminary investigation indicates that the tractor trailer was traveling east on Millbury Street approaching Kelley Square. Apparently the truck had pulled to the right side of the road to let a Worcester fire truck pass by. After the firetruck passed the tractor trailer entered Kelley Square and attempted to turn right. The tractor trailer was attempting to head in the direction of the onramps to Route 290. At this time the truck cut the turn too close to the side of the road. As a result the trailer portion hit a light pole. The impact caused the light pole to fall. Standing near the light pole was the female victim and a male victim. As the pole fell it forced the two towards the truck as it was in the process of turning. The female was run over by the rear two wheels of the trailer. She was pinned in-between the two wheels until fire rescue freed her.

In just the past few weeks, Worcester police have reported five significant hit-and-runs with injuries occurring. Now, a major study NHTSA data for the following measures.

   •   Fatalities Rate per 100 Million Vehicle Miles Traveled
   •   Failure to Obey (Percentage of Fatal Crashes that involved Traffic Signals, Not Wearing Seat Belts, and Driving with an Invalid Driver’s License)
   •   Drunk Driving (Percentage of Fatal Crashes that Involved Alcohol)
   •   Speeding (Percentage of Driving Fatalities that were Speed-Related)
   •   Careless Driving (Pedestrian & Bicyclist Fatalities per 100,000 Population)

SEE THE INTERACTIVE MAP

Related Slideshow: See the Ranking of New England Drivers - 2015

See how each of the New England states rank for worst drivers - remember the lower the rank, the worse the drivers.

Prev Next

#49

Vermont

Fatalities Rate per 100 Million Vehicle Miles Traveled: 34
   •   Failure to Obey (Percentage of Fatal Crashes that involved Traffic Signals, Not Wearing Seat Belts, and Driving with an Invalid Driver’s License): 49
   •   Drunk Driving (Percentage of Fatal Crashes that Involved Alcohol) 26
   •   Speeding (Percentage of Driving Fatalities that were Speed-Related) 37
   •   Careless Driving (Pedestrian & Bicyclist Fatalities per 100,000 Population) 46

Total Score: 192

Prev Next

#41

Massachusetts

Fatalities Rate per 100 Million Vehicle Miles Traveled: 50
   •   Failure to Obey (Percentage of Fatal Crashes that involved Traffic Signals, Not Wearing Seat Belts, and Driving with an Invalid Driver’s License): 43
   •   Drunk Driving (Percentage of Fatal Crashes that Involved Alcohol): 2
   •   Speeding (Percentage of Driving Fatalities that were Speed-Related): 34
   •   Careless Driving (Pedestrian & Bicyclist Fatalities per 100,000 Population): 36

Total Score: 165

Prev Next

#28

Connecticut

Fatalities Rate per 100 Million Vehicle Miles Traveled: 42
   •   Failure to Obey (Percentage of Fatal Crashes that involved Traffic Signals, Not Wearing Seat Belts, and Driving with an Invalid Driver’s License): 11
   •   Drunk Driving (Percentage of Fatal Crashes that Involved Alcohol): 4
   •   Speeding (Percentage of Driving Fatalities that were Speed-Related): 41
   •   Careless Driving (Pedestrian & Bicyclist Fatalities per 100,000 Population): 37

Total Score: 135

Prev Next

#27

Maine

Fatalities Rate per 100 Million Vehicle Miles Traveled: 28
   •   Failure to Obey (Percentage of Fatal Crashes that involved Traffic Signals, Not Wearing Seat Belts, and Driving with an Invalid Driver’s License): 35
   •   Drunk Driving (Percentage of Fatal Crashes that Involved Alcohol): 12
   •   Speeding (Percentage of Driving Fatalities that were Speed-Related): 16
   •   Careless Driving (Pedestrian & Bicyclist Fatalities per 100,000 Population): 35

Total Score: 126

Prev Next

#20 (tied)

New Hampshire

Fatalities Rate per 100 Million Vehicle Miles Traveled: 26
   •   Failure to Obey (Percentage of Fatal Crashes that involved Traffic Signals, Not Wearing Seat Belts, and Driving with an Invalid Driver’s License): 40
   •   Drunk Driving (Percentage of Fatal Crashes that Involved Alcohol): 18
   •   Speeding (Percentage of Driving Fatalities that were Speed-Related): 1
   •   Careless Driving (Pedestrian & Bicyclist Fatalities per 100,000 Population): 31

Total Score: 116

Prev Next

#19

Rhode Island

Fatalities Rate per 100 Million Vehicle Miles Traveled: 44
   •   Failure to Obey (Percentage of Fatal Crashes that involved Traffic Signals, Not Wearing Seat Belts, and Driving with an Invalid Driver’s License): 5
   •   Drunk Driving (Percentage of Fatal Crashes that Involved Alcohol): 8
   •   Speeding (Percentage of Driving Fatalities that were Speed-Related): 36
   •   Careless Driving (Pedestrian & Bicyclist Fatalities per 100,000 Population): 20

Total Score: 113