Top States with America's Worst Drivers

May 21, 2009— -- Worried about getting hit by some careless driver who doesn't know the rules of the road? Well then you might want to steer clear of New York, New Jersey, Hawaii and California.

Those four states top this year's list of the states with the worst drivers, according to a survey performed by GMAC Insurance.

"Their drivers, for whatever reason, are less familiar with the rules of the road," said Wade Bontrager, a senior vice president for GMAC Insurance which ranked drivers. "People need to be understand that they need to be educated. They need to remember the rules of the road and that educated drivers are safer drivers."

GMAC for the past five years has surveyed 5,000 people across the country with 20 test questions taken from various state driving tests. It turns out than many Americans don't really know what it means where there is a solid yellow line on one side of the center line or what type of lights to use when driving in the fog. (No passing and use your low beams.)

If the numbers from the GMAC survey held true for the entire U.S. population, that means roughly 41 million licensed Americans on the road today would not pass a written drivers test exam.

Click Here to Take the Test Yourself

"As an insurance company, we see the unfortunate results every day of what happens when people don't know the rules of the road," Bontrager said.

Where are the best -- or at least most-knowledgeable -- drivers? Idaho, Wisconsin, Montana and Kansas.

Overall, the Northeast had the lowest average test scores at 74.5 percent, and the South had the highest failure rate at 41 percent. The Midwest had the highest average test scores at 79 percent and the lowest failure rates at 15 percent. (Test-takers need to score at least 70 percent on the test to pass.)

So why are some regions better drivers than others?

"I don't know if it is a function of people that drive in very congested areas, very busy areas, lose sight of the rules of the road because it might be a little different there," Bontrager said.

Another theory: people in states with large metropolitan areas tend to take public transit more often and lose some of their driving skills.

"We certainly wouldn't suggest that people avoid any place [because of the test.] You ought to be a defensive driver no matter where you are, follow the rules of the road and understand that not everybody out there knows them as well as you do," Bontrager said. "Whether I'm driving in New York or Des Moines, I want to be a defensive driver. Maybe I can breathe a little easier in Des Moines or Idaho than I can in a congested area. But it doesn't change how you should drive."