A new report released by Forbes offers many new twists to the causes and concerns over car accidents. Based on statistics from several federal agencies like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, one of its sections focuses on states with the most car deaths per capita combined with the total number of fatal car accidents. 

What’s the most unsafe state for car crashes?

Both in 2020 and 2021 there were increases in highway deaths in every state except six. But some states are safer to drive in than others. So Forbes groups the causes of fatalities in each state. It should be noted that at least 25% of fatalities in the top 10 unsafe states were a result of speeding.

The state with some of the most fatal car accidents per capita in the top 10 is Wyoming, with 0.022 deaths per capita. But the state ranks as the third worst state for safe driving. Overall, the state with the worst overall record is Montana. 

Why is Montana the most unsafe state for car crashes?

It didn’t have the highest percentage in any category, but cumulatively, it is the least safe state to drive in. And fatalities rose by 16% year-over-year. However, the worst stat is that Montana has the highest number of crashes involving intoxication at 51%. 

Second on the list is South Carolina. Almost half of the deaths resulting from speeding were recorded in this state, the highest of the top 10 states. And it has some of the highest, but not the highest, fatal car accidents and the total number killed in car accidents. As mentioned earlier, Wyoming comes in No. 3. At least it’s year-over-year stats are going down. It saw a 14% drop from 2021 to 2022. 

Then what is the safest state to drive in?

The next three, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Texas, have similar statistics. Of note is that South Dakota saw its number of deaths rise almost 40% from 2021 to 2022. Arkansas is the No.8 least safe state. It has some of the highest percentages for the number of fatal car accidents at 0.019. 

Rounding out the top 10 states are Louisiana and North Carolina. And in case you are wondering where California falls, since it has the most registered vehicles of any state, it doesn’t show up in the top 20 state listings. 

And the safest state for driving? Forbes says that would be New Jersey. It had the lowest stats for speeding fatalities, drunk driving, and fatal accidents. 

What type of vehicles are the unsafest?

Counter to what you would expect, semi-trucks and motorcycles are involved in much fewer fatal crashes than cars and light trucks. Those two categories show over 20,000 each per year, with semi-trucks involved in fatalities slightly under 5,000 and motorcycle deaths slightly under 6,000. Passenger cars are also the worst vehicles for injury-causing accidents.

The data even breaks down Uber traffic deaths. You’ll be happy to know that only 42 fatalities occurred in ride-sharing vehicles in 2020. Though even one is too much, it shows that generally ride-sharing drivers are mostly good drivers.