Albuquerque Tops List of ‘Worst Drivers’ in the U.S.
Residents of many cities may feel their hometown has the worst drivers in the U.S. However, a recent study found that title belongs to Albuquerque, New Mexico. The most populus city in the Southwest state leads the pack, but cities near Albuquerque and around the Southeast and Midwest were also noted near the top of the list.
The Forbes Advisor study determined its list by comparing fatal crash statistics across major U.S. cities. The study ranked cities across five metrics. The most significant was the number of fatal car accidents per 100,000 residents. Other factors include the number of fatal accidents involving a drunk driver, a distracted driver or those that involved speeding. The number of people killed in car crashes per 100,000 residents was also studied. The study period includes data from the NHTSA from 2017-21. An average across the five-year study period was used to determine each city’s ranking.
Each city was given a score out of 100 points based on these metrics. The higher the number, the “worse” the drivers.
Albuquerque was scored at 100 points, a “perfect” score denoting it has the worst drivers across the study metrics.
The city had the highest number of fatal accidents involving a distracted driver, 5.42 per 100,000 residents. It was third highest in the number of fatal accidents and the number of people killed in such accidents (18.11 per 100,000 residents). Albuquerque placed fifth among cities for fatal car accidents that included speeding. The study reported 4.67 fatal car accidents per 100,000 residents, the sixth highest among the most populus U.S. municipalities.
Texas had the most cities of any state on the list with six. They include El Paso, San Antonio, Houston, Austin, Forth Worth and Dallas. Forth Worth and Dallas were each included in the top-10 for among worst drivers — Dallas at sixth and Forth Worth at ninth.
Memphis, Tennessee, was second to Albuquerque with a score of 98.51. The city had 24 fatal car accidents per 100,000 residents during the study period, the most of any municipality. Memphis also had the highest number of people killed in fatal car crashes and fatal accidents involving a drunk driver per 100,000 residents of all cities.
Memphis is among six Southeast cities included in the top-20 cities with the worst drivers. Others include Tampa and Jacksonville, Florida, Atlanta, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Nashville, Tennessee.
Detroit was third on the list, leading all Midwest cities.
Below is the list of 50 cities with the worst drivers according to the study.
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Detroit, Michigan
- Tucson, Arizona
- Kansas City, Missouri
- Dallas, Texas
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Fort Worth, Texas
- Tampa, Florida
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- San Antonio, Texas
- Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Wichita, Kansas
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- El Paso, Texas
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Fresno, California
- Houston, Texas
- Austin, Texas
- Bakersfield, California
- Miami, Florida
- Sacramento, California
- Mesa, Arizona
- Denver, Colorado
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Chicago, Illinois
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Columbus, Ohio
- Long Beach, California
- Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Portland, Oregon
- Los Angeles, California
- San Jose, California
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Seattle, Washington
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- San Diego, California
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Oakland, California
- Washington, D.C.
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- New York, New York
- San Francisco, California
- Boston, Massachusetts