Missouri named one of the riskiest states for drivers in the United States. Here’s why
Labor Day weekend sees a lot of travel, and predictions show more drivers will be on the road this year compared to 2023. But more drivers on the roads could mean more accidents.
Domestic travel over the holiday weekend is expected to be up 9% compared to last year, according to AAA.
Drivers are more likely to encounter drunk driving, distracted driving, road rage, car theft or poor road infrastructure in certain states, making parts of the United States riskier than others, finance website Forbes Advisor said.
If you’re driving in Missouri at any point, you’re at a higher risk than in most other states, according to their analysis.
Forbes Advisor’s latest report on the riskiest states to drive in shows that Missouri is second in the country. They used data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the FBI, State Farm and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and compared each state across 13 metrics per 100,000 drivers, including the number of:
- Fatal crashes
- Drunk drivers
- Car thefts
- Wildlife collisions
- Road conditions
What were Missouri’s rankings?
The finance website calculated these metrics into a score of 100, with 100 being the most dangerous, and Missouri received a 96.38. Only Mississippi finished ahead of Missouri in the rankings.
Here are some of the metrics that led to Missouri’s ranking:
- The state has the fifth-highest number of car thefts in the country, at 564.36 per 100,000 vehicles.
- The state has the sixth-highest percentage of drivers who experienced road rage from another driver in the past year, with 37% of drivers reporting an incident. Missouri also has the second-most confrontational drivers in the country, according to an earlier Forbes Advisor study.
- The state has the 10th highest number of drunk drivers involved in fatal car accidents, at 12.72 per 100,000 licensed drivers.
- Missourians have the 10th highest likelihood of hitting an animal while driving and the 10th highest rate of animal collisions in the United States.
Kentucky, Tennessee and Oklahoma round out the top five for riskiest states to drive in the country.
This story was originally published August 29, 2024 at 10:36 AM.
