The 10 Most Dangerous (and Safest) Places to Drive In the USA

As all drivers know, driving comes with its fair share of risks. From distracted drivers to treacherous road conditions to drunk drivers, anytime you get behind the wheel of a car, there’s a very real possibility of a fatal car accident occurring.

Despite this reality, many drivers believe that a severe accident is something that will never befall them. However, we at SellMax think that the first step to safer roads is acknowledging these risks and ensuring drivers have all the facts.

That’s why we decided to find out which states, as well as cities, are most prone to fatal accidents. And on the flip side, which states and cities have the fewest fatal car accidents?

The Study …

Using data sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, we grouped fatal accident data into three categories by city and state:

1. Total number of fatalities from driving

2. The number of fatalities from driving under the influence

3. The number of fatalities from speeding

● Approximately 10% of deaths were a result of our driving under the influence variable

● Approximately 20% of deaths were a result of our speeding variable

● Approximately 70% of deaths occurred as a result of variables other than DUI or speeding

Cities and states were ranked according to the three categories using percentage of fatalities. A score was created by combining the ranks among the three categories. The final score was used to establish the overall rank.

The 3 Safest Cities
to Drive In

1. New York City

2. Boston

3. Jersey City

The 3 Most Dangerous Cities
to Drive In

1. Detroit

2. Dallas

3. Tucson

Cities With The Most (and Fewest) Speeding and DUI Fatalities

Jacksonville, Florida, has the highest proportion of DUI fatalities (0.0180%), while New York has the least (0.0008%). It’s interesting to see in the data how the cities with the best public transportation have fewer car fatalities. Port St. Lucie, Florida, has the lowest proportion of speeding fatalities (0.0030%) while St. Louis had the highest number of speeding fatalities (0.0478%).

Without further ado, here’s the data and our findings.

Detroit is the most dangerous city to drive in, with 0.149% of car fatalities per its population. Dallas is the second most dangerous, with 0.116%, and Tucson is the third with 0.122%. One way to interpret this data is that a lack of public transportation could have an influence on driving safety. These 10 cities do not have as robust of public transportation options as the highest-ranked safe cities below.

10 safest CITIES TO DRIVE IN

New York is the top safest city to drive in, with 0.018% of motor vehicle deaths per its population. Boston is the second safest with 0.022%, and Jersey City is third with 0.024%. For the 3 safest cities, it’s interesting how public transportation is well-known and regularly used in these cities. So, even though the population is higher, people are getting in fewer crashes. As this article points out, when fewer people used public transportation, car-related deaths skyrockets

Most Dangerous Cities to Drive In,
Based on Fatalities

Methodology: The percentage of deaths (total deaths / population) were computed. The city with the highest percentage got rank 1, while the lowest percentage is ranked 50. The top 10 cities were then identified based on the ranks (1-10).

Memphis is ranked the most dangerous city to drive in with the highest percentage of driving fatalities per city population. St. Louis is the second most dangerous, with 0.1706% proportion of total driving deaths, followed by Detroit in third, with 0.1486%.

Safest Cities to Drive In
Based on Fatalities

Methodology The percentage of deaths (total deaths / population) were computed. The city with the lowest percentage got rank 1, while the highest percentage is ranked 50. The top 10 safest cities were then identified based on the ranks (1-10).

Interestingly, even though New York City has the largest population by far, it’s the safest city to drive in, based on fatalities with only 0.0178% motor fatalities per city population. The second safest city is Henderson, with only 0.0187% proportion of total driving deaths. And Boston is ranked the third safest city with only 0.0218% of car fatalities. It seems public transportation could have had a positive effect on the 1st and 3rd safest cities!

The 10 Most Dangerous Cities to Drive In, Based on DUI fatalities

Methodology: The percentage of driving under the influence (driving under the influence / population) were computed. The city with the highest percentage got rank 1, while the lowest percentage is ranked 50. The top 10 cities then were identified based on the ranks (1-10) and they are presented on the table below.

Unfortunately, Jacksonville ranked the most dangerous for driving under the influence fatalities, with 0.0180%, closely followed by Colorado Springs’ 0.0175%, and Fresno just behind in third with 0.0170%.

Cities with the fewest amount
of dui fatalities

Methodology: The percentage of driving under the influence (driving under the influence / population) were computed. The city with the lowest percentage got rank 1, while the highest percentage is ranked 50. The top 10 cities then were identified based on the ranks (1-10) and they are presented on the table below.

Not surprisingly, New York and Boston ranked first and second in the fewest deaths by DUI, with 0.0008% and 0.0009%. St. Louis ranked third with just 0.00010%.

The 10 Most Dangerous Cities to Drive in Based on Speeding

Methodology: The same method was used for speeding criterion. The percentages were computed as speeding divided by population. The highest percentage got rank 1, while the lowest percentage is ranked 50. The top 10 most dangerous cities then were identified based on the ranks (1-10).

Missouri cites St. Louis and Kansas City are ranked 1 and 2 for the most dangerous cities to drive in, based on deaths from speeding, with 0.0478% and 0.0355%. The third most dangerous city is Detroit, with 0.0343%.

The 10 Cities With the Fewest Amount of Speeding Fatalities

The cities with the least amount of speeding-related driving deaths are Port St. Lucie, with 0.0030%, New York with 0.0034%, and Henderson with 0.0036%.

The 10 Most Dangerous States to Drive In

South Carolina is the most dangerous state to drive in, with 0.1396% of total driving deaths per population in the state. The second most dangerous is Wyoming, with 0.1340%, and the third most dangerous is Montana, with 0.1320%.

The Top 10 Most Safe States to Drive In

Massachusetts is the safest state to drive in, with only 0.0353% car-related fatalities per its population. Then, New York is the second safest state, with 0.0352%, and New Jersey is third with 0.0453%.

states with the highest number
of car fatalities

Methodology: The percentage of deaths (total deaths / population) were computed. The state with the highest percentage got rank 1, while the lowest percentage is ranked 50. The top 10 states were then identified based on the ranks (1-10).

Mississippi is the most dangerous state to drive in, with 0.159% of deaths from car accidents. South Carolina is the second most dangerous with 0.140%, and Wyoming is the third most dangerous with 0.134%.

states with the lowest number
of car fatalities

Methodology: The percentage of deaths (total deaths / population) were computed. The state with the lowest percentage got rank 1, while the highest percentage is ranked 50. The top 10 states were then identified based on the ranks (1-10).

New York is the state with the fewest driving fatalities, with 0.0352% per its population. Massachusetts claimed the second-fewest with 0.0353%, and Rhode Island was ranked third with 0.0406%.

states with the highest number
of dui fatalities

Methodology: The percentage of driving under the influence (driving under the influence / population) were computed. The state with the highest percentage got rank 1, while the lowest percentage is ranked 50. The top 10 states then were identified based on the ranks (1-10) and they are presented on the table below.

Montana has the most DUI fatalities, with 0.0349% of its population. Wyoming has the second highest rate with 0.0232%, and South Carolina has the third highest rate with 0.0195%.

states with the fewest number
of dui fatalities

Massachusetts claims first for the fewest number of deaths by DUI drivers, with 0.0022% of deaths per its population. Virginia is the second safest in terms of fatalities in this category, with 0.0026%. And New York is third with 0.0029%..

states with the highest number
of speeding fatalities

Methodology: The same method was used for speeding criterion. The percentages were computed as speeding divided by population. The highest percentage got rank 1, while the lowest percentage is ranked 50. The top 10 states then were identified based on the ranks (1-10).

South Carolina has the most speeding fatalities per its population with 0.0404%. Wyoming has the second most with 0.0332%, and New Mexico is third with 0.0324%.

states with the fewest number
of speeding fatalities

Methodology: The same method was used for speeding criterion. The percentages were computed as speeding divided by population. The lowest percentage got rank 1, while the highest percentage is ranked 50. The top 10 states then were identified based on the ranks (1-10).

Florida has the fewest speeding fatalities with 0.0066% per its population. New Jersey has the second-fewest with 0.0067%, and Massachusetts has the third-fewest with 0.0068%.

Conclusion to wrap it all up

After looking at the most dangerous (and least dangerous) cities and states to drive in throughout the USA, we hope you’ll use this information to make safe decisions behind the wheel. When we know the most dangerous and most safe cities to drive in, we can begin to make roads safer for everyone!