These 25 Cities Have the Worst Drivers in America

Believe_In_Me/iStock via Getty Images
Believe_In_Me/iStock via Getty Images | Believe_In_Me/iStock via Getty Images

If you’re driving in a new city, you might find yourself prone to more fits of road rage than usual, probably because you haven’t yet adapted to the tacit differences in road etiquette. Perhaps you find Pittsburgh drivers to be more mercurial and aggressive than you’re used to, or maybe drivers are so laid-back in Little Rock that you feel like you’ll never reach your destination.

Though everyone is entitled to their own opinions about which cities have the most untrained, absent-minded hooligans on the highway, insurance quote comparison site QuoteWizard broke down a ton of data to determine a ranking of which cities—statistically speaking—actually have the worst drivers. To do it, the team analyzed millions of insurance quotes and added up the numbers of accidents, speeding tickets, DUIs, and citations (which include running red lights, texting while driving, etc.) in 75 cities across the country.

Based on those metrics, they determined that the absolute worst driving city is Portland, Oregon, which boasts the highest number of speeding tickets in the nation. The runner-up is Boise, Idaho, which saw an increasing number of DUIs drive the city up 25 spots from last year’s list (where it ranked 27th).

A staggering seven California cities ranked in the top 25, including Sacramento, San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles. And South Carolina proved to be small but mighty when it comes to driving indiscretions: Greenville, Charleston, and Columbia all made the list.

While this list seems to skew toward the West Coast, many of the top 25 best driving cities are in the Midwest and the South. Detroit, Michigan, takes home the trophy for best driving city, followed by Louisville, Kentucky; Chicago, Illinois; and Miami, Florida.

See below for the full list of worst driving cities, and find out the factors contribute to bad driving here. You can view QuoteWizard's full list of best and worst cities for drivers here.

  1. Portland, Oregon

  1. Boise, Idaho

  1. Virginia Beach, Virginia

  1. Columbus, Ohio

  1. Sacramento, California

  1. Salt Lake City, Utah

  1. Cleveland, Ohio

  1. Denver, Colorado

  1. San Francisco, California

  1. Richmond, Virginia

  1. Madison, Wisconsin

  1. Fresno, California

  1. Bakersfield, California

  1. Seattle, Washington

  1. Omaha, Nebraska

  1. Colorado Springs, Colorado

  1. Dayton, Ohio

  1. Greenville, South Carolina

  1. Charleston, South Carolina

  1. Columbia, South Carolina

  1. Rochester, New York

  1. San Diego, California

  1. Los Angeles, California

  1. Washington, DC

  1. Riverside, California