Recent studies reveal that Nevada drivers may be some of the worst in the nation, and their poor driving behaviors result in thousands of car accidents every year. While some of these crashes are minor, others cause serious and even life-threatening injuries. Regardless of the severity of these motor vehicle mishaps, one thing is certain- many of the behaviors that cause them can and should be avoided. Ranked for 2016 as the state with the seventh worst drivers in the nation, it appears that Nevada’s motorists have a lot to work on.
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Behavior Categories Used to Determine Worst Driver Ranking
The study, which was conducted by Car Insurance Comparison, used information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to determine which states had the worst drivers. Each state was ranked in the following behavior categories.
- Careless driving – including pedestrian and bicycle deaths per 100,000 people. Nevada ranked fourth in the nation for careless driving, which resulted in 78 deaths in 2016.
- Fatality rate- per 100 million motor vehicle miles traveled. Nevada came in with the 23rd highest fatality rate.
- Failure to obey- including fatality accidents that involved not wearing seat belts, driving without a valid drivers license, and not obeying traffic signs and signals. With Nevada coming in 29th, failure to obey was the state’s best score.
- Drunk driving- alcohol-related fatal crashes. Nevada was ranked 8th in the nation for fatal drunk driving accidents.
- Speeding- fatality accidents in which excessive speed was a factor. Nevada drivers ranked 13th in the United States for deadly crashes that involved speeding.
The information was combined to create a total score. The states with the worst drivers received the lowest scores.
Unsafe Driving Habits Lead to Injuries, Death
It’s not uncommon for drivers to break the rules every once in a while, but some unsafe driving habits are more dangerous than others, often leading to car accidents that change the lives of victims and even take them away. Each year, about 35,000 drivers, passengers, bicyclists and pedestrians lose their lives to motor vehicle crashes, and hundreds of thousands of victims are seriously injured throughout the nation. Distracted driving is currently a leading unsafe behavior that leads to car accidents in the United States, and speeding is a factor in approximately one-third of all crashes. Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is involved in nearly one-third of all traffic-related fatalities.
