Once again, a city in Tennessee holds the unpleasant distinction of being the home of the worst drivers in the country; two places in Southern California were also included on the list.
According to a recent Consumer Affairs research, the City of Memphis has the most dangerous drivers for the second year in a row, and by a significant margin.
Based on the most recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for 2022, the research team gave each city a “crash score” that took into account factors like the number of crashes involving poor driving, fatalities, positive blood alcohol content (BAC), speeding-related deaths, and driving under the influence.
With a crash score of 77.3, the “Home of the Blues” topped all American cities in terms of crash deaths (36.2 per 100,000 inhabitants) and fatalities involving drivers with positive blood alcohol content (13.5 per 100,000).
Rebecca Sowell, a data analyst with Consumer Affairs, emailed Nexstar, saying, “Our annual analysis of America’s worst drivers is all about raising awareness of where driving safety needs the most improvement. By shining a spotlight on high-risk areas, we’re not just alerting the public—we’re empowering communities, policymakers, and individuals with knowledge to make our roads safer.”
With a crash score of 64, Victorville came in second place.
According to Consumer Affairs, Victorville had the second-highest number of deaths involving drivers with positive blood alcohol content (13.4 per 100,000) and the fifth-highest number of deaths with speeding (11.2 per 100,000).
According to the study, Macon, Georgia ranked third with the second-highest number of road deaths in 2022 (32.7 per 100,000) and seventh with respect to alcohol-related collision fatalities (11.5 per 100,000), with a crash score of 63.4.
San Bernardino received a crash score of 60.6, placing them fourth. View the crash scores of the top 25 cities:
| Rank | City | State | Crash Score |
| 1 | Memphis | Tennessee | 77.3 |
| 2 | Victorville | California | 64 |
| 3 | Macon | Georgia | 63.4 |
| 4 | San Bernardino | California | 60.6 |
| 5 | Jackson | Mississippi | 56.1 |
| 6 | Tucson | Arizona | 55.6 |
| 7 | Wichita Falls | Texas | 54.6 |
| 8 | Baton Rouge | Louisiana | 53.7 |
| 9 | Midland | Texas | 52.8 |
| 10 | St. Louis | Missouri | 52.3 |
| 11 | Pueblo | Colorado | 51.2 |
| 12 | Pompano Beach | Florida | 51 |
| 13 | Fort Lauderdale | Florida | 50.4 |
| 14 | North Charleston | South Carolina | 50.1 |
| 15 | Davie | Florida | 49.1 |
| 16 | Waterbury | Connecticut | 48.9 |
| 17 | Birmingham | Alabama | 47.4 |
| 18 | Odessa | Texas | 46.8 |
| 19 | Richardson | Texas | 46.6 |
| 20 | Dayton | Ohio | 45.2 |
| 21 | Little Rock | Arkansas | 44.5 |
| 22 | Detroit | Michigan | 44.4 |
| 23 | Everett | Washington | 44.2 |
| 24 | Dallas | Texas | 44.1 |
| 25 | Knoxville | Tennessee | 43.3 |
You can visit this link to view the entire study.
Conversely, the survey discovered that Glendale (with a collision score of 5.1), Santa Clarita (4.9), and Oxnard (4.9) are the top three of the top five cities in SoCal when it comes to safe driving.
The survey found that Henderson, Nevada (5.0) and New Bedford, Massachusetts (5.0) matched for second place.
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Why do fatalities occur in particular cities at such a high rate?
Although Sowell informed Nexstar that there are a lot of factors that could affect the number of lethal crashes, the data alone may not entirely explain high or low levels of driving-related fatalities.
- Infrastructure: Road, highway, and intersection design and quality can have a big influence.
- Traffic volume: Dense cities may have a higher accident rate due to the increased number of vehicles and people on the road.
Upon deeper inspection, NHTSA data reveals that several cities, like Albuquerque and Cleveland, have significantly reduced traffic fatalities. Albuquerque has gone from No. 3 to No. 29, while Cleveland has dropped from No. 6 to No. 69 from last year.
Though there is still work to be done in places like Memphis to improve road safety, overall trends in the US are improving.
The NHTSA reports that there has been a general decrease trend in the death rate (per 100 million vehicle miles traveled) from 3.35 to 1.33 since 1976.
What steps can you take, then, to increase your safety when driving? The following is what the US Department of Transportation suggests:
- Perform routine safety inspections on your car.
- Steer clear of distractions like talking to other passengers, using in-car technology, eating, drinking, and using cellphones.
- Put on seat belts on your car.
- Avoid drinking and driving.
The most current American Driving Survey from AAA indicates that you can reduce the likelihood of a fatal collision if you have the financial means to replace an older car to one with a complete complement of safety features.
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