I learned to drive in Naples, Italy. There is little that a driver can do here in the U.S.A. that can surprise me. However, Boston drivers would have no problem driving in Naples, or New Delhi, or Bangkok for that matter … other than knowing which red lights to stop for and which ones to obey.
Yahoo just published the GMAC Insurance rankings of their National Drivers Test. Here is their report:
GMAC Insurance has released the results of its National Drivers Test for 2009. The test, which measures basic knowledge of driving laws, was given to more than 5,000 drivers from all 50 states and the District of Columbia — and New Yorkers finished last. Last year’s loser, New Jersey, improved its score just enough to leap over New York. Hawaii, California and Georgia rounded out the bottom five.
The point of the test, of course, is not just to confirm what anyone who’s tried to merge onto the Thruway already knew. It’s to measure how much we know about safe driving. And the news isn’t good.
In a press release, GMAC explains, “Results from the 2009 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test released today found that 20.1 percent of licensed Americans – amounting to roughly 41 million drivers on the road – would not pass a written drivers test exam if taken today.” Most of us have trouble, according to the results, with “questions about yellow lights and safe following distances.”
The survey has been given for five years. The average score has fluctuated up and down during that time, but this year it is down – 76.6 percent versus last year’s 78.1.
GMAC notes, “In general, geographical regions ranked similarly to previous years, with the lowest average test scores in the Northeast, while the states in the Midwest held the highest averages. When comparing genders, men are still more likely to pass the test than women, but the gap is considerably smaller in 2009 (81 percent of males versus 79 percent of females) than in 2008 (87 percent of males versus 80 percent of females).”
And, “The older the driver, the higher the test score.” Drivers over 35 were more likely to pass than those under 35, while men over 45 posted the highest scores, and “the age group with the highest failure rates was young adults (18 to 24 years old).”
State Rankings — from Best to Worst.
Note: Many states tied for the same position in the rankings.
1 IDAHO
1 WISCONSIN
3 MONTANA
4 KANSAS
5 SOUTH DAKOTA
5 NEBRASKA
7 UTAH
8 WYOMING
8 IOWA
8 OREGON
8 MINNESOTA
12 ALASKA
12 NORTH DAKOTA
14 VERMONT
15 COLORADO
15 MISSOURI
17 OKLAHOMA
17 WASHINGTON
19 NEW MEXICO
20 NORTH CAROLINA
21 VIRGINIA
22 INDIANA
22 MICHIGAN
24 ARKANSAS
24 TEXAS
26 ALABAMA
26 NEVADA
28 WEST VIRGINIA
29 ILLINOIS
30 ARIZONA
31 MAINE
32 DELAWARE
33 NEW HAMPSHIRE
34 OHIO
35 KENTUCKY
36 PENNSYLVANIA
37 LOUISIANA
38 TENNESSEE
38 MISSISSIPPI
40 SOUTH CAROLINA
40 MARYLAND
42 CONNECTICUT
43 FLORIDA
44 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
45 MASSACHUSETTS
46 RHODE ISLAND
47 GEORGIA
48 CALIFORNIA
49 HAWAII
50 NEW JERSEY
51 NEW YORK
Curious how you’d do? Take the test yourself at nationaldriverstest.com.
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Judging from the beginning of your article, you’ve heard of licensed Mass-holes. Of course, it didn’t help that there were multi-street intersections, such as the one in Somerville which had 7 that came together, without a single traffic control.
I had an apartment in Boston for years. Personally, I’m amazed that Massachusettes only ranks 45th. I also lived in NYC for two years. Now, I’m in the DC area. I’ve had lots of practice with the worst of the worst.
Got a 95%!!! Can’t wait to tll my husband….(&can’t wait to see what score he gets!!!)
I got a 90%. I learned to drive in Ohio but have lived in Illinois for the last 20 years.
I should see what my wife can get on this test…
Written test scores? How about rankings of “practical” driver skills?
you know, i grew up in (and learned to drive in) southern california, and moved to hawaii six years years ago…yet i got a 95%. woohoo! scary to think i might be one of the most competant drivers on the road here, because in general, they really are baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad…
Oklahoma has alot bad drivers (the worst is OKC drivers). Tulsa drivers can be aggresive to. We have a lot of tailgaters. People who live in OKC go 85 in a 65 zone on the freeway. If you get in their way they ride your bumper until you get over. Then it is not pretty during OKC rush hour on I-35, when you get all of the OKC drivers and Dallas drivers together. It looks like a nascar rase between us Oklahomans and the Texans. We always seem to cut the Texas driver off in traffic. We can see when a Texas car is coming up beside us due to that Texans have front plates and a inspection stickers on their car. Then we get the Texas drivers who come up here and drive 35 on a 70 mph freeway. For you Oklahomans, LEARN HOW TO USE YOUR TURN SIGNAL!!! AND THAT YELLOW LIGHTS MEAN START TO SLOW DOWN, NOT SPEED UP AND TAILGATE THE PERSON IN FRONT OF YOU!!! And the Oklahomans who come into the OKC meto from Eastern and Western OKlahoma, learn that us Okc people use the fast lane to get somewere. If your going to use the fast lane go 5-10 mph over the speed limit. Dont sit in the Fast lane going 5 under. Us OKC metro drivers are aggrsive, we dont like to play games.