A lot of people think Florida has the worst drivers in the country.
Now they have proof.
According to a survey compiled by SmartAsset, a personal-finance company, the Sunshine State’s motorists rank as the nation’s most unsafe for the second consecutive year.
That’s unlikely to surprise anyone who frequently braves South Florida’s roadways and highways and face drivers who seem intent on cementing the state’s reputation for horrible driving.
“Between tourists, transplants, texting, teens and octogenarians of course Florida is #1,” Marianne Sezo posted on the website Delray Raw.
Wrote Alex Phillips, of Delray Beach: “Probably the least surprising thing I’ve heard all year.”
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The survey took four factors into account: DUI arrests, people killed in traffic crashes, percentage of drivers insured and Google searches for speeding tickets.
Florida faired worst in the percentage of drivers who are insured, coming in No. 2 overall behind Oklahoma with only 76.2 percent of its motorists carrying insurance.
According to the study, Florida ranked ninth-highest in the nation with 1.42 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles as well as in the number of times residents Googled “speeding ticket” or “traffic ticket.” The heavy Googling for subjects related to tickets indicates that Floridians are accumulating citations at higher rates than other states, according to SmartAsset.
Palm Beach County third worst in hit-and-run crashes
Of the four factors of bad driving considered, the only one working Florida’s favor was its lack of DUI arrests. The state had the 45th-lowest rate of DUI arrests.
Coming in behind Florida with the overall worst drivers were Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee and Oklahoma. Massachusetts was last in the survey and, presumably, has the state’s safest drivers.
Florida and Mississippi also ranked 1-2 in the company’s 2016 survey.
Carol Graffeo, of Delray Beach, is not surprised Florida’s drivers are thought of so negatively.
“Worst drivers I have ever seen in my 50+ years of driving!,” Graffeo posted on Delray Raw. “I come from Massachusetts and I thought we were bad drivers.”