America’s worst drivers have been unveiled, and they live in Mississippi, according to SmartAsset’s latest driving study. However, the south as a whole fared poorly in the extensive report as five out of the top 10 worst states were in the south of the country. Staying safe on the road should be any driver’s top priority. Yet, SmartAsset have found that drivers are making critical mistakes when they get behind the wheel.

Uninsured drivers

As a responsible driver, you should ensure that you have a valid auto insurance policy in place which provides protection to you and your vehicle on the road. Therefore, in the event of an incident you can rely on your insurer to cover the cost of repairs. Insurance rates vary across the country. One state which performs well is Nebraska, where 95.5% of drivers have insurance. In comparison, just 73.3% of drivers in Florida are insured, resulting in drivers in the state being named the eighth worst in the country.

Traffic offences

Speeding, driving under the influence and failing to wear a seatbelt are just some of the offences which give drivers a bad reputation. USA Today reports that more than 41 million speeding tickets are issued each year across The States, with fines totaling a costly $3.8 billion to $5.4 billion per annum. The report into the nation’s worst drivers reveals that more and more individuals are looking online for information regarding traffic offences and road tickets. For example, Missouri residents come in ninth place for such internet searches. This implies that not only are they receiving such tickets, but that they’re unsure of road laws, too.

Road traffic accidents

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of fatal accidents occurring across America is decreasing. Statistics shows that rates have dropped by 32% since 1994. However, these figures are still considerably high in certain U.S states. Drivers in South Carolina are the worst culprits, with 1.86 fatalities per every 100 million miles driven. Meanwhile, Mississippi comes a close second, with 1.69. In most cases, road traffic accidents are preventable. As such, a bad driver could easily become a good driver by simply paying extra care and attention on the roads.

The number of so-called bad drivers in America varies from state to state. However, extensive research shows that southern states are the worst offenders. In order to change this around and slash the number of poor drivers on the roads across America, those behind the wheel need to ensure they have insurance, stick to road traffic laws and take extra care to prevent collisions.