South Carolina has the 10th most unsafe drivers in the country, according to a new report.
The new report from Forbes Advisor used six metrics to compare the states, including the number of drunk drivers involved in fatal car accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers as well as the number of fatal car accidents involving a distracted driver and number of drivers who looked at a phone per mile. Other metrics include drowsy drivers’ involvement in fatal accidents, drivers who disobeyed traffic rules and those driving the wrong way down a road.
Each state received a score up to 100. Lower scores were for safer states. South Carolina, at 10th worst, received a 71.14 — far safer than the 100 points from Texas. States with the safest drivers included Vermont, Minnesota and Massachusetts, each of which scored under 30.
According to the data from Forbes, South Carolina had 15.66 drunk drivers involved in fatal car accidents per 100,000 licensed drivers, which put the state in the sixth spot for worst in the category. The Palmetto State also ranks among the 20 worst states for drowsy drivers involved in fatal crashes at 0.64 incidents per 100,000 licensed drivers. Fatal accidents involving distracted drivers were also significantly higher than the national average, with South Carolina ranking as the 15th worst state for this metric.
Four other Southern states were among the 10 worst drivers including Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kentucky and — the number one worst driving state — Texas.
In a separate report from Forbes Advisor in December, South Carolina ranked the second most unsafe state for drivers in the nation. Montana was most unsafe then.
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