Almost the Worst

Maryland ranks 49^th out of 50 states for good drivers. According to a recently released study by GMAC, only Hawaii and the District of Columbia scored worse. The ranking was determined by responses to a quiz about driving rules. Thirty one percent of Marylanders who took the quiz failed.

Not so fast says Michael Dresser in The Sun. pointing out that the “sample size was relatively small, and wild swings in state performance from year to year suggest the survey is not the gold standard in research.”

Still I suspect that there is more truth than fiction here. In a study released last year by Allstate ranking 193 US cities for “Best Drivers”, Baltimore was second to last at 192. The worst was Washington, D.C.

“For the past six years, Allstate actuaries have conducted an in-depth analysis of company claim data to determine the likelihood drivers in America's 200 largest cities will experience a vehicle collision compared to the national average.”

In Baltimore you are 79.4% more likely to have an auto accident than the national average. In DC, the likelihood rises to 95.5%.

That puts us smack dab in the middle of the worst.