Who is the safer driver state
 

GMAC just did a report on the safest drivers by state and I just wanted to point out that with all the bashing Massachusetts gets from NH (and this forum) it still has better drivers than NH. NH # 9; MA #13. I included all the New England states. WTG Maine, watch out for RI (and always NY)

2010 GMAC Insurance Driver's Test Results

(Ranked in order of worst drivers by state to best drivers by state)
Scoring is from 1 to 100 on a 20 question test.

1. (WORST) New York - 70.0
2. New Jersey - 70.5
3. Dist. of Columbia - 71.9
4. California - 73.3
5. Rhode Island - 73.8
6. Louisiana - 74.1
7. West Virginia - 74.8
7. Hawaii - 74.8
9. New Hampshire - 74.9
9. Kentucky - 74.9
11. Florida - 75.2
12. Mississippi - 75.6
13. Pennsylvania - 75.8
13. Massachusetts - 75.8
15. North Carolina - 75.9
15. Arkansas - 75.9
17. Texas - 76.0
18. Connecticut - 76.3

26. Maine - 77.6

Yup, beat us by .9 of a percentage point. :laugh:

Maybe if we weren't getting transplants by the bus load we could have done better.:D Kidding, please understand the joke.:D

Did they also do a study on Genders, to finally settle the debate? :laugh:

also, I notice that these results are based on TESTS, not actual incident rates. (funny, especially coming from an insurance company!) I think that there's a difference between knowing better, and doing it anyway.

Interesting results. My experience while driving in NH has always been that NH drivers were more courteous than RI drivers in RI, at least it seems that way.

Disclaimer: I do stay away from Concord and Nashua.

Don't get me going
 

That means zippo. It's a test, not how they actually drive on the roads. Mass drivers(certainly not all) are the most inconsiderate of any I see on the Interstate. It's all about them. Get in the left lane and stay there till they exit without reguard to another car behind them. This forces others to pass on the right creating frustration and less safe overall traveling. Pass on the left and pull the heck over after you have passed. Pretty simple. Again, the majority of Mass drivers I see adhere to this policy but the vast majority of offenders are from our friends below the border. It's not bashing, it's fact.

Real Data
 

Massachusetts in 2008 had the lowest per capita traffic fatality rate of all the states. The first data point is the rate and the second data point is the rank. Wyoming had the highest mortality rate of the 50 states and D.C. Naturally, the use of mass transit, drive distances, speed limits, etc. would affect the statistics.


http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/States...llVictims.aspx


2008 Traffic Fatalities per 1000 People & State Rank
Wyoming 0.30 51
Mississippi 0.27 50
Montana 0.24 49
Arkansas 0.21 48
West Virginia 0.21 47
Alabama 0.21 46
Louisiana 0.21 45
Oklahoma 0.21 44
South Carolina 0.21 43
Kentucky 0.19 42
New Mexico 0.18 41
Maine 0.12 24
Vermont 0.12 23
New Hampshire 0.11 17
Connecticut 0.08 6
New Jersey 0.07 5
New York 0.06 4
Rhode Island 0.06 3
District of Col. 0.06 2
Massachusetts 0.06 1
USA 0.12

Passing on the right
 

Is it lack of courtesy, not knowing any better, or a culture? I know when I moved to Connecticut 28 years ago, I was shocked to see that EVERYBODY passed on the right. No one seemed to believe there was anything wrong with it. Seems to me it is a culture.

It may also be a realization that many drivers hog the left lane and will not yield to traffic overtaking them. In many states, it's illegal to stay left and not yield to traffic overtaking you. Also, in many states, it's perfectly legal to pass on the right in certain circumstances. Connecticut has such a law.

CT has a law that allows passing on the right? Wow, I never knew. Thanks VtSteve. If you have a link to the CT.Gov site I'de love to see it. I will say that if the vehicle in the left lane is going under the speed limit they sometimes do move over, but rarely if ever if they are at the SL.

see for yourself
 

Take the Quiz! I found it online. (80% is not something I'm too proud of, but it's a passing grade!)

The questions were tricky on a few!

When I first started taking the quiz, I was like this is crazy. If you don't know these answers you should not be driving. But then as I got closer to the end, I really had to think.

I also got an 80%. I am also not proud of the grade...but I did pass. I almost called my daughter over for help (she just finished driver's ed!):rolleye1:

100
 

When I got my license quite a few years back, I was not a very good student. I hated hated hated studying. Never studied. I was lucky to make it out of HS alive. Anyway, when I turned 16 I got my Learner's Permit, and with that the little blue book. The one with all the rules. I studied that thing inside and out. By the time I turned 16 1/2 and was eligible to get my license, I knew the questions and answers literally word for word. During the oral exam, the guy would ask the questions, and of I course I would recite the answers, word for word. He was impressed. Then he asked me if I knew what the questions/answers actually meant. Fortunately, I did.

I got 100% on the test. :)

In many states that is illegal in itself to intentionally block the left lane. If you are not passing, in many states, it's the law to move over. How many times have people seen the highway signs KEEP RIGHT UNLESS PASSING?

Here's a common sense guide, as well as a legal guide state by state

http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/right.html

It is hard to have an accident that produces a fatality when you are stuck in gridlock all the time.

NH has some very twisty roads and some roads that are way to fast for the visiblity they provide.

The number I find odd is Wyoming, granted they have the lowest number of people/square mile of any state in the nation so that inflates the results. But, seriously people must be hitting animals out there, because unless you have driven through Wyoming from one end to the other, you have no idea what the middle of nowwhere really is. Some of the areas we were in, it would take the better part of your day to wait for the EMT's to come pick you up and bring you to a hospital.

of couse it could be
 

The numbers do no more than state the accidents in the state not where the drivers involved came from.
Many of those fatalities could in fact be out of state drivers or caused by them.
Look at how many motorcycle accidents there are every year during MC week. Most are from out of state.
I have not been following the stats but in past years many of the accidents on the snowmobile trails in NH and also Maine were in fact out of state drivers, usually from Mass.
Several years ago I asked and was told by a marine patrol officer that the majority of violations on the lake are usually issued to out of state boaters.

Driving home last weekend from Maine we saw several drivers weaving in and out of traffic every one was a Mass driver.
Just this week I witnessed someone drive up the right turn only lane and cut someone off at the last second and go straight. He had a NY plate.
While not everyone from south of the border drives like an a hole more do than do not.
And yes there are NH drivers who drive like a holes and many have moved up from down south bringing their driving habits with them.

Driving
 

Agree with "RI Swamp Yankee" that NH drivers seem more courteous than RI drivers. In the Providence area, you will see at least one crazy driver every time you get on Rt. 95. I haven't seen that kind of behavior in the Lakes Region. One story: We were driving north on Rt. 93 a few years ago, just crossed the state line into NH, when the traffic began to slow down. Up ahead, there was a car sitting upside down in the middle of the two lane highway. No people standing around, no emergency vehicles, nothing. Have no idea what happened. Don't see that every day!

Real Data, Not Simplistic BS
 

The website below has detailed data on traffic fatalities for New Hampshire. All other states can also be found at the site. The data are locational i.e. there isn't any information about race, ethnic background, home origin, etc. The gruesome messages are don't speed, don't drive impaired, wear a helmut and young inexperienced drivers are at risk.

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departm...33_NH_2008.htm