Proud Moment - The Worst Drivers Are In New York!

[Old Moparz]

The results are in & they make me proud to be a New Yorker! 

http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/993/where-the-worst-drivers-live/;_ylc=X3oDMTE5ZmdmcGVkBF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEc2VjA2ZwLXRvZGF5BHNsawN3b3JzdC1kcml2ZXJz

I drove a truck in Manhattan for a few years & knew this almost 30 years ago, but this story proves it. Of course I always knew that the entire northeast had bad drivers, like the freakin' psychos around Boston. I recall seeing a stretch of 5 lane road that looked like a bad video game around Boston. People changing lanes from the far left at 80 MPH to get over to the exit 50 feet ahead.

The most annoying part of driving in NYC are the taxi cabs. There's way too many of them & they break at least 6 laws from one block to the next. My favorite site is when a bus gets smeared with yellow paint as a cab tries to get in front of one cutting it off. 

My favorite comment in the article is the last line that I highlighted in red. 

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The worst drivers in America live in New York. Of course, you knew that. You've been in the Holland Tunnel. But now, we have proof.

GMAC Insurance has released the results of its National Drivers Test for 2009. The test, which measures basic knowledge of driving laws, was given to more than 5,000 drivers from all 50 states and the District of Columbia -- and New Yorkers finished last. Last year's loser, New Jersey, improved its score just enough to leap over New York. Hawaii, California and Georgia rounded out the bottom five.

Idaho and Wisconsin drivers tied for the highest average score, with an 80.6. The point of the test, of course, is not just to confirm what anyone who's tried to merge onto the Thruway already knew. It's to measure how much we know about safe driving. And the news isn't good.

In a press release, GMAC explains, "Results from the 2009 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test released today found that 20.1 percent of licensed Americans - amounting to roughly 41 million drivers on the road - would not pass a written drivers test exam if taken today." Most of us have trouble, according to the results, with "questions about yellow lights and safe following distances."

The survey has been given for five years. The average score has fluctuated up and down during that time, but this year it is down - 76.6 percent versus last year's 78.1.

GMAC notes, "In general, geographical regions ranked similarly to previous years, with the lowest average test scores in the Northeast, while the states in the Midwest held the highest averages. When comparing genders, men are still more likely to pass the test than women, but the gap is considerably smaller in 2009 (81 percent of males versus 79 percent of females) than in 2008 (87 percent of males versus 80 percent of females)."

And, "The older the driver, the higher the test score." Drivers over 35 were more likely to pass than those under 35, while men over 45 posted the highest scores, and "the age group with the highest failure rates was young adults (18 to 24 years old)."

Curious how you'd do? Take the test yourself at nationaldriverstest.com. When you're finished, GMAC will even let you play a video game that teaches you how to avoid elderly people and aliens in the roadway (no, we're not kidding).

State Rankings
Note: Many states tied for the same position in the rankings.

1 IDAHO
1 WISCONSIN
3 MONTANA
4 KANSAS
5 SOUTH DAKOTA
5 NEBRASKA
7 UTAH
8 WYOMING
8 IOWA
8 OREGON
8 MINNESOTA
12 ALASKA
12 NORTH DAKOTA
14 VERMONT
15 COLORADO 
15 MISSOURI
17 OKLAHOMA
17 WASHINGTON
19 NEW MEXICO
20 NORTH CAROLINA
21 VIRGINIA 
22 INDIANA
22 MICHIGAN
24 ARKANSAS
24 TEXAS
26 ALABAMA
26 NEVADA
28 WEST VIRGINIA
29 ILLINOIS
30 ARIZONA
31 MAINE
32 DELAWARE
33 NEW HAMPSHIRE
34 OHIO
35 KENTUCKY
36 PENNSYLVANIA
37 LOUISIANA
38 TENNESSEE
38 MISSISSIPPI
40 SOUTH CAROLINA
40 MARYLAND
42 CONNECTICUT
43 FLORIDA
44 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
45 MASSACHUSETTS
46 RHODE ISLAND
47 GEORGIA
48 CALIFORNIA 
49 HAWAII
50 NEW JERSEY
51 NEW YORK

[TeeWJay426]

Personally, after driving into Boston yesterday to pick up my daughter, I'm surprised that there are as many states rated worse than Massachusetts as there are...... 

[justin1987]

http://nationaldriverstest.com/national-drivers-test/ndt-test.php

I got a 95%. The only one I missed was the question about how far in advance to signal a turn.

[C_stripes]

I got 15%, I shouldn't be driving.


Just kidding. 85%. I just wanted to play the video game that I couldn't find.

[PocketThunder]

http://nationaldriverstest.com/national-drivers-test/ndt-test.php

I got a 95%. The only one I missed was the question about how far in advance to signal a turn.

95%.  I got this one wrong. 

8. You may pass on the right of another vehicle when:

I thought you were always suppose to pass in the left lane (originally called the passing lane, but now its the mini-van lane)

[BigBlackDodge]

8. You may pass on the right of another vehicle when:


When the green flag drops!


BBD

[Brock Samson]

all the worst scores border the oceans... maybe population density is a big factor...
I agree the worse driving I've ever seen in the states was in New York. and it was really bad.

[tricky lugnuts]

Hee hee - I got that press release from GMAC at work.

I was sad we're not in NY for my story - here in Ohio we're only the 34th dumbest drivers in the U.S. Although, I'm suspecting a few Ohio drivers maybe just got lucky on a multiple choice test if the people I see out and about are any indicator!