If you have too many people in one state, when they get out on the city streets and highways, are they like too many mice in a cage?

I spend a lot of time driving across the country. Last summer, after a trip across part of the central and western U.S., I was tempted to write an article about my observations.

I had concluded quite some time ago that Michigan drivers were worse than the drivers in Colorado, Nebraska, and Iowa. A few years ago I came to the conclusion that Ohio drivers are even worse than Michigan drivers. Maybe that’s because I made several trips to Columbus Ohio over a period of 6 months and on every trip I saw at least one accident on the city streets where a car was on its side or on it’s roof.  You have to work hard to get cars on their sides or upside down when driving on streets where the speed limit is 35 or even 25.

My trip last summer reinforced my conclusions.

I was going to rank Iowa and Nebraska as pretty much a tie, Colorado drivers as nearly as good, Michigan drivers as worse, and Ohio drivers as much worse. I also decided I didn’t much enjoy driving across Illinois and Indiana. I didn’t have a ranking for these states but estimated they were about on par with Michigan.

I toyed with the notion that drivers are worse in states with higher population densities, part of my “too many mice in a cage” theory. When one of my children was in high school, he was involved in a high school science experiment with mice. One of the unfortunate by-products of the experiment was the discovery that if there are too many mice in a cage, they will begin to cannibalize each other, no matter how much food or water you provide, or how often you clean the cage.

The interstates are crowded in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and southern Michigan. (The farther north you get in Michigan, the better things get.)  In Iowa and Nebraska, there are a lot less cars on the interstate highways. And Colorado is pretty good as long as you stay away from Denver. (On the city streets of Denver, you take your life in your hands.)

If you have too many people in a state and out on the highways, they become more and more like too many mice in a cage.

But impressions from hours and hours on the highways and city streets of various states is still anecdotal.

Now I have some justification. Results from the 2009 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test were released today. My observations have been confirmed. Nebraska drivers rank 5th, Iowa drives 8th, and Colorado drivers rank 15th.  In contrast, Michigan ranks 22nd and Ohio is much farther down the list at 34th.

Idaho and Wisconsin are tied as the states with the best drivers, followed by Montana, Kansas and South Dakota. New York, New Jersey, Hawaii, and California have the worst drivers. If anyone wants to do a correlation between population density and how good the drivers are, you can test my “too many mice in the cage” theory of driving.

You can read more about the 2009 National Driving test here.

If you’ve been following the western theme which has somehow become part of several recent articles (cleanest air, longest life expectancy, the states with the highest “well being”), it is interesting to note that 18 of the top 20 states with the best drivers are west of the Mississippi.

Here’s the complete list of states, beginning with the the states with the best drivers. (There are some ties.)

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

The full article from USNWR (linked above):
It’s Official – New Yorkers Don’t Know How to Drive

Posted: May. 21, 2009 10:05 a.m.

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. 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).

The full list of results by state:

1 ID

1 WI

3 MT

4 KS

5 SD

5 NE

7 UT

8 WY

8 IA

8 OR

8 MN

12 AK

12 ND

14 VT

15 CO

15 MO

17 OK

17 WA

19 NM

20 NC

21 VA

22 IN

22 MI

24 AR

24 TX

26 AL

26 NV

28 WV

29 IL

30 AZ

31 ME

32 DE

33 NH

34 OH

35 KY

36 PA

37 LA

38 TN

38 MS

40 SC

40 MD

42 CT

43 FL

44 DC

45 MA

46 RI

47 GA

48 CA

49 HI

50 NJ

51 NY