Florida drivers are earning a bad reputation. Three Sunshine State cities were ranked among the top five in the country for having the worst drivers. They included Jacksonville (No. 1), Orlando (No. 3), and Tampa (No. 4).
The rankings were compiled by the website CleverMove and based partly on data compiled by Allstate.
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New York City is considered home to the best drivers, according to the report.
Jacksonville earned the top spot for a few reasons. The city ranked third in the nation in traffic deaths per 100,000 people, trailing only Memphis and Birmingham. The death rate of 10.9 per 100,000 residents is 65% above the national average.
Jacksonville also leads the nation in DUI-related deaths per 100,000 residents.
“About 1 in 8 Americans (13%) agree that Jacksonville has the worst drivers, and they’re generally getting worse,” CleverMove noted.
Orlando is also above the national average for traffic deaths. But the city has a defense: tourism.
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“An influx of summertime tourists who are unfamiliar with the roads make driving in the place where dreams come true something more of a nightmare. In the touristy areas, visitors are constantly staring or snapping photos instead of watching the road, causing 21% more hard-braking events than the national average,” CleverMove pointed out.
The weather was also cited as a factor in Orlando’s ranking.
Finally, Tampa made the list because it was close to Jacksonville in traffic-related deaths, ranking second in Florida and fifth in the nation. Tampa’s traffic death rate is 51% higher than the national average.
And drivers in Tampa pay for it in more ways than one.
“Whether it’s because of young people who can’t stay off their phones or snowbirds who spread their wings and fly south to jam the highways, these high-risk drivers contribute to some of the highest insurance premiums in the country,” CleverMove noted.
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“Each year, Tampa motorists pay $3,459 to insure their vehicles — the fifth-highest amount among all 50 cities studied. It’s no surprise, then, that 1 in 5 Tampa drivers (20%) are uninsured.”
Yet the website also reported that when you ask other drivers who are the worst, California led the pack.
Five California cities finished in the top 10, including taking the top three slots, in the nation for worst drivers, CleverMove said, citing a poll of 1,000 Americans.
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