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U.S. States with the Fewest Traffic Fatalities

Name the states that have the fewest traffic fatalities per capita.
Rate = annual deaths per 100,000 residents.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: October 16, 2019
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First submittedSeptember 29, 2019
Times taken7,788
Average score50.0%
Rating4.02
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State
5.0
New York
5.1
Massachusetts
6.4
Minnesota
6.9
New Jersey
7.5
Hawaii
#
State
7.6
Washington
7.6
New Hampshire
7.7
Connecticut
7.8
Rhode Island
8.6
Illinois
+4
Level 62
Oct 16, 2019
I guess blue states have better drivers
+25
Level 89
Oct 16, 2019
More mass transit
+8
Level 82
Oct 21, 2019
I was guessing states that probably had more mass transit, more mature drivers, and a higher person : car ratio.
+6
Level 90
Oct 21, 2019
It means that the median age in most of these states is higher than the national average. Drivers are safer as they get older until they reach a certain age and usually when they reach the age when they are no longer safe drivers they aren't driving as much due to retirement.
+3
Level 57
Oct 21, 2019
Because the gas is so high, no one can afford to drive.
+4
Level 37
Oct 22, 2019
Ironically, of those blue states (Minnesota, for example) the most traffic crashes and traffic deaths occurred in Hennepin County, which leans Democrat. And the county in Minnesota with the fewest traffic crashes and fatalities was a Republican leaning county.
+3
Level ∞
Oct 23, 2019
Might want to adjust that by per-capita population.
+3
Level 37
Oct 23, 2019
That is per capita.

https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/ots/reports-statistics/Pages/crash-facts.aspx

+1
Level 75
Oct 16, 2019
And, I think, lower speed limits. More freeways with 55 speed limits in the east.
+4
Level 85
Oct 16, 2019
I don't think it's the speed limits. Germany has unlimited autobahns but a much lower death rate than the US. The main differences are that most of these states are the most heavily urbanised, meaning traffic is just moving slower regardless of the speed limits. They also are wealthy states which would have newer cars with better safety features.

Interesting to note New Hampshire is here, as it is the only US state with no seatbelt law for adults and thus the lowest rate of seatbelt usage.

+1
Level 88
Oct 16, 2019
Most of the people live in the southeast corner which is a couple of traffic clogged freeways and local roads that have become choked with patchwork suburbia. It's not as quaint as they like to project.
+2
Level 67
Oct 21, 2019
I thought about congestion too. I grew up and went to school in the northeast, and there is just much less opportunity to go fast. There's a lot more traffic and there is so much population density that it affects both road construction and how long you can drive without passing an exit (and a state trooper). I've gotten three speeding tickets -- in rural areas in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana respectively -- since I moved to Chicago. In each case, I didn't even realize I was speeding. But when you're on a straightaway for 45 minutes without passing a town or another car, it's easy to accelerate up past 85 mph without even realizing it. By contrast, it's really hard for people in the New York metro area to find a highway empty enough and straight enough to even make that possible.
+2
Level 90
Oct 21, 2019
Usually rural driving is 2 to 4 times more dangerous (fatality wise) than urban driving depending on the study. Outside of New Hampshire most of the states on this list are some of the most urbanized areas of the country.
+1
Level 68
Oct 21, 2019
I not only mispelled New Hampshire,I also mispelled massachusetts
+5
Level 60
Oct 25, 2019
The hell of it is, you misspelled "misspell" twice in your comment!
+1
Level 65
May 17, 2023
I expected to see more Wyoming/Montana/etc.

Maybe it's.. weather, lighting/lane marking? alcohol?, fatigue/boredom?, road hazards? Like deer/livestock? Or types of vehicles, like more trucks.

Google suggests it's speed. Just physics; fast speed = more energy. And speeding is a factor in 27% of rural deaths.

43% of the drunk fatalities were on rural roads.

46% of distracted fatalities were on rural roads.

Or maybe people get drunk and drive in the middle of the night for fun? ...only 58% of crashes record BAC. "Rhode Island highest estimated percentage of fatally injured drivers with BACs of 0.08 percent or higher (50 percent), Utah lowest (18 percent)". That seems nuts, that 50% of fatal crashes were caused by drunk drivers.

+1
Level 83
Nov 16, 2023
What's really insane is that the lowest figure here is almost twice as high as the UK figure