What Are the Safest and Least Safe US States for Driving?

Hiring talent for key positions at your company can be a time-consuming process that includes several important steps. Any time you’re making a hire, you’re investing in a person to help grow your business. When companies are hiring for positions in which employees will operate motor vehicles as part of their duties on the job, an important step in the process is reviewing driving records. Specifically, an MVR check provides reliable information to help employers evaluate a candidate’s driving history.

Driving records may also assist employers in creating a safe environment on the road, protecting both the employee and the company, mitigating overall risk, upholding a top-of-the-line company reputation, and safeguarding against liability claims and higher insurance costs.

To help businesses best understand how valuable MVR checks can be when hiring, and how safety on the roads impacts employees as well as employers, Checkr analyzed driving data from across the United States to reveal the safest places for drivers in each US state.

To conduct the analysis, Checkr reviewed data from the United States Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (USDOT), the Office of Highway Policy Information, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer.

Now, let’s get into the key findings to learn more.

*Data analyzed by Checkr from US DOT, NHTSA, and FBI Crime Data Explorer

The graphic above shows the top ten safest states for driving in America. Within this data set, businesses can review states that are highly rated for the most important key safety metrics, including DUIs, average driving age, average daily traffic, fatal crash rate, and fatality range change. The high-ranking states should be viewed as top places for those looking for a safe driving area both for business and personal reasons.

Let’s start with the top-ranked state in America for driver safety—Massachusetts. This state boasts fantastic safety metrics, showcasing a top 15 ranking for four key categories, including fatal crash rate, DUIs, fatality rate change, and average driving age.

Following Massachusetts and rounding out the top ten are Hawaii, New York, Alaska, Utah, North Dakota, Nebraska, Maryland, New Jersey, and Wyoming.

The data also reveals the states falling just outside of the top ten, which include Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Alabama.

Next, let’s take a look at the other side of the data to reveal the least safe states for driving in the US.

*Data analyzed by Checkr from US DOT, NHTSA, and FBI Crime Data Explorer

The graphic above shows the ten least safe states for driving in America using the same key metrics.

To start, Oregon ranks last among all US states as the least-safest state for driving. Oregon ranks last in fatality rate change and in the bottom 15 among all US states for fatal crash rate, average driving age, and DUIs. Based on the metrics analyzed within this report, Oregon ranks as a potentially unsafe state for drivers navigating the roads for work or personal reasons.

Following Oregon on the least safe states for driving list are South Carolina, Idaho, South Dakota, Nevada, California, Tennessee, Vermont, Florida, and Montana.

Just outside the least safe states top ten list are Colorado, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Next, let's take a look at some key individual metrics that make up a safe driving environment and which states stand out.

*Data analyzed by Checkr from US DOT, NHTSA, and FBI Crime Data Explorer

When it comes to a safe state for driving, three metrics stand out as extremely important—DUIs, fatal crashes, and average daily traffic.

According to the NHTSA, drunk-driving-related incidents claim more than 10,000 lives per year. Clearly, this is a major issue for drivers and others on the roads. 

So, how do the states rank?

As shown in the graphic above, Florida leads the way as the state with the least amount of DUIs per 1,000 people, followed by Delaware, Louisiana, Ohio, and Massachusetts. Finishing out the top ten are New York, Illinois, Alabama, West Virginia, and North Carolina.

Up next, we’ll take a look at the fatal crash rate. Fatal crashes are defined as death as a result of an injury sustained in a crash and accounted for nearly 43,000 deaths in 2022 alone. When it comes to the states with the lowest rates of fatal crashes, according to the data, Massachusetts lands in the top spot, followed by Minnesota, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Utah, Wisconsin, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, and Wyoming. 

It’s not a surprise that average daily traffic has a significant impact on driving safety. With that in mind, Checkr uncovered the states with the lowest average daily traffic. The top spot for this key driving safety metric goes North Dakota, followed by Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, South Dakota, West Virginia, Iowa, New Mexico, Vermont, and Kansas. 

Driving safety is important for anyone operating a vehicle on today’s busy roads, and should not be ignored by corporations and small businesses that employ individuals who operate vehicles as part of their job. To help support safety of all people on the roads, a proper MVR check can be used during the driver hiring process.

Finally, let’s take a look at the full rundown of the safest states for driving, along with the overall safety scores.

For more information on Checkr’s research or to request graphics for this study, please contact press@checkr.com.

To rank America’s safest states for driving, Checkr analyzed the most recent traffic density and driving age data from the United States Department of Transportation’s (US DOT) Federal Highway Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) fatal crash data, and the FBI Crime Data Explorer’s DUI arrest data. All states were ranked for each of the five factors—fatal crashes (per 100 million vehicle miles traveled), DUIs (per 1,000 people), average weighted daily traffic per lane, fatality rate change, and driving age percentages—then given a total driving safety score based on their weighted sum of the ranks. Fatal crash rate and DUIs were assigned a 25% weight, traffic density was assigned a 20% weight, and fatality rate increase and driving age were assigned a 15% weight.

The resources provided here are for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. We advise you to consult your own counsel if you have legal questions related to your specific practices and compliance with applicable laws.

About the author

Sara Korolevich serves as checkr.com’s editor and content manager. In this role, she produces educational resources for employers on a broad range of screening topics, including background check compliance and best practices. She also writes about Checkr’s company and product news to keep customers updated and informed.