Good afternoon,
I see a lot of best and worst of lists. Many are of limited value due to the use of incomplete or old data.
One recent report ranked Delaware ninth among states with the worst drivers.
The ranking shows up in your car insurance bills. Drivers in Delaware pay 19 percent above the national average. Agents cite several factors, including state restrictions on canceling policies for bad drivers and the many uninsured motorists.
After reading the recent pitch from the Car Insurance Comparison site, I can vouch for its findings. Shortly after reading the report, I ventured out and, while leaving the subdivision, had to tap the brakes twice when drivers either ran the stop sign or did not look both ways.
The findings come from insurance data, which is fairly reliable. After all, underwriters mine accident and traffic ticket data when setting rates.
Failure to obey stop signs, traffic lights, etc., is Delaware’s worst category. When it comes to fatal crashes, 40.6 percent come when someone wasn’t wearing a seat belt, or at least one driver had an invalid or illegal license. Surprisingly, speeding did not make a list.
Delaware managed to rank as the “best of the worst 10 states” in the categories of drunk driving and fatal accidents per miles traveled. (I-95 is actually safer than you think, and the state has stepped DUI enforcement.
Sadly, national figures indicate that the number of traffic deaths did not fall by much, despite fewer miles driven during the pandemic.
On the plus side, competition has increased with insurance giant State Farm lowering rates in the past couple of years. The insurer cites fewer claims in announcing the reduction.
Whatever the case, there must be money to be made in car insurance. TV and cable networks would be in bad shape if the Geico lizard and Flo from Progressive departed from your screen.
You can view the full study here. – Doug Rainey, chief content officer.
