A 2016 study by an auto insurance comparison company that was based on 2015 statistics has found that West Virginia was slightly above average in its ratings for best and worst drivers in the country for that year. By analyzing data from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and correlating it to certain criteria, the researchers were able to quantify disparate conditions and rank states from best to worst according to driving safety and driving practices.

The categories that the study examined included cases of drivers neglecting to respond to traffic signals, statistics on the number of deaths recorded for every 100 million miles driven, drunk driving records, and documentation on drivers who were driving too fast or driving carelessly. According to the analysis West Virginia was found to compare favorably with many of its neighboring states.

Tied for the two worst states in the study were Louisiana and Texas. The executive director of the latter state’s Department of Transportation noted on Nov. 4 that at least one person had been killed in a Texas motor vehicle accident each day for the past 16 years. The number of people killed in traffic accidents nationwide climbed more than 7 percent between 2014 and 2015. That was the highest single year increase recorded since 1966.

Motor vehicle accidents can happen for a variety of reasons, including weather conditions and defective auto parts. It has been found, however, that most are the result of human error, such as driving while impaired or distracted. People who have been injured in an accident caused by the negligence of another driver may want to meet with an attorney in order to learn how best to seek financial compensation for the losses that they have incurred.

Source: USA Today, “Hitting the road for the holidays? These states have the worst drivers”, Bart Jansen, Nov. 23, 2016