A recent study has found that Pennsylvania’s motorists are among the least safe motorists in the United States, largely because they are using their cellphones while driving too much and they do not seem to shy away from speeding.
EverQuote, a leading insurance marketplace in the nation, analyzed nearly 800 million miles of driving data in 2017 to put together its latest annual statistics of the safest and the least safe states in terms of car accidents, traffic law violations, and other unsafe driving behaviors.
It may be shocking, but Pennsylvania motorists are the third worst drivers in the nation, according to the study. Pennsylvania was only surpassed by Connecticut and Rhode Island. In Pennsylvania, motorists were speeding in 49 percent of their trips, while in Connecticut and Rhode Island motorists had over 56 percent of trips with speeding last year.
In Pennsylvania, where more than 1,000 people die in motor vehicle accidents each year, motorists are more likely to speed and use a cellphone or other electronic handheld device while driving than motorists in California and Florida, which see more than 3,600 and 3,200 car accident fatalities annually, respectively.
“The study analyzed such unsafe driving behaviors as aggressive acceleration, speeding, hard braking, hard turning, and using a handheld device while operating a vehicle,” explains our experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyer from the Dan Doyle Law Group after analyzing the EverQuote study.
This marks the second year in a row that Pennsylvania has become the 48th safest state for motorists among 51 states. Pennsylvania motorists scored an overall rating of nearly 75 out of 100 in 2017, while spending more than 37 percent of their trips distracted by cellphones and other devices, and speeding in nearly 50 percent of the trips analyzed in the study.
The conclusion of the study is that the worst drivers in the United States reside in the Northeast region. It is unclear whether it is a coincidence or not, but the five least safe states in the study are located in the Northeast region. Overall, speeding was the most common unsafe driving habit nationwide, occurring in more than 38 percent of all trips in 2017. Speeding was followed by distracted driving, which accounted for 37 percent of all trips last year.
In case you are wondering, the three safest states for motorists are Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. Therefore, drivers in Midwestern states have the highest number of motorists who abide by traffic laws and avoid engaging in illegal and unsafe driving habits.
“Interestingly, the study also found that there is only a slight gender gap between men and women when it comes to unsafe driving,” says our experienced car accident attorney in Philadelphia. “While men are more likely to speed than women (40 percent vs 38 percent), women tend to use their phones while driving slightly more often than men (42 percent vs 38 percent).”
The study also found that adult drivers in the 18-20 age group tend to use their cellphones in nearly half all trips (47 percent), which is slightly more than younger drivers aged 17 or under (43 percent).
If you or your family members have been injured in a car crash in Philadelphia or elsewhere in Pennsylvania, speak to our lawyers at the Dan Doyle Law Group to find out how to recover damages in your particular case. If the at-fault driver was speeding or distracted by his/her phone when the collision occurred, you will be entitled to seek compensation. Call our offices at 215-987-3730 or fill out this contact form to get a free consultation from our Philadelphia personal injury attorney.