Despite that “Motor City” moniker, it seems like Detroiters aren’t actually very good at driving after all.
That’s according to a recent study by the customer review platform ConsumerAffairs, which ranked Detroit drivers at No. 7 in its list of the 20 U.S. cities with the worst drivers.
The study analyzed a range of data points from the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2021 to calculate each city’s “crash score,” including the number of fatal crashes, the number of fatalities caused by bad driving, the number of fatalities due to driving under the influence, and the prevalence of speeding in fatal accidents.
According to the study, Detroit had 12.0 fatal crashes per 100,000 residents, 23.7 total crash fatalities per 100,000 residents, 3.6 fatalities due to positive blood alcohol content per 100,000 residents, and 7.7 fatalities due to speeding per 100,000 residents, resulting in a “crash score” 47.1.
The cities with the worst drivers were, in descending order, Memphis, Tennessee; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Macon, Georgia; St. Louis, Missouri; and Cleveland, Ohio.
“This crisis on our roads is urgent and preventable,” Dr. Steven Cliff, then-deputy administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said when the NHTSA released early estimates of its 2021 data, which ConsumerAffairs used for the study. The NHTSA estimated that fatalities in motor vehicle crashes that year reached a 16-year high.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says road fatalities are rising in the U.S. and exceed rates in most other high-income countries.
“As other countries embrace innovative safety measures and sustainable transportation systems, we’re still stuck in a complex web of auto-centric urban planning,” ConsumerAffairs wrote in its study. “Not only do Americans prioritize car ownership, but we have a transportation system designed to move us quickly — not necessarily safely.”
Like many major U.S. cities in the 20th century, Detroit once had a robust streetcar system, but it was dismantled over the years thanks to the primacy of the auto industry here. Perhaps this study is less an indictment of Detroit drivers and more of our deadly addiction to automobiles.
The study found the cities with the best drivers were Green Bay, Wisconsin; Cary, North Carolina; Oxnard, California; Bellevue, Washington; McKinney, Texas; Lynn, Massachusetts; Glendale, California; Pearland, Texas; College Station, Texas; and Henderson, Nevada.
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