Wrong direction
Houston swerves onto new list of U.S. cities with the worst drivers
Don't drive distracted, Houston.
Locals may think that Houston is one of the most traffic-ridden cities, but its drivers are actually much better than many other U.S. cities, according to a new study by Forbes Advisor.
In its report "Cities With The Worst Drivers, Ranked," published February 8, Forbes Advisor analyzed the 50 most populated U.S. cities across five metrics to determine which have the worst drivers in the country. Those metrics, calculated per 100,000 city residents using a five-year average from 2017-2021, were: total number of fatal car accidents, number of people killed in fatal crashes, and number of fatal car accidents involving a drunk, distracted, or speeding driver.
Houston ranked No. 23 overall, earning a score of 59.27 points out of a possible 100. That means the drivers here are solidly average — and that other Texas cities' drivers are, amazingly, even worse than ours.
The report found approximately 10.81 total fatal crashes occur for every 100,000 city residents in Houston, with less than 12 people (11.36) killed in fatal crashes per 100,000 residents.
Where drunk drivers are involved, Houston ranked No. 9 for the highest per-capita number of fatal crashes. Fewer than five fatal drunk driving crashes (4.44) occurred per 100,000 residents.
This troubling discovery isn't exclusive to Houston, the state of Texas as a whole still struggles with drunk drivers. More than five people are killed in car crashes involving a drunk driver for every 100,000 Texans, according to a 2023 Forbes report.
Here's how Houston fared in the remaining categories:
- No. 33 – Number of fatal crashes involving speeding (2.79 per 100,000 residents)
- No. 40 – Number of fatal crashes involving a distracted driver (0.24 per 100,000 residents)
The report found Dallas had the third-highest number of fatal car accidents involving a drunk driver, with 6.25 crashes per 100,000 residents. Dallas also ranked No. 4 in the category for the highest number of fatal car accidents involving speeding: 5.69 per 100,000 residents.
The top 10 U.S. cities with the worst drivers are:
- No. 1 – Albuquerque, New Mexico
- No. 2 – Memphis, Tennessee
- No. 3 – Detroit, Michigan
- No. 4 – Tuscon, Arizona
- No. 5 – Kansas City, Missouri
- No. 6 – Dallas, Texas
- No. 7 – Louisville, Kentucky
- No. 8 – Phoenix, Arizona
- No. 9 – Fort Worth, Texas
- No. 10 – Tampa, Florida
The study calculated five-year averages using data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool for the years 2017-2021, and U.S. Census Bureau city population data from 2022.
The report and its methodology can be found on forbes.com.
