Insurance company exam indicates one in 11 drivers would fail state licensing exam.
May 30, 2006; Posted: 12:31 p.m. EDT (1631 GMT)


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The tiny state of Rhode Island still ranks rock bottom in terms of driving knowledge, according to a national test conducted by GMAC Insurance. Oregon drivers answered the most questions correctly.

The test revealed that about one in 11 licensed drivers in the United States would fail a state drivers test, according to GMAC Insurance.

Rhode Island ranked last year, also, with an average score of 77. Last year, Oregon's average score was 89, which still placed at the top of the rankings that year.

Based on average scores, northwestern states generally ranked highest while the bottom-ranking states were mostly in the northeast. One exception was Vermont, which ranked third. Washington state drivers ranked second. Drivers in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia ranked at the bottom, with D.C. finishing just ahead of Rhode Island.

The 20-question test was based on questions asked in state driver's license examinations. A score of 70 or higher is required to pass a standard state test.

The failure rate for drivers in northeastern states was about 16 percent, according to GMAC Insurance. The failure rate for drivers in northwestern states was from one to seven percent.

The test and an accompanying survey were completed by 5,288 licensed drivers including at least 100 from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The survey asked about responses to specific driving situations.

(Cheat alert: The following paragraph includes some answers to the test.)

Approximately one in three drivers said they usually do not stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. At least one out of five drivers did not know that pedestrians in a crosswalk have the right of way. At least one in five also did not know that roads are most slippery when it first starts to rain after a dry spell.

State driver test rankings
Rankings and scores for all 50 states and the Washington, D.C. on insurance company driving test.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - These are the rankings and average scores for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia in the GMAC Insurance driving test.

Average: 83.7 percent

1. Oregon 90.6

2. Washington 88.2

3. Vermont 87.5

4. Idaho 87.3 (Tie)

4. South Dakota 87.3 (Tie)

6. Montana 87.2

7. Nebraska 87.0

8. Kansas 86.8

9. Iowa 86.7

10. Wyoming 86.2

11. Wisconsin 86.1

12. Minnesota 86.0

13. Alaska 85.8

14. California 85.6

15. Indiana 85.2 (Tie)

15. Colorado 85.2 (Tie)

17. Michigan 85.1

18. North Dakota 85.0

19. West Virginia 84.8

20. Utah 84.5

21. Mississippi 84.4

22. Illinois 84.3

23. Tennessee 84.2

24. Texas 84.0 (Tie)

24. Kentucky 84.0 (Tie)

26. New Hampshire 83.9

27. Arkansas 83.8

28. Virginia 83.5

29. Arizona 83.4

30. Georgia 83.2 (Tie)

30. Louisiana 83.2 (Tie)

32. North Carolina 83.1 (Tie)

32. Maine 83.1 (Tie)

34. Ohio 83.0

35. Oklahoma 82.9

36. Alabama 82.8

37. Missouri 82.7 (Tie)

37. Delaware 82.7 (Tie)

39. Nevada 82.6

40. South Carolina 82.3 (Tie)

40. Florida 82.3 (Tie)

42. Pennsylvania 82.1

43. New Mexico 81.5

44. Connecticut 80.9

45. Hawaii 80.7

46. Maryland 79.5

47. New York 79.4

48. New Jersey 78.6 (Tie)

48. Massachusetts 78.6 (Tie)

50. Washington, D.C. 76.5

51. Rhode Island 75.1


source : cnn.com

 

The scary part is they (of course I'm excluding myself ) seem to be getting
dumber and dumber.

 

Word. In my 5 short years that I had my license I have seen some real dumb stuff.

 

I'm pretty sure it's the people who use cellphones without a hands free
set. There are about 8 million numbnut laws in THIS state and using a cell
phone and driving really SLOWLY in the highway weaving in and out of lanes
is permitted. An unbelievable hazard that needs to be addressed ASAP

 

well it's no surprise NJ is in there LOL i've seen these people drive and it's scary to watch.

 

Ohio should have topped the list. A little mist of rain on the road constitutes a 20 mph decrease in speed.

CV

 

How California is not dead last is amazing to me. Coming from NY/NJ/CT the collective SoCal driving community is like comparing Major League Baseball to my 5 year old's church T-Ball league.

 

Every time I am in the US I am amazed about the way most peeps drive (not in a good way).

 

I'd guess Cali is bad because of people who drive w/o their licenses... adjust the statistics for estimated percentage of drivers w/o a license, and you'll get a distinctly different number.

Personally, I think Boston drivers are quite good... if someone does something stupid, they'll beep or flip you off -- internal quality control. Also, Boston drivers are champs in bad weather... seen california drivers in the rain? Northeast drivers have snow half the year... rain is child's play

 

the list would probably make more sense if california was broken up into areas. I bet Los Angeles falls waaaaaay below 85%.

 

Notice a pattern here? With a few exceptons, the best scores are in Plains and Western states where most of the roads are relatively uncongested, driving stresses are low, and there is a minimum of regulation....especially unneeded regulation.....and anger-inducing " traffic-calming " measures like 4-way stops, speed bumps, DO NOT ENTER signs, barricades, etc..... There devices tend ( justifyingly so ) to anger drivers and lead to poor driving.

The worst scores ( again, with a few exceptions ) generally occur in areas that not only are congested but cling to the political idea that the local governments have to regulate everything, and make the roads nothing but a sea of stop-and-go mess.

I don't know this for a fact and am only making a suggestion, but a likely reason for New Mexico's low scores is the state's high rate of alcoholism...it has led the country for years in the drunken-driving death rate.

 

You think test scores on driving knowledge has to do with congestion & regulations ? Road rage maybe . . .

 

Can it be proven 100%? No....obviously not. But if you look at the map, there is an unmistakable pattern.