Hard to Believe, But Illinois is a Good Driving State
I know at least some of you, upon reading the headline, are saying "Wait, what? That can't be true! Have you actually driven in this state?!" Yes, I have, and I do. And, I find it as hard to believe as you do.
Regardless of what many of us may think of our fellow Illinois drivers, personal-finance site WalletHub has just released their list of The Best & Worst Driving States, and the Land of Lincoln shows up really well.
Forget what you see each day on Alpine, Perryville, North Second Street, State Street, or Mulford (I can name more, but we've only got so much space). Here's what the numbers-crunchers at WalletHub looked at:
Road conditions naturally aren’t consistent across the entire country. To identify the states with the most positive driving experiences, WalletHub compared all 50 states across 23 key indicators of a positive commute. Our data set ranges from average gas prices to share of rush-hour traffic congestion to road quality.
As I mentioned, Illinois' ranking is a very good one--just not "Top 5" good. Here are the 5 states that offer the best driving experience:
1) Texas
2) Kansas
3) Nebraska
4) Iowa
5) North Carolina
Here are the 5 states where you'll do the most screaming, swearing, and swerving:
46) Connecticut
47) California
48) Maryland
49) Washington
50) Hawaii
As for Illinois, we come in at the #10 spot overall. Here's our breakdown:
Driving in Illinois (1=Best; 25=Avg.):
- 14th – Share of Rush-Hour Traffic Congestion
- 8th – Traffic Fatality Rate
- 15th – Car Theft Rate
- 4th – Auto-Repair Shops per Capita
- 25th – Road Quality
- 7th – Car Dealerships per Capita
Above average in almost every category except "road quality," where we're just average. The numbers for some of our neighbors:
Wisconsin: #24
Iowa: #4
Missouri: #28
Kentucky: #17
Indiana: #15
Michigan: #40