Hi. If you’re planning a U.S. road trip, you might find this Travel & Leisure article on the most chaotic driving states interesting. I used to live in the state which is ranked number 1 and I now live in the state in second place.
Ha! I tend to agree with the rankings of these 2 states, but I’m sure those familiar with other states might have other opinions.
Updated:
https://www.travelandleisure.com/rhode-island-named-most-chaotic-state-for-driving-11747871
Thanks, Diane.
You forgot to post the link.
Maybe that's why driving in europe doesn't bother me. Lived in Massachusetts my whole life, worked in Boston for a while and have spent a decent amount of time over the border in RI. I just don't like mountainous driving which is why we didn't drive in Montenegro and Albania.
Valerie, when I saw your post without the link I knew instantly the number one state had to be RI. I grew up in PA and have lived in Southern CA since ‘69. One return visit east, I drove, briefly, through RI. I thought I was going to die. This was in the mid 70s. Driving in LA is scary but no comparison to RI.
Joann. That’s funny that your experiences driving in MA and RI have prepared you to be totally undaunted by the idea of driving in Europe.
Diane, I only drove in the Santa Monica area several decades ago on a vacation. I wondered how driving on the current CA freeways would compare to RI and MA. Yes I too have sometimes felt like I was going to die driving in RI. LOL. And MA isn’t much better.
New Mexico is a beautiful state but has some of the worst drivers I've ever seen. I don't know if it's the landscape or what but it seems no one wants to obey the rules of the road.
Having lived in RI, I can vouch for its place on the list.
I actually found California (including LA) pretty easy to drive in. The drivers may go fast but they knew how to enter a scissors merge (my main criteria when it comes to good driving) and would let other drivers in when entering the freeway.
Ohio is terrible (and I speak as one who used to live there). But the worst state that I have driven in has to be Wisconsin. Those drivers are terrible and do not know how to drive. They have never heard of the concept, "drive right, pass left" and god forbid you should get them to move over so you can pass. That just eggs them on. I had to drive through Wisconsin (along with Indiana, Illinois and Minnesota) 3-4 times a year for several decades when i used to visit my daughter in Minnesota, and I was so happy when i moved north and no longer had to face that drive anymore. The other states were fine. But not Wisconsin.
Anyone who can drive in and around Atlanta can drive anywhere.
Atlanta should definitely be on the list-you have to drive 80 in the slow lane. There is no effort by any level of law enforcement to enforce the speed limit.
You have to drive 80 in the slow lane.
Ok, driving in Atlanta’s traffic does sound scary.
Heather, I totally agree with you that "New Mexico is a beautiful state but has some of the worst drivers I've ever seen. I don't know if it's the landscape or what but it seems no one wants to obey the rules of the road."
We lived in Albuquerque for a year, and years after moving away, we still pause after a light turns green to look both ways for red light runners. In NM we would count how many cars came through on a red (not yellow) light, and got as high as 5. Definitely a Wild West vibe.
I have driven all over the USA and area to avoid driving are many:
Boston- drivers are called Massholes.
NYC-way too congested.
Philly is not as bad as the two above, but Washington, DC is AWFUL.
Southern California, forget driving there.
Haven't driven in Chicago, but its bad.
Atlanta is bad, but not Boston or DC bad.
I'm from New England and lived in most states there. I'm surprised Rhode Island is #1. I think Massachusetts (and especially Boston) are far worse. Connecticut can be awful on parts of I-91. New York, heading to NYC, isn't much better. Rhode Island was always a breeze to drive through.
