Several Southern California cities home to the nation's worst drivers, but others are home to the best

A Tennessee city has once again been given the dubious title of home to the worst drivers in the United States, and two Southern California cities also made the list.

A new Consumer Affairs study found the City of Memphis – for the second straight year and by a wide margin – to have the most dangerous drivers.

The research team assigned cities a “crash score” based on National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) latest data (2022), including the number of crashes related to bad driving, fatalities, positive blood-alcohol content (BAC), fatalities involving speeding and fatalities involving driving under the influence.

The “Home of the Blues” led all U.S. cities in crash fatalities (36.2 per 100,000 people) and fatalities involving a driver with a positive BAC (13.5 per 100,000), for a crash score of 77.3.

“Our annual analysis of America’s worst drivers is all about raising awareness of where driving safety needs the most improvement,” said Rebecca Sowell, data analyst with Consumer Affairs, told Nexstar in an email. “By shining a spotlight on high-risk areas, we’re not just alerting the public—we’re empowering communities, policymakers, and individuals with knowledge to make our roads safer.”

In second place was Victorville, which saw the second-most fatalities involving a driver with a positive BAC (13.4 per 100,000) and the fifth-most deaths involving speeding (11.2 per 100,000), according to Consumer Affairs, for a crash score of 64.

In third Macon, Georgia which had the second most traffic fatalities in 2022 (32.7 per 100,000) and was seventh in crash fatalities involving alcohol (11.5 per 100,000) for a crash score of 63.4, the study found.

San Bernardino finished fourth with a crash score of 60.6.

See the 25 worst cities and their crash scores:

Click here to see the full study.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, when it comes to good driving, the study found the top three of the top five cities are in SoCal: Glendale (with a crash score of 5.1); Santa Clarita (4.9) and Oxnard (4.9).

New Bedford, Massachusetts (5.0) and Henderson, Nevada (5.0) tied for second, according to the study.

Why are fatalities so much higher in some cities?

While the data alone may not fully explain high – or low – numbers of driving-related fatalities, Sowell told Nexstar there are several factors that could influence the number of deadly crashes:

• Infrastructure – The design and quality of roads, highways and intersections can have a major impact.
• Traffic volume – With more people and more cars on the road, populous cities may see more accidents.

A closer look at NHTSA data shows that some cities, such as Cleveland and Albuquerque, have made major progress in reducing traffic fatalities. Since last year, Cleveland has fallen from No. 6 to No. 69, while Albuquerque has dropped from No. 3 to No. 29.

While cities like Memphis continue to struggle to make roads safer, the general trend across the United States is positive. According to the NHTSA, since 1976 the fatality rate (per 100M vehicle miles traveled) has been on a generally downward trend from 3.35 to 1.33.

So is there anything you can do to be safer on the road? The U.S. Dept. of Transportation recommends the following:

• Conduct regular vehicle safety checks
• Avoid distractions such as cellphones, eating, drinking, in-vehicle technologies, talking to passengers etc.
• Use car safety belts
• Don’t drink and drive

If you have the money to upgrade an older vehicle to one with a full suite of safety features, you can lower the risk of a deadly crash, according to AAA’s most recent American Driving Survey.

“The survey raises concerns as nearly 40% of trips involve vehicles older than ten years,” according to Andrew Gross, AAA public relations manager. “These vehicles often lack modern safety features and may be in poorer mechanical condition, potentially contributing to a higher risk of crashes.”