Really…How Bad Are Drivers in Washington and Oregon?

Every State has bad drivers.  Some States have a reputation as having more bad drivers than others.  Ask a Washingtonian about Oregon drivers, and vice-versa, and you'll get each side swearing the other is significantly worse on the roadways (let's not talk about Jersey drivers).

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Lendingtree.com compiled data from October 26, 2022 to the same date in 2023 and found some interesting numbers regarding what States have the worst drivers in a few different categories.  Neither Washington or Oregon should break out in a round of self back patting in the categories listed.

Driving Under the Influence (DUII in Oregon)

Both States have significant penalties for Driving Under the Influence.  You could debate whether Oregon or Washington are tougher when it comes to the law and the enforcement of it.  This was the category both States finished lowest in with Washington slightly higher than Oregon.

The Evergreen State was 21st in the nation in DUI's with 1.55 for every 1,000 drivers.  The Beaver State was 25th overall at 1.37 instances per 1,000 drivers.  California led the way with 3.45 per 1,000 drivers and North Carolina was the only other State above 3 at and instance rate of 3.22 per 1,000 drivers.

Driving Incident Rate

A driving 'incident' is classified as a DUI, accident, speed related incidents, and citations.  Both States are in the top 15 in incident rate, which isn't great, but Washington drivers can say their neighbors to the South are slightly worse in this category.

Oregon was 11th in the Nation in incident rate with 28.41 per 1,000 drivers.  Washington State was 14th worst with a rate of 27.34 incidents per 1,000 drivers.  The tiniest State leads the worst driver category.  Rhode Island had a rate 51.33 incidents per 1,000 drivers.  For the record...New Jersey is 23rd.

Accident Rate

Oregon gets a small measure of satisfaction returned in this category.  Accidents range in severity from a minor fender bender to the unfortunate instances where a life is lost.  They all factor in to the data complied for this study.

Washington State had the 14th highest accident rate at 15.70 per 1,000 drivers.  Oregon was 22nd with 14.44 accident rate per 1,000.  Massachusetts and Rhode Island were both over 30 accidents per 1,000 drivers (38.82 and 33.15) to come in first and second.

Speeding Infractions

Washington and Oregon both 'feel the need...the need for speed'.  Only one State feels that need more than Beaver State motorists.  Oregon came in 2nd in the Nation in with 5.09 speeding incidents per 1,000 drivers, behind only Montana who led the way with an impressive (or not so much) 5.86 per 1,000 drivers.

The Evergreen State was 9th Nationally when it comes to putting the pedal to the metal with 4.21 speeding instances per 1,000 drivers.

Citations

Citations are tickets for motor vehicle infraction other than speeding.  Parking tickets, failure to yield, improper passing, and blowing through a stop sign are just some examples of citations.  Oregon should feel a little shame over their citation rate.

Oregon is 4th in the Nation in citation rate per 1,000 drivers at 10.22.  Washington State was in 15th place overall with a significantly lower 8.34 rate per 1,000 drivers.  Looks like Oregon drivers have a little more work to do than Washington drivers based on the recent data.  To look at the complete data revealed by Lendingtree.com, click here, and be safe out there.