FL Among Worst Places To Drive In New Ranking; Do You Agree?

FLORIDA — A new analysis of federal data suggests Florida has some of the worst drivers in the country — something you may or may not agree with during your daily commute on the Capital Beltway, Interstate 695 or I-95.

The personal finance website MoneyGeek used data from the Federal Highway Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Census Bureau, FBI and other sources to rank the states with the best and worst driving experiences. The data was sorted into five categories: congestion, costs (including gas and insurance), infrastructure, safety, and weather.

By that measure, Florida is the sixth-worst place in the country to get behind the wheel. To be fair, we’re fighting the sixth-worst traffic congestion anywhere after Maryland. The state is No. 38 for lousy infrastructure, which is a decent ranking.

Florida also ranked third in the cost to drive a car overall, and a surprising No. 19 rank among the states for safety ratings. We rank a surprisingly low No. 20 for weather conditions drivers encounter.

Behind New Jersey, rounding out the five worst states for driving are California, West Virginia, Mississippi and Maryland, respectively. The best states to drive in are in the Midwest: Nebraska, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Kansas, respectively.

Other analysts agree that Florida drivers face a miserable fate.

A report from MoneyGeek released in June studied commutes and said Florida had seven of the worst in the nation.

According to News4Jax, the nastiest Florida commutes are:

1. Lakeland-Winter Haven
2. Port St. Lucie
3. Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach
4. Cape Coral-Fort Myers
5. Orlando
6. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach
7. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater