Study gives Michigan low marks for driver friendliness
The Motor City might be a great place to buy a car. However, when it comes to the best and worst states to drive in, Michigan was among the worst, according to a recent study by WalletHub.com.
One of the reasons has to do with traffic congestion.
Michigan has a lot of road construction going on — and while that will prove to be a good thing down the road — for now getting from Point A to Point B on time can be a nightmare.
“Everyone hates being stuck in traffic. It makes you late, and causes many people’s tempers to flare up. It’s also quite bad for your wallet — in fact, congestion cost the average U.S. driver $564 in wasted time during 2021, with an average of 36 hours spent sitting in traffic,” according to the report by the personal finance website.
Congestion isn’t the only concern for drivers.
To determine the most driver-friendly states in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 31 key metrics and several categories: cost of ownership and maintenance, traffic and infrastructure, safety and access to vehicles and maintenance.
Of the worst states in the country, Michigan was ranked 8th, after Colorado, Washington, Maryland, California, Delaware, Rhode Island and Hawaii.
Michigan’s scores in key metrics (1=Best; 25=Avg.):
• 20th — Share of rushhour traffic congestion
• 19th — Traffic fatality rate
• 19th — Car theft rate
• 24th — Average gas prices
• 39th — Auto maintenance costs
• 26th — Road quality The Best State for drivers was Iowa, which earned a score of 62.4%, followed by Oklahoma (61.65%), Kansas (61.55), North Carolina (61.27%) and Texas (60.57%).
The cost of ownership is one area that drivers control themselves by saying no to features and amenities they might not use or can live without, and by buying the right size and class of vehicle for their needs.
“This approach works best outside of the complex market dynamics we are seeing today, where the only certainty about cars is that prices are up and inventory is down,” Josh Siegel, assistant professor at Michigan State University said in the WalletHub report. “Driving safely will also help to keep insurance costs low. Beyond these predictable costs, maintenance can play a big role. Preventative maintenance can save drivers a lot more than they might expect.”
Another area of improvement has to do with lowering the number of traffic fatalities.
“Driver education is critically important, alongside smarter infrastructure. So too is regulating safer vehicles. Manufacturers have made great advances in in-car active and passive safety, and in parallel, developed technologies to step in where drivers may struggle. With vehicles’ life expectancy increasing, it takes time for these advances to diffuse broadly — but it only takes a few partially-automated vehicles to provide a significant improvement over business as usual when it comes to safety. There are other benefits to this sort of automation as well: adaptive cruise control can reduce highway traffic, for example.”
Here’s a look at other key factors and who ranked the worst and best among them.
Lowest rush-hour traffic congestion
1. West Virginia
2. North Dakota
3. Maine
4. Mississippi
5. New Mexico
Highest rush-hour traffic congestion
1. Florida
2. Delaware
3. New Jersey
4. Maryland
5. California
Fewest days with precipitation (because rain, sleet and snow can make for hazardous driving)
1. California, Arizona and Nevada tied for first
2. New Mexico
3. Texas
Most days with precipitation
1. Alaska
2. Vermont
3. West Virginia
4. Hawaii
5. New Hampshire
Lowest number of car thefts
1. Vermont
2. Maine
3. New Hampshire
4. Idaho
5. Massachusetts
Highest number of car thefts
1. Oregon
2. Missouri
3. California
4. New Mexico
5. Colorado
Most auto repair shops per capita
1. California
2. Pennsylvania
3. New York
4. Illinois
5. Florida
Fewest auto repair shops
1. North Dakota
2. Mississippi
3. Alaska
4. Delaware
5. Hawaii
Lowest average of gas prices
1. Oklahoma
2. Texas
3. Arkansas
4. Mississippi
5. Missouri
Highest gas prices
1. Oregon
2. Washington
3. Nevada
4. Hawaii
5. California
For the full report, please visit: wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-to-drivein/43012