Is Driving in Idaho as Bad as Everyone Thinks?

Idaho doesn't have the best drivers. This is what many think and say about drivers in the Gem State. There are far too many wrecks, reckless driving, speeding, texting and driving, distracted driving, and much more happening behind the wheel. Sadly, these are all evidence to back the saying above. Anytime you get behind the wheel in Idaho, you never know what is going to happen. Odds are someone will upset you, and road rage will take over, though. When it comes to driving in Idaho, is it as bad as residents think, or are other states worse than the Gem State when it comes to driving?

The Best and Worst States to Drive In?

With so many people thinking that Idaho has terrible drivers, it's time to figure out if Idaho is the worst state to drive in, or if it isn't as bad as we think. WalletHub recently released a study ranking the best and worst states to drive in and ranked the states using categories like cost of ownership and maintenance, traffic and infrastructure, safety, and access to vehicles and maintenance. Using these criteria, it was determined that the best state to drive in is Vermont, with Iowa being second, and Kansas rounding out the top three. The worst state to drive in is Hawaii, with Washington being the second worst, and Montana rounding out the bottom three. So now that we know Idaho is not the worst state to drive in, where does it fall on the list? 

Is Idaho a Bad State to Drive In?

Shockingly, to most Idaho drivers, Idaho is not in the bottom five, and not even in the bottom ten, for that matter. Instead, the Gem State comes in at number 20, making it one of the better states to drive in and better than 60 percent of the other states. Idaho is 33rd in ownership and maintenance, 6th in traffic and infrastructure, 22nd in safety, and 45th in access to vehicles and maintenance, making it one of the worst in that category. Another plus working in Idaho's favor is that it has the third-lowest car theft rate in the entire country, meaning cars are safer here than nearly any other state. While this study doesn't truly redeem Idaho drivers, it does show that other states deal with much worse than drivers in the Gem State do. 

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The next time you decide to complain about drivers in Idaho, you may want to go back to this list and be reminded that it could be worse. To see the full study, make sure to click the link in the second paragraph above.