iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
For the fourth time, the Golden State has clinched the dubious title at the Bankrate’s survey of driving life derived from “diverse datasets covering the cost, safety, driving quality and weather.” Rankings at all these goalposts led the personal finance site to decide the grades.
Coming first in being worst at driving is no great mystery for California given that owning a vehicle here is expensive and driving is an uphill task. Small wonder again that Louisiana and Maryland were right up there after California, while Ohio was the best place to be a driver along with Iowa and Utah. Our arch rivals Texas and Florida stood at a middling 27 and not-so-great 44 post, respectively.
Bankrate researchers apparently went about their research very conscientiously before arriving at the conclusions, so here’s a peek at their scorecards.
Cost of driving made up a sizable niche of the deciding factors, right at 45 percent of the total score. With fuel, insurance and repairs being the most expensive in California among all states, followed closely by Nevada and Louisiana, we clinched trophy right there. If you are looking for the cheapest costs involved in owning and driving your own car, consider heading to Maine, Ohio and Wisconsin.
With the next scorecard with a 25 percent weightage being the driving quality, California came in at a respectable seventh place. The worst on this parameter, based on a mix of infrastructure conditions and commuting statistics, were Illinois, Massachusetts and Maryland while North Dakota, Idaho and Nebraska were the best of the lot.
In terms of driving safety, making up another 25 percent of the grid, based on data around factors like accidental deaths, DUI arrests and seat-belt use, California came in at 15 ranking. While Illinois, New York and Hawaii were the best on these counts, the worst states include Wyoming, South Dakota and Mississippi.
The factor weather accounted for only 5 percent of the entire weightage, even as government statistics indicate that 21 percent of crashes due to inclement weather, California up there right after Vermont, Alaska and Maine. The best driving weather can supposedly be enjoyed at Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico.
