St. Louis Drivers Really Are Among the Worst in the U.S., Study Finds

St. Louis had 24 vehicular fatalities for every 100,000 residents in 2021

Jul 18, 2023 at 8:58 am

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Screen Grab from KSDK

Just another day on the St. Louis streets.

Here's official confirmation of something we've all long known to be true: St. Louis drivers are basically the worst. In fact, we're among the five worst in the entire U.S.

That's according to a new study by ConsumerAffairs, which analyzed a host of statistics that demonstrate bad driving, including the number of fatal crashes per 100,000 people, the number of fatalities caused by bad driving, the number of fatalities linked to driving under the influence and the prevalence of speeding in fatal accidents. Yep, all things we'd associate with St. Louis drivers!

St. Louis ranked only behind Memphis, Tennessee (No. 1); Baton Rouge, Louisiana (No. 2); Albuquerque, New Mexico (No. 3); and Macon, Georgia (No. 4). Right after us: Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; the California cities of Victorville and Hespernia; and Rockford, Illinois.

In St. Louis, the study found that one-third of all fatal crashes here are related to speeding. St. Louis also notched a high percentage of fatal crashes involving drivers with a positive blood alcohol content — 32.39 percent, the highest of all the cities in the top five.

Read the details and weep:

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St. Louis Drivers Really Are Among the Worst in the U.S., Study Finds (2)

Now, where is Kansas City in this, you ask? Turns out they're much better at that whole driving thing, ranking a lowly 34th. In fact, Independence was the second worst Missouri city, ranking 15th.

So, the high ranking for St. Louis might not be solely about our state laws, which until recently were the only ones in the U.S. to allow texting while driving other than Montana's. It's really about a state of mind — and ours is deadly.

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About The Author

Sarah Fenske

Sarah Fenske is the executive editor of the RFT and its sister papers. She is the former host of St. Louis on the Air and continues to host its Legal Roundtable, as well participating as an occasional panelist on Nine PBS' Donnybrook. She lives in St. Louis.

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