Interstate 15 in the early morning, the I-80 during rush hour, the Sugar House Whole Foods parking lot at any time. Yes, navigating the streets of SLC can be a tricky, Mario Kart irl adventure, but is it really worst than anywhere else? Well, according to a new study, it is.
Seattle-based quotewizard.com—an online insurance marketplace—released a report today naming Salt Lake City as home to the second-worst drivers in the country (trailing only Sacramento.)
This, on the heels of the same company naming Utah as having the country’s worst drivers last December.
Though he admits to never having the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants experience of driving in the Beehive, the website’s content creator, Adam Johnson, says locals shouldn’t take umbrage.
“The cool thing about our study, is it's completely data driven, so there's not a lot of room for a personal opinion,” he says. “Although, out-of-state drivers might say otherwise about Utah drivers.”
The study, which also includes Richmond, Va. plus San Diego and Riverside, Calif. In its Top 5, polled the 75 most-populated metro areas in the U.S., taking into consideration extensive data points—including accidents, DUI offenses, speeding violations and citations—before coming up with its hall of shame.
Tipping its hat to Salt Lake City drivers’ “lead feet,” the poll goes on to cite local motorists have the second-highest speeding ticket rate of all 75 markets, as well as the fifth-highest speeding ticket collection in the nation.
After naming us the Tina Belcher of the US highways, the study asks local drivers find solace in our beautiful scenery and “copious shaved ice selection.” Ouch, quotewizard. Even with all that ice, we can still feel the burn.
The safest driving city according to the study? Detroit.