Top 10 states where drivers ignore traffic signs

If you've ever been trapped on the same road as a reckless driver weaving in and out of traffic and ignoring not only traffic signs and the rules of the road, but also common sense, you are not alone.

If you travel out of state frequently, or live in an area where drivers from multiple states converge, you know that drivers from every state have their quirks.

Take the Washington, D.C, metropolitan area, for example.

For as long as I can remember, a battle has raged between Maryland and Virginia about which state has the worst drivers. People from Maryland will tell you it's Virginians. People from Virginia will say it's Marylanders.

And people in D.C. hate both states' drivers for clogging the city's arteries, making it one of the nation's worst cities for gridlock, USA Today reported.

While there are reckless drivers everywhere, it does seem as though certain states have a higher concentration of them.

A new study by Nicolet Law aimed to identify which states had the highest rates of drivers who failed to obey traffic laws. Here's what emerged.

How the study identified states with the most traffic-sign offenders

Since a study is only as good as its methodology, here's how Nicolet Law determined which states had the most frequent offenders.

Study methodology

• Sign-disobeying drivers in fatal crashes (5 years): Measuring the number of drivers involved in fatal crashes where traffic-sign violations were a contributing factor
• Drivers involved in fatal crashes (5-year): Used as a baseline for the study
• Traffic sign-related ticket searches: Used to capture online search interest related to traffic violations, indicating behavioral patterns and awareness
• Number of licensed drivers: Served to normalize the data

To standardize the data, the study calculated sign disobeyers per 100k fatal-crash drivers and traffic sign-related ticket searches per 100k drivers.

The researchers then weighted the data to create a composite index, with sign-disobeyers given 60% of the weight and traffic-sign ticket searches given 40%.

The states were then ranked by their final index score, with higher scores indicating a greater prevalence of traffic-sign disobedience.

So without further ado, here's a list of the states with the drivers who obey traffic signs the least, putting everyone else on the road in danger.

Photo by Icon Sportswire on Getty Images

Illinois has the most traffic-sign offenders in the country

Using data from 2020 to 2024, researchers found that Illinois had the most significant problem with traffic-sign offending drivers, with a weighted index score of 96.7.

The state had a rate of 16,650 sign disobeyers per 100k fatal-crash drivers, ranking it third-highest in the nation.

But disobeying traffic signs seems to be a pastime in the Midwest portion of the country, because Wisconsin had an even higher rate, with 18,910 sign disobeyers per 100k fatal-crash drivers. This is despite having a population less than half that of Illinois (5.7 million versus 12.1 million).

While Wisconsin only ranked eighth on the index due to weighting, several other Midwest states with minuscule populations also grace the top 10: Missouri, Kansas, and Wisconsin join Illinois at the top of the list.

The top 10 worst offenders based on weighted index score were, in order:

1. Illinois
2. New York
3. Nevada
4. Missouri
5. Georgia
6. North Carolina
7. Kansas
8. Wisconsin
9. Florida
10. Texas

Many may assume that large states with dense population centers, such as New York, California, and Florida, would have the worst drivers. Yet the Nicolet Law study confirms that the worst drivers are actually more likely to reside in smaller, rural states.

Worst drivers, traffic offenders come from rural states

Earlier this year, another study from Ramos James Law tried to quantify the states with the most irresponsible drivers based on DUI offenses, fatal crashes, fatal hit-and-runs, and percentage of uninsured drivers.

After all the data were standardized and crunched, it turns out New Mexico has the worst driving culture in America, with nearly 40% of fatal crashes attributed to motorists not paying enough attention to the road.

It's not a mistake that a rural state like New Mexico has such a dangerous driving culture, as other rural states also ranked high on this list.

More than 20% of Colorado residents drive without insurance, "putting themselves at financial risk in the event of a crash." Meanwhile, Wyoming, the state where former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney was arrested for DUI at least twice, according to Sweetwater Now, "faces the biggest drunk driving crisis," with state police pulling over drunk drivers at twice the national rate.

Following New Mexico, Hawaii, Missouri, Wyoming, and Colorado round out the top five states with the worst drivers. And Washington state, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Rhode Island, and Texas round out the rest of the top 10.

So if you are a city slicker driving through some of the more rural parts of the country, make sure you're paying attention, because based on the data, there's a good chance your fellow drivers aren't.

Related: Watch the road: these 5 states have the most irresponsible drivers

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This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 4:07 AM.