Personal-finance website WalletHub announced it has released its report on 2017’s Best & Worst States for Teen Drivers.
In order to determine the safest and least costly driving environments for U.S. teenagers, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states based on 21 key metrics. The data set ranges from number of teen driver fatalities to average cost of car repairs to presence of impaired-driving laws. The results were as follows:
Best States for Teen Drivers
- New York
- Oregon
- Illinois
- Maryland
- Washington
- Louisiana
- California
- Delaware
- New Jersey
- Georgia
Worst States for Teen Drivers
- Montana
- Wyoming
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Nebraska
- Missouri
- Mississippi
- Idaho
- Iowa
- Oklahoma
Best vs. Worst
Rhode Island has the fewest teen driver fatalities per 100,000 teens, 2.12, which is 10.5 times fewer than in Montana, the state with the most at 22.32.
Nebraska has the lowest proportion of major roads in poor condition, 5 percent, which is 8.8 times lower than in Connecticut, the state with the highest at 44 percent.
Hawaii has the lowest premium increase after adding a teen driver to a parent’s auto insurance policy, 16.93 percent, which is 7.4 times lower than in New Hampshire, the state with the highest at 125.39 percent.
New York has the fewest vehicle miles traveled per capita, 6,467, which is 2.6 times fewer than in Wyoming, the state with the most at 16,556.
Alabama, Arizona, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming all lack most of the optimal number of teen drivers’ Graduated Driver-Licensing (GDL) provisions, each with two or fewer of the seven provisions.
To view the full report and your state’s rank, click here.