Maryland Among Worst States For Drivers In America, Study Finds

MARYLAND — Maryland ranks among the 10 worst states in America for driving. That’s according to a new report out Tuesday from personal finance website WalletHub.

Researchers say Maryland is 49th out of 50 states when it comes to traffic and infrastructure.

To come up with its rankings, WalletHub measured 30 factors across four categories: cost of ownership/maintenance; traffic and infrastructure; safety; and access to vehicles/maintenance.

Some individual measurements — average gas prices, auto-maintenance costs, rush-hour traffic congestion and average commute time — received higher weights than others.

Here’s how Maryland ranks in each category:

• Cost of ownership and maintenance: 29
• Traffic and infrastructure: 49
• Safety: 12
• Access to vehicles and maintenance: 18

Oregon is the best place overall for driving, the researchers found, even though the state never ranked higher than 11th in any individual category.

Here are the top 10 states for driving:

1. Oregon
2. Illinois
3. Indiana
4. Iowa
5. Texas
6. North Carolina
7. Georgia
8. Arkansas
9. Nebraska
10. Ohio

California performed poorly in the overall rankings despite placing in the top five for three of the measurements: fewest days with precipitation, most auto-repair shops per capita and most car washes per capita. That’s likely because “The Golden State” also ranked 42nd in share of rush-hour congestion, 47th in car theft rate and 49th in average gas price.

These are the worst states for driving, according to WalletHub:

1. Hawaii
2. Alaska
3. Washington
4. California
5. New Hampshire
6. Rhode Island
7. Massachusetts
8. Wyoming
9. New Jersey
   
10. Maryland

If a short commute is what you’re after, consider packing your bags for Mississippi, which topped the list in lowest share of rush-hour traffic congestion.

Maryland had the 4th highest share of rush-hour traffic congestion, after Massachusetts, Delaware and New Jersey.

Behind Maryland for congestion was California, according to WalletHub.

Do you think Maryland is one of the worst places for driving? Tell us in the comments!

To come up with its rankings, WalletHub used data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, American Automobile Association, Federal Highway Administration, QuinStreet Insurance Agency, EverQuote, Council for Community and Economic Research, Insurance Research Council and National Insurance Crime Bureau, among other sources.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Photo by Shutterstock.