As I’m driving down U.S. Highway 19 heading south the other day, I notice the person ahead of me is swerving all over the road. He’s creeping over into the next lane, accelerating and stopping abruptly, over correcting, and looking—no, staring—at his cell phone. Through the back window, I see the gentleman holding up his phone, taking photo after photo of himself as he continues to make his way down the highway. As I witness this from a safe distance behind, I think to myself, “Florida has the worst drivers in the country!”
It turns out, my observation was true. A new study puts the Sunshine State at the top of the list for the worst drivers. The study by Smart Asset claims Floridians search for “speeding tickets” and “traffic tickets” more than any state in the U.S. However, the study also took other factors into consideration, such as DUI rates, deaths per thousand drivers, and the percentage of drivers who do not carry insurance.
Unsafe and Uninsured
In fact, not only do we have the worst drivers in the country, but we also have the most uninsured drivers just next to Oklahoma, which took the number-one spot. According to the study, only 76.2% of Florida drivers carry insurance. Not only that, Florida also has the second-highest total number of uninsured drivers. According to the Insurance Research Council, 3.2 million Florida drivers do not carry insurance.
While Florida requires you to carry $10,000 in property damage liability and $10,000 in personal injury protection, or PIP, not everyone purchases the required minimum amount of insurance. With millions of uninsured or under-insured drivers on our roadways, we recommend adding uninsured motorist (UM) coverage to your insurance plan if you don’t already have it. While it may cost you a bit more now, you will be glad you have it in the event someone without insurance is at fault for your accident.
