Which vehicles are driven by Mississippi’s most dangerous drivers? Avoid these cars
Your favorite brand of car can predict how well you drive and in some circles, your personality.
Sorry, Ram drivers. You are the worst.
Online marketplace lending company Lending Tree used QuoteWizard to analyze insurance quotes across the U.S. to determine which states have the best and worst drivers according to reported incidents.
The 2024 analysis examined the number of incidents, including accidents, DUIs, speeding and citations for 30 popular car brands.
Ram owners were the number one cause of mayhem on Mississippi roads in 2024.
Don’t get mad at the messenger. In addition to causing the most road incidents, Ram trucks have a bit of a reputation as being a “bro truck” according Top Speed magazine.
Which cars have the worst drivers?
When you factor in statistics from every state, Ram came in second this year. The trucks were the most dangerous in 2023.
Tesla drivers have the worst scores for bad drivers, with Subaru rounding out the top three. These are three very different brands, with widely varying price points, so you can’t really blame the car.
The top three models with the worst drivers in the U.S.:
Tesla had the highest incident rate in 19 states at 36.94 per 1000.
Ram came in a close second, with the most instances in 16 states and was involved in 31.13 incidents per 1000.
Subaru was a distant third at 33.92 per 1000 and ranked the worst in only six states.
Ram drivers are the worst in Mississippi, causing 37.36 incidents per 1000, a good bit higher than the national number for Rams.
Some of the higher-priced Rams have a super-charged V-8, producing a top speed of over 100 miles per hour. According to Driving website, “Ram drivers had more speeding incidents (4.42 per 1,000 drivers) than all other brands,” which could have a significant influence in these rankings.
Ram, at least, is doing better than last year. Meanwhile, Subaru remains third worst, performing only slightly worse in the rankings in 2024 than in 2023.
Shout out to Audi and Mazda drivers who rounded out the top five.
Who are the best drivers?
If you’re looking to be treated as precious cargo, Mercury drivers are your best bet. They ranked the safest two years running, with practically half of Tesla’s reported incidents.
Sadly, the Ford Motor Company phased out the Mercury brand in 2011, indicating a certain demographic for a Mercury owner. For instance, The New York Times reports that the Mercury Grand Marquis had an average buyer age of 67 years, among the oldest customer bases for any car in the United States.
In fact, all three models that scored the best have been labeled “cars old people drive,” says the financial news and opinion site, Wall Street 24/7.
These are the top three models with the best drivers:
Mercury has the lowest incident rate at 18.663 per 1000, however, it increased from 15.82 in 2023.
Pontiac was also discontinued by General Motors (GM) in 2010, but its drivers only reported 19.72 incidents per 1000.
Cadillac did better than previous surveys, rising from fourth place to third with 33.75 incidents per 1000.
The next safest models are Chrysler, Buick and Dodge, which do still produce cars in 2025.
People are creatures of habit, and will return to their favorites over and over. According to LexisNexis Risk Solutions, more than half (52.6%) of car shoppers were loyal to a car brand in 2024. Tesla, Ram and Subaru buyers may have some big decisions to make.
This has larger implications for the price of insurance. According to licensed insurance agent Rob Bhatt, it can have a significant impact on rates. He said, “The immediate impact [will be] on the individual. Most of these incidents are going to make your rates go up.”
What do you think? Do these numbers feel true? Email me at srose@ledger-enquirer.com or find me on Instagram. Even better, send me pics of your first (or favorite) car.
