Slowest States

Rhode Island takes the top spot as the state with just over half of its highways considered acceptable by the Bureau of Transportation. Highways in The Ocean State have been chronically underfunded for years, with the state spending only 2% of its budget on road maintenance in 2020. So it's no wonder it ranks last for the factor.

Up next is New Jersey with only 55% of the state’s highways considered acceptable by the Bureau of Transportation. Despite spending $1.14 million per square mile on state-controlled highways, New Jersey’s ancient infrastructure is still in dire need of repair as its roads still rank second last.

Even for such a small state, Hawaii’s highways remain underbuilt and poorly maintained. Potholes and uneven roads plague motorists in the state, averaging 20.6 potholes for every 621 miles of road. So it's no surprise Hawaii takes third place for the factor with only 60% of its roads deemed acceptable.

Drivers in The Silver State spend the longest time waiting for the green light with traffic delays at stop signals, averaging 21 seconds for each vehicle. Congestion in Nevada is a result of the rapid population growth in its biggest cities twinned with poor infrastructure planning, leaving drivers waiting in traffic.

Up next is New York, with the state averaging a delay of 20 seconds per vehicle at stop signals. Many of the traffic signals in the state work on timers to allow for a smoother journey. However, the sheer amount of pedestrians waiting to cross busy intersections in the country’s busiest city, New York quickly causes delays for drivers which bumps up the state’s average.

No one likes to be stuck in traffic, and waiting for the lights to change sometimes feels like an eternity. Unfortunately, this is the case in both Louisiana and Massachusetts. Drivers in these states can expect to wait an average of 19 seconds at stop signals, three seconds longer than the national average.

Hawaii has the most crowded highways, with 127 cars per mile. This comes as no surprise as the state has only 9,800 miles of road to cover an area of 100,00 square miles, making it the shortest total road network and pushing up the proportion of cars to highway miles.

Up next is California, with The Golden State being home to 77 cars per mile of highway. The roads in California are often crowded as the state has a dense population and lacks an effective public transport system too, forcing people to drive even short distances.

Thanks to their relatively short road networks and high population density, both Delaware and New Jersey rank highly for the number of cars on their roads. Each state has 71 cars per mile of highway, taking them both to third place for the factor.

The Magnolia State takes the unfortunate title of the state with the most dangerous roads with 25 deaths per 100,000 people. Mississippi has a high proportion of rural highways, which are often more dangerous than urban roads thanks to higher speed limits and lack of police supervision, which could explain the high proportion of lethal accidents.

Taking second place is Wyoming. Drivers in the Western state constantly have to deal with difficult and often dangerous conditions including mountainous terrain, but the roads are especially deadly in winter, as the state is prone to snow drifts and avalanches which can leave behind slick patches of ice.

Two states share third place for the safety of their roads both with 21 road deaths per 100,000 people, they are Arkansas and South Carolina. Up to 70% of the fatal road crashes in Arkansas happen on stretches of rural highway, as they lack safety features like paved shoulders. Emergency services also have to travel longer to reach a crash increasing the likelihood of fatalities. Drivers in South Carolina face a higher fatality, as seatbelt use is amongst the lowest in the nation, with more than 50% of traffic death victims failing to wear seatbelts.