4 Florida cities in top 7 for worst drivers among major U.S. cities

Keep an eye on the road. Several Florida cities were ranked among the worst for drivers among major U.S. metro areas.

The new study recently published by the Clever real estate data company showed Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando and Miami all made the top 10 places with the worst drivers among America’s major cities. Jacksonville topped the list, with Tampa coming in a close second. Orlando was named the fifth worst city for drivers, with Miami coming in seventh.

According to Clever, it’s the second straight year that Florida ranked as the worst state in the country for drivers. It’s also the second year in a row that Jacksonville topped the list for worst drivers in the U.S.

The Clever study used factors such as fatal accidents, driving under the influence charges, speeding and other traffic tickets to formulate the ranking. The research analyzed the 50 largest metro areas in the U.S.

Jacksonville’s traffic factors were terrible, according to the study.

“Jacksonville has the highest number of alcohol-related fatalities for the second year in a row. In 2023, the city recorded 3.8 drunk driving deaths per 100,000 residents — a preventable increase from 2.9 the previous year,” the study concluded.

Jacksonville was also knocked for the number of fatal accidents in general. The Clever survey found that Jacksonville had 68% more fatal accidents than the average major U.S. city, with 14.5 fatal wrecks per 100,000 people.

“Driving in these dangerous conditions is costly, and Jacksonville residents pay $2,745 in annual auto insurance premiums — about 40% more than the average price ($1,960),” Clever researchers said.

Tampa was derided for its own driving issues. Motorists are not looking out for people riding bicycles in the Gulf Coast metropolis, according to Clever.

“Tampa has the most fatal collisions between drivers and cyclists, with 1.3 per 100,000 residents — five times more than the studied-city average (0.24),” researchers found.

The Clever study is the second published research project this year that demonstrated problematic driving issues in Florida. In February, Forbes published a similar study that found Tampa had the 10th worst drivers in the country, while Jacksonville was ranked 14th

In the Clever study, California had two cities ranked in the top 10, with Riverside at fourth and Sacramento at ninth. Tennessee also had two cities in the top 10 list of worst drivers, including Memphis at third and Nashville at eighth.

New York City was ranked the city with the best drivers among major U.S. metro areas, followed by Boston and Minneapolis.