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| The Basics | America's worst drivers live in ...
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Nearly 10% of America's drivers couldn't pass a DMV licensing test if they had to take it today. Could you? Plus: See how your state fared.
By MSN Money staff
At least one of every five drivers doesn't know when to use bright lights, how to follow directional arrows or when highways are the most slippery, results from a national driver's test show.
GMAC Insurance administered a 20-question test -- similar to a traditional licensing test at the local DMV to 5,288 drivers and released the results last week. Of those tested, nearly 10% were unable to answer enough questions correctly to achieve a passing score of 70.
If the test results are any guide, America's pedestrians are in deep, deep trouble.
- 20% of drivers do not know that a pedestrian has the right of way at a marked or unmarked crosswalk.
- 1 in 3 drivers dont usually stop for pedestrians even if theyre in a crosswalk or at a yellow light.
- One-third admit they speed up to make a yellow light even when pedestrians are in the crosswalk.
More frightening? Drivers in the heavily urbanized Northeast scored the worst..
Related news and commentary on MSN Money
Oregon tops; Rhode Island worst
The lowest average score came out of Rhode Island, whose drivers in the sample averaged a 75.1; more than a quarter of Rhode Island drivers in the sample failed the test. The District of Columbia, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York posted average scores almost as low, and failure rates in the region averaged 16%.
Drivers in Oregon, on the other hand, averaged a score of 90.6, and the Northwest overall had the most knowledgeable drivers, with failure rates below 7%.
Drivers older than 35 were not only more likely to pass, they were less likely to treat their time behind the wheel as "down time." Younger drivers, though, reported doing everything from applying makeup to fiddling with iPods at much higher rates. About 1 in 4 had sent text messages from a cell phone; 8% had changed clothes while driving.
"The rules of the road should not be something you learn once when you are 16 years old," says Gary Kusumi, CEO and president, GMAC Insurance-Personal Lines. "We want to remind everyone that they need to work on their driving skills every day."
| How did your state score? | | Rank | State | Score | Rank | State | Score | | 1 | Oregon | 90.6 | 27 | Arkansas | 83.8 | | 2 | Washington | 88.2 | 28 | Virginia | 83.5 | | 3 | Vermont | 87.5 | 29 | Arizona | 83.4 | | 4 | Idaho | 87.3 | 30 | Georgia | 83.2 | | 4 | South Dakota | 87.3 | 30 | Louisiana | 83.2 | | 6 | Montana | 87.2 | 32 | North Carolina | 83.1 | | 7 | Nebraska | 87 | 32 | Maine | 83.1 | | 8 | Kansas | 86.8 | 34 | Ohio | 83 | | 9 | Iowa | 86.7 | 35 | Oklahoma | 82.9 | | 10 | Wyoming | 86.2 | 36 | Alabama | 82.8 | | 11 | Wisconsin | 86.1 | 37 | Missouri | 82.7 | | 12 | Minnesota | 86 | 37 | Delaware | 82.7 | | 13 | Alaska | 85.8 | 39 | Nevada | 82.6 | | 14 | California | 85.6 | 40 | South Carolina | 82.3 | | 15 | Indiana | 85.2 | 40 | Florida | 82.3 | | 15 | Colorado | 85.2 | 42 | Pennsylvania | 82.1 | | 17 | Michigan | 85.1 | 43 | New Mexico | 81.5 | | 18 | North Dakota | 85 | 44 | Connecticut | 80.9 | | 19 | West Virginia | 84.8 | 45 | Hawaii | 80.7 | | 20 | Utah | 84.5 | 46 | Maryland | 79.5 | | 21 | Mississippi | 84.4 | 47 | New York | 79.4 | | 22 | Illinois | 84.3 | 48 | New Jersey | 78.6 | | 23 | Tennessee | 84.2 | 48 | Massachusetts | 78.6 | | 24 | Texas | 84 | 50 | District of Columbia | 76.5 | | 24 | Kentucky | 84 | 51 | Rhode Island | 75.1 | | 26 | New Hampshire | 83.9 | | | |
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Source: GMAC Insurance
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