Study Ranks U.S. States by Gen Z Driver Crash Rates

A report analyzing National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data ranked states according to crash involvement, fatalities, speeding incidents and alcohol-related crashes among drivers ages 15 to 29 from 2019 to 2023. Montana posted the highest overall recklessness score at 99.74, followed by Wyoming at 98.00 and South Carolina. New Mexico and Arkansas completed the top five.

Montana recorded 23.79 Gen Z driver accidents per 100,000 people and 23.88 fatalities per 100,000. Wyoming showed the highest speeding-related fatality rate in the study at 11.46 per 100,000 people. New York recorded the lowest recklessness score at 2.48. Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New Jersey also ranked among the safest states.

Z-related accidents stood at 14.81 per 100,000 people. Nearly 6,000 motorists died in crashes involving speeding by Gen Z drivers in 2023, equating to 9.02 deaths per 100,000. The study attributed higher rates in some rural states to long highway stretches and elevated speed limits.