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Test reveals worst drivers in America are in New York

Attention, truckers.

GMAC Insurance is trying to help you know in which states you need to be especially guarded about the person in the other vehicle and in which states you’re least likely to encounter a bad driver.

The worst drivers in America live in New York, the survey showed.

Idaho and Wisconsin drivers tied for the highest average score, with an 80.6.

The results come from GMAC’s National Drivers Test  for 2009.

The test, which measures basic knowledge of driving laws, was given to more than 5,000 drivers from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Last year's loser, New Jersey, improved its score just enough to leap over New York. Hawaii, California and Georgia rounded out the bottom five, GMAC said.

"Results from the 2009 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test found that 20.1 percent of licensed Americans — amounting to roughly 41 million drivers on the road — would not pass a written drivers test exam if taken today" GMAC said in a new release. “Most of us have trouble, according to the results, with "questions about yellow lights and safe following distances."

The survey has been given for five years. The average score has fluctuated up and down during that time, but this year it is down - 76.6 percent versus last year's 78.1.

"In general, geographical regions ranked similarly to previous years, with the lowest average test scores in the Northeast, while the states in the Midwest held the highest averages,” GMAC said. “When comparing genders, men are still more likely to pass the test than women, but the gap is considerably smaller in 2009 (81 percent of males versus 79 percent of females) than in 2008 (87 percent of males versus 80 percent of females)."

And the older the driver, the higher the score.

Drivers over 35 were more likely to pass than those under 35, while men over 45 posted the highest scores, and "the age group with the highest failure rates was young adults (18 to 24 years old).

You can take the test yourself at www.nationaldriverstest.com.

Here are the rankings by state:

Note: Many states tied for the same position in the rankings.

1       IDAHO
1       WISCONSIN
3       MONTANA
4       KANSAS
5       SOUTH DAKOTA
5       NEBRASKA
7       UTAH
8       WYOMING
8       IOWA
8       OREGON
8       MINNESOTA
12     ALASKA
12     NORTH DAKOTA
14     VERMONT
15     COLORADO
15     MISSOURI
17     OKLAHOMA
17     WASHINGTON
19     NEW MEXICO
20     NORTH CAROLINA
21     VIRGINIA
22     INDIANA
22     MICHIGAN
24     ARKANSAS
24     TEXAS
26     ALABAMA
26     NEVADA
28     WEST VIRGINIA
29     ILLINOIS
30     ARIZONA
31     MAINE
32     DELAWARE
33     NEW HAMPSHIRE
34     OHIO
35     KENTUCKY
36     PENNSYLVANIA
37     LOUISIANA
38     TENNESSEE
38     MISSISSIPPI
40     SOUTH CAROLINA
40     MARYLAND
42     CONNECTICUT
43     FLORIDA
44     DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
45     MASSACHUSETTS
46     RHODE ISLAND
47     GEORGIA
48     CALIFORNIA
49     HAWAII
50     NEW JERSEY
51     NEW YORK


The Trucker staff can be reached to comment on this article at [email protected].