The Burrow
Apr 22, 2026
Being able to drive and travel freely can be an amazing experience. But like everything, it comes with risks, and traffic accidents are sometimes unavoidable.
Some drivers may assume that road accidents are evenly distributed across the USA and Australia, but that isn’t the case. Car crashes and traffic violations vary significantly from state to state, with each region showing different levels of incidents, violations, and fatalities.
This variation is largely due to differing driver behaviours that are more common in some areas than others. Speeding, mobile phone use, and driving without a licence can all influence the frequency of road accidents. With states reporting different levels of these unsafe behaviours, the rate of car accidents naturally varies across regions.
To explore this further, the car insurance comparison experts at Compare the Market have created the dangerous driving capitals index. This is a data-driven ranking of states across Australia and the USA based on factors such as fatality rates, speeding fines, and mobile phone usage.
From this, we can not only identify which regions experience the most accidents but also understand the key behaviours contributing to them.
The accidents and violations reported in Australia vary significantly from state to state. A common misconception about traffic accidents is that they are evenly distributed across the country, but this isn’t true. Some states record much higher levels of specific traffic violations than others — such as speeding, mobile phone use, and driving without a licence — and all these factors contributed to our index.
Below, we have listed the top five Australian states and highlighted the types of road violations that most influenced their scores.
Ranking first in our index with a score of 74.47, the Northern Territory has a high fatality rate of 22.70 per 100,000 people. It also ranks high in the amount of speeding fines issued per 10,000 licenses (2,940.65) and the number of unlicensed drivers per 10,000 licenses (26.37). Another factor contributing to the Northern Territory’s high index score is the percentage of random positive breath tests, which stands at 8.20%.
The second-highest-ranking state in our index is Queensland, with a score of 39.05. Although this state reports a much lower fatality rate (5.40 per 100,000 people), it experiences significantly larger traffic violations. The most notable violation concerns mobile phone fines per 10,000 licenses, which stand at 181.31. Another notable violation is speeding, with 1,913.10 fines issued per 10,000 licences.
Due to this state’s high rates of speeding violations (2,154.32 per 10,000 licenses) and drivers without a license (8.97 per 10,000 licenses), Western Australia earns a score of 22.72 and ranks as the third-highest in our index.
What contributes to its middle ranking is the low percentage of positive random breath tests (0.5%) and the low number of mobile phone fines reported (17.00 per 10,000 licenses).
While fatalities in the nation’s capital have decreased by 27% from 2015 to 2024, the state still reports a high number of speeding violations (1,978.95 per 10,000 licenses) and mobile phone fines (779.70 per 10,000 licenses), giving the Australian Capital Territory an index score of 22.60 and ranking it fourth.
This ranking is also helped by the low rate of unlicensed driving fines, which stands at 8.59 per 10,000 licenses.
This state has also seen a decline in fatalities from 2015 to 2024, with a 11% decrease. However, it still reports a high level of unlicensed driving fines (48.57 per 10,000 licenses), ranking South Australia fifth in our index with a score of 19.84.
The other Australian states to note are New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania, which rank sixth, seventh, and eighth, respectively.
New South Wales has seen a 3% decrease in fatalities from 2015 to 2024, contributing to its relatively low fatality rate of 4.00 per 100,000 people. However, it still records high numbers of speeding violations (1,468.76 per 10,000 licenses) and mobile phone fines (262.72 per 10,000 licenses), resulting in a total index score of 15.85.
Victoria ranks seventh with a total index score of 14.93. The state’s driving violations are largely led by speeding and mobile phone fines, at 1,470.36 and 104.70 fines per 10,000 licenses, respectively.
Tasmania, with a high fatality rate of 5.60 per 100,000 people, has a total index score of 13.99. While its fatality rate is notable, the state is more heavily impacted by traffic violations such as speeding, recording 1,744.57 fines per 10,000 licenses.
It’s a good idea to keep all these factors in mind if you plan to travel to any of these states or potentially move there permanently. Understanding which states experience more frequent violations and accidents can help you better prepare for driving in those areas.
Like Australia, traffic accidents and violations vary across the different states of the USA. The highest-ranking states in our index show a significant level of unlawful driving behaviours – such as drunk driving, speeding and hit-and-runs – and often contribute to the state’s fatality rate.
We have listed the top five highest-ranking American states in our index and highlighted the difference in traffic violations that contributed to each state’s score.
Ranking first in our USA index is New Mexico, with a total score of 57.36. This state has a high fatality rate of 20.67 per 100,000 people, and there has been a 13% rise in fatalities from 2014 to 2023. There are also significant road violations that contribute to fatalities in this state, such as speeding (30%) and distracted driving (34.10%).
Thirty-nine per cent of this state’s road fatalities are attributed to speeding, with another 39% to drunk driving. This high rate of road violations gives South Carolina a total index score of 50.94, ranking it second among US states. Due to all these factors, South Carolina sees a fatality rate of 19.48 per 100,000 people, and this has seen an increase of 27% from 2014 to 2023.
Despite a low fatality rate (6.48 per 100,000 people), Hawaii still reports a large percentage of fatalities involving speeding (58.10%) and distracted driving (26.90%). It also reports a fairly high percentage of fatalities due to hit-and-run drivers (8.60%), giving Hawaii a total index score of 50.51 and ranking it third overall.
Ranking fourth in our index with a total score of 49.98, Louisiana reports a fatality rate of 17.73 per 100,000 people, with 29.60% of these fatalities involving speeding. 29% of road fatalities also included drunk drivers, and 28% involved distracted driving.
Arizona’s road fatalities largely involve speeding (32.60%) and drunk driving (33%). With a total of 17.55 fatalities per 100,000 people, which rose by 69% from 2014 to 2023, this state ranks as the fifth-highest in our index, with a total score of 48.53.
Wyoming, Texas and Montana ranked sixth, seventh and eighth in our index, respectively, each reporting varying levels of road violations.
Wyoming received an overall score of 47.15, driven by a high fatality rate of 24.66 per 100,000 people. Of these fatalities, 39.60% involved speeding and 25% involved drunk driving.
Texas ranked seventh with a total score of 46.37. The state reported a significant share of speeding-related fatalities (34.60%) and a high rate of drunk‑driving fatalities (40%), while its overall fatality rate stands at 14.07 per 100,000 people.
Montana ranked eighth in our index with a total score of 45.13. The state has a fatality rate of 18.36 per 100,000 people, alongside a high percentage of speeding-related fatalities (37%) and hit‑and‑run fatalities (3.40%).
The lowest ranking states in the USA index are Minnesota, Utah and Alaska, all with fatality rates under 10.00 per 100,000 people.
Minnesota records a fatality rate of 7.13 per 100,000 people, giving it a total index score of 18.57. However, 24% of these fatalities are still due to drunk driving, and 28.40% involved speeding.
Twenty-one per cent of Utah’s road fatalities involved a drunk driver, and 33.20% involved speeding, but its overall fatality rate is 8.19 per 100,000 people. This shows that even in states with lower fatality rates, a high percentage of fatalities are due to the same road violations prevalent in states with higher fatality rates. Even so, due to its lower percentages of fatalities involving hit-and-run drivers (6.10%) and distracted drivers (6.40%), Utah scored a total index score of 20.39 and ranks second-lowest in our index.
The third lowest state in the USA is Alaska, with a fatality rate of 8.18 per 100,000 people. A large percentage of these accidents involved speeding (40%) and drunk driving (25%).
Executive General Manager of General Insurance, Adrian Taylor, says understanding regional road safety risks and laws is key for all drivers.
“Understanding how road safety risks and laws vary from region to region is key to staying safe while behind the wheel. Statistics around road accidents caused by drunk driving or speeding highlight the importance of awareness and preparedness.
“Even in states with higher fatality rates, such as the Northern Territory, knowing and abiding by local road rules and understanding penalties helps drivers reduce risk. Because accidents can happen anywhere, having car insurance can help manage the financial impact if the unexpected occurs. Having cover that reflects your circumstances may provide peace of mind and help ensure an accident doesn’t become a major financial setback.”
This dataset ranks US states and Australian states/territories by where drivers are most linked to dangerous driving and fatal crashes, using six key factors in each market.
For both the US and Australia, each factor was collected and normalised to a score between 0 and 1. Where data was unavailable, a score of 0 was assigned. These scores were then combined to give each state or territory a total score out of 100, which was used to create the final ranking from highest to lowest.
In the US, the factors used were: road fatality rate per 100,000 population, percentage change in road fatalities between 2014 and 2023, percentage of fatal crashes involving a drunk driver, percentage involving speeding, percentage involving a hit-and-run driver, and percentage involving a distracted driver.
In Australia, the factors used were: road fatality rate per 100,000 population, percentage change in road fatalities between 2015 and 2024, percentage of positive random breath tests, speeding fines per 10,000 license holders, mobile phone fines per 10,000 license holders, and unlicensed driving fines per 10,000 license holders.
The factors were weighted as follows for both markets: fatality rate per 100,000 population (30%), percentage change in fatalities (10%), and the remaining four behavioural or enforcement-related factors at 15% each. Across all factors, higher scores indicated worse performance and therefore a higher ranking in the index.
All data is correct as of 18 March 2026. This ranking is based on a compilation of the latest available data from multiple official sources and is intended to provide a comparative view only. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, the index may not fully reflect real-world driving conditions or behaviours in each location.
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