Best & Worst Drivers For 2025: Where Does North Dakota Rank?

How bad are the drivers in North Dakota really?

This morning on the Bismarck Expressway between the South Washington intersection and the bridge entering Mandan, I watched some yahoo come racing up on us going somewhere between 90 and 100 miles per hour. It was a dangerous situation for me because I was thinking about passing another vehicle in front of me, going just under the speed limit of 55. Thankfully, I checked my mirrors twice because I swear he came out of nowhere going that fast.

This area we affectionately call the "Autobahn of Bismarck" because speed limits don't matter, and people regularly go as fast as they want as they head to the Mandan side of the Missouri River. I've written about this stretch of highway numerous times.

(SEE ALSO: Speed Limits are optional on this stretch of road in Bismarck)

Then we have the drivers in Bismarck-Mandan who think using your blinker is optional when turning. I would estimate that this is at least 75% of North Dakota drivers. That might be a kind estimate, too. More of my all-time favorites include when it comes to lousy North Dakota drivers, people who drive 15 to 20 miles UNDER the speed limit (even during perfect driving conditions-and they're usually in the left lane), and those who are completely clueless on the rules of the road when you come to an uncontrolled intersection (open intersection).

Yep, North Dakota in general and much of the Capital Region really needs to go back and enroll in driver's education.

New data for 2025 supports my claim that North Dakota has some lousy drivers. How lousy? Well, fasten your seat belts, let's take a look at what the numbers say. This data comes from LendingTree, analyzing where driving risks are the greatest across the country. Factoring in speeding, accidents, citations, and DUIs to pinpoint which states are failing at safe driving.

Before we get to the 5 worst, let's take a peek at the 5 BEST states for drivers:

1. Michigan

2. Florida

3. Colorado

4. Connecticut

5. Illinois

And now, the moment you have all been waiting for, the 5 WORST states for drivers:

1. North Dakota

2. New Jersey

3. Utah

4. Rhode Island

5. Washington

I knew it! We are the worst state in the country for drivers in 2025. How bad is it? In 2025 through September, North Dakota drivers had 64.0 incidents (including accidents, DUIs, speeding, and citations) per 1,000 drivers. The next worst is New Jersey, and they trail by a considerable margin (58.8).

Again, we need to do better in our state. The weather conditions alone make driving more difficult than in most states; when you factor in all the careless behavior, it's a recipe for disaster. Time to make a change.