When it comes to overall driver quality Kansas isn’t great, but also not terrible. In QuoteWizard’s annual best and worst driver study Kansas ranked as the 23rd worst driving state. Right near the middle of the pack. However, compared to its neighboring states, Kansas rated worse than all of its neighbors. With the exception of Nebraska, which ranked 3rd worst (be wary of driving north in the Cornhusker state).
Given it’s average scores, there are a few exceptions in the state. In a separate study on fastest driving cities, Wichita took the top spot as most lead footed city in the county. With Wichita’s fairly good ranking overall, the lead footed tendencies might actually be a result of police not letting anyone off with warnings. Ticket happy cops however don’t tell the full story behind the best and worst drivers in Kansas.
To determine overall driver quality in Kansas, we ranked the 50 largest cities in the state. We analyzed over 65,000 insurance quotes from Kansas drivers using QuoteWizard.com and ranked cities by the highest rate of incidents. Incidents include accidents, speeding tickets, DUIs, and citations.
Worst Driving Cities in Kansas
| Rank (worst) | City |
|---|---|
| 1 | Derby |
| 2 | Gardner |
| 3 | Pratt |
| 4 | Prairie Village |
| 5 | Roeland Park |
| 6 | Mission |
| 7 | Park City |
| 8 | Olathe |
| 9 | Leawood |
| 10 | Garden City |
| 11 | Merriam |
| 12 | Wellington |
| 13 | Valley Center |
| 14 | Lansing |
| 15 | Lawrence |
| 16 | Shawnee |
| 17 | Hutchinson |
| 18 | Newton |
| 19 | Overland Park |
| 20 | Andover |
| 21 | El Dorado |
| 22 | Hays |
| 23 | Manhattan |
| 24 | Lenexa |
| 25 | Topeka |
Derby
Just south of Wichita on highway 15 is Derby, home to Kansas’ worst drivers. Typically cities with a higher rate of incidents reside in high traffic areas. Crowded highways and cross streets bring out the worst of drivers. However, Derby’s high rate of incidents in a fairly low traffic area could point to driver quality among residents. Derby is likely a small contributor to Segwick counties 11.10 road fatalities per 100,000 people in 2017. The 11.10 fatality figure is below the state average of 15.82.
Gardner
Just on the outskirts of the Kansas City metro resides Kansas’ second worst drivers, Gardner. Unlike Derby, Gardner is placed right on busy I-35. It’s right in a sweet spot outside of Olathe where drivers heading to Wichita from Kansas City can really open it up past 80 MPH. Gardner residents commuting on I-35 can likely be the cause for the cities poor driving scores. Johnson county, one of the more populated counties in Kansas is actually among the lowest in road fatality rates. Only 5.58 fatalities per 100,000 people in 2017.
Pratt
While Pratt is in a rural part of Kansas, it is located in the intersection of three highways( 281,400, and 61). Given Pratt’s proximity to the highways there’s plenty of reason to believe the traffic could be the cause of such a high rate of incidents. Although, I wouldn’t put it past Pratt drivers to actually be some of the worst in the state. Pratt county does have a fairly low rate of road fatalities at 10.47 per 100,000 in 2017. A big improvement from 61.95 in 2015.
Best Driving Cities in Kansas
| Rank (Best) | City |
|---|---|
| 1 | Great Bend |
| 2 | Parsons |
| 3 | Fort Scott |
| 4 | Liberal |
| 5 | Independence |
| 6 | Junction City |
| 7 | Augusta |
| 8 | Bonner Springs |
| 9 | Pittsburg |
| 10 | Haysville |
| 11 | Chanute |
| 12 | Emporia |
| 13 | Dodge City |
| 14 | Atchison |
| 15 | Leavenworth |
| 16 | Arkansas City |
| 17 | Kansas City |
| 18 | Coffeyville |
| 19 | Salina |
| 20 | McPherson |
| 21 | Bel Aire |
| 22 | Ottawa |
| 23 | Fort Riley |
| 24 | Wichita |
| 25 | Winfield |
Great Bend
Just north on highway 281 of one of the worst driving cities, Pratt, is Kansas’ best driving city, Great Bend. Great Bend shares similar characteristics as Pratt with a number of highways intersecting in the city. Given it’s similarities to other bad driving cities, you really have to tip your cap to the quality of drivers in Great Bend. For it’s high merits in our incident data, Barton county had a 26.44 road fatality rate in 2017.
Parsons
Tucked away in the south eastern part of the state, is Parsons, Kansas’ second best driving city. Like many of the rural towns in Kansas there’s not much traffic to be seen on the roads. Giving residents plenty of room to move about safely on the roads. Parsons drivers follow through on that with a low rate of road incidents. Labette county did have a road fatality rate of 19.86 in 2017, but was down significantly from 33.68 in 2014.
Fort Scott
A straight shot south on highway 69 from Overland Park will land you in Fort Scott. As the third best driving city in Kansas there’s the same quiet rural road feeling in Fort Scott. Less traffic on the roads and safe drivers makes the perfect combination for a safe driving city. Bourbon county rated among one of the best counties for road fatalities. Bourbon county had a rate of 6.78 fatalities in 2017 and was one of the few to have zero in 2014.
Methodology
The QuoteWizard research team evaluated driver quality from the 50 largest cities in Kansas by population. We analyzed 2018 data of over 65,000 insurance quotes from Kansas drivers using QuoteWizard to find the rate of overall incidents in each city. Incidents include accidents, speeding tickets, DUIs, and citations.
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