Kentucky — the Bluegrass State, with miles of pastures and country roads — is known for horse racing, bourbon, fried chicken, bluegrass music and tobacco. But how are Kentucky’s drivers? In our 2018 best and worst driving state study, Kentucky ranked 10th best.
With Kentucky’s new voluntary travel ID, drivers can now own a shiny new ID card. Kentuckians can show it off and use it to fly domestically and enter federal buildings. Hopefully, residents will not have to show it to a policeman for breaking driving laws anytime soon. Speaking of driving laws, how do Kentucky citizens’ driving capabilities stack up compared to each other?
QuoteWizard decided to see where Kentucky’s best and worst drivers live. To determine overall driver quality in Kentucky, we studied drivers from the state’s 50 largest cities. We analyzed over 43,000 insurance quotes from Kentucky drivers who used QuoteWizard.com to compare quotes and ranked cities by the highest rate of incidents. Incidents include accidents, speeding tickets, DUIs and citations.
Worst driving cities in Kentucky
| Rank (worst) | City |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fort Campbell North |
| 2 | Fort Thomas |
| 3 | Lyndon |
| 4 | La Grange |
| 5 | Jeffersontown |
| 6 | Francisville |
| 7 | Burlington |
| 8 | Alexandria |
| 9 | Frankfort |
| 10 | Danville |
| 11 | St. Matthews |
| 12 | Henderson |
| 13 | Bardstown |
| 14 | Shively |
| 15 | Lawrenceburg |
| 16 | Madisonville |
| 17 | Oakbrook |
| 18 | Fort Knox |
| 19 | Florence |
| 20 | Bowling Green |
| 21 | Paducah |
| 22 | Nicholasville |
| 23 | Owensboro |
| 24 | Lexington |
| 25 | Newport |
Fort Campbell North
Sitting on the Kentucky and Tennessee border with Campbell Army Airfield nearby, Fort Campbell North is the worst driving city in Kentucky. In Christian County, there were 15.62 fatalities per 100,000, which is actually relatively low compared to the rest of the state. Could it be that the military traffic causes more driving incidents than the rest of the state?
La Grange
Founded in 1827 and named after the French American Revolutionary war hero, Gilbert du Motier, La Grange comes in at number two for the worst drivers in the state. Oldham County had 7.53 fatalities per 100,000 people in 2017, which again is quite low when compared to the rest of the counties in Kentucky.
Francisville
Located in Boone County, Francisville comes in at number 3 for the worst drivers. Boone County had 14.53 fatalities per 100,000 people according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. With the robust residential and commercial growth, maybe Francisville’s road infrastructure hasn’t been able to handle its capacity of road traffic, leading it to its poor ranking?
Best driving cities in Kentucky
| Rank (Best) | City |
|---|---|
| 1 | Hopkinsville |
| 2 | Winchester |
| 3 | Middlesborough |
| 4 | Franklin |
| 5 | Somerset |
| 6 | Paris |
| 7 | Covington |
| 8 | Berea |
| 9 | Richmond |
| 10 | Shelbyville |
| 11 | Hillview |
| 12 | Glasgow |
| 13 | Erlanger |
| 14 | Elizabethtown |
| 15 | Georgetown |
| 16 | Ashland |
| 17 | Radcliff |
| 18 | Shepherdsville |
| 19 | Louisville |
| 20 | Campbellsville |
| 21 | Mayfield |
| 22 | Mount Washington |
| 23 | Murray |
| 24 | Independence |
| 25 | Versailles |
Hopkinsville
Coming in at number one for the best drivers in the state, Hopkinsville deserves praise. Hopkinsville is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Christian County, which had 15.62 fatalities per 100,000 people. Hopkinsville is intersected by US 41, US 41A, US 68, US 68 Bypass and Interstate 169, all of which circle the city.
Winchester
Seated in the center of Clark County, Winchester has the second-best drivers in the state. Clark County had 22.9 fatalities per 100,000 people, relatively high for how well it is ranked. Being a part of the Lexington-Fayette metropolitan area, Winchester has Route 1958 looping the city and Route 627, which leads toward Richmond, Ky. Right through the downtown center, U.S. Route 60 makes itself prominent within its city limits and beyond.
Middlesborough
Coming in at number three for the best drivers, Middlesborough has the highest population in Southeastern Kentucky. They claim to be the only city in the country built inside a meteorite crater, as well as the home of the oldest played golf course in the country. The city is located in Bell County which had a staggering 40.90 fatalities per 100,000 people in 2017, but still ranks lower for all other incidents.
Methodology
The QuoteWizard research team evaluated driver quality from the 50 largest cities in Kentucky by population. We analyzed 2018 data of over 43,000 insurance quotes from Kentucky drivers using QuoteWizard to find the rate of overall incidents in each city. Incidents include accidents, speeding tickets, DUIs and citations.
References:
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