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Huh? New Study Claims Massachusetts Has The Third-Best Drivers In America

BOSTON (CBS) –Massachusetts, especially the Boston area, has long been the target of jokes about terrible drivers.

But a new study finds that the stereotype may not be true.

The financial tech firm SmartAsset recently compiled a ranking of states with the worst drivers, but surprisingly, Massachusetts was nowhere to be found. In fact, the study suggests that Massachusetts is actually home to the third-best drivers in the country.

"Boston drivers usually have a reputation as bad drivers but the numbers we analyzed don't bear that out," the tech firm said. "We have no data on non-fatal accidents, the fact that they lead the nation in insured rate is a positive sign."

Besides insurance rates, SmartAsset looked at drunk driving statistics, the number of fatal crashes, and how frequently people in different states Googled some version of "speeding ticket" or "traffic ticket."

The state with the worst drivers is Florida, followed by Mississippi, Oklahoma, New Jersey and Delaware, according to the study.

It should be noted that a study from June found that Boston and Worcester had the worst drivers in the country, based on the frequency of collisions.

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