Insurance company exam indicates one in 11 drivers would fail state licensing exam.
May 30, 2006; Posted: 12:31 p.m. EDT (1631 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The tiny state of Rhode Island still ranks rock bottom in terms of driving knowledge, according to a national test conducted by GMAC Insurance. Oregon drivers answered the most questions correctly.

The test revealed that about one in 11 licensed drivers in the United States would fail a state drivers test, according to GMAC Insurance.

Rhode Island ranked last year, also, with an average score of 77. Last year, Oregon's average score was 89, which still placed at the top of the rankings that year.

Based on average scores, northwestern states generally ranked highest while the bottom-ranking states were mostly in the northeast. One exception was Vermont, which ranked third. Washington state drivers ranked second. Drivers in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia ranked at the bottom, with D.C. finishing just ahead of Rhode Island.

The 20-question test was based on questions asked in state driver's license examinations. A score of 70 or higher is required to pass a standard state test.

The failure rate for drivers in northeastern states was about 16 percent, according to GMAC Insurance. The failure rate for drivers in northwestern states was from one to seven percent.

The test and an accompanying survey were completed by 5,288 licensed drivers including at least 100 from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The survey asked about responses to specific driving situations.

(Cheat alert: The following paragraph includes some answers to the test.)

Approximately one in three drivers said they usually do not stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. At least one out of five drivers did not know that pedestrians in a crosswalk have the right of way. At least one in five also did not know that roads are most slippery when it first starts to rain after a dry spell.

Story: Test scores are in: Northeast still has dumbest drivers

Average: 83.7 percent

1. Oregon 90.6
2. Washington 88.2
3. Vermont 87.5
4. Idaho 87.3 (Tie)
4. South Dakota 87.3 (Tie)
6. Montana 87.2
7. Nebraska 87.0
8. Kansas 86.8
9. Iowa 86.7
10. Wyoming 86.2
11. Wisconsin 86.1
12. Minnesota 86.0
13. Alaska 85.8
14. California 85.6
15. Indiana 85.2 (Tie)
15. Colorado 85.2 (Tie)
17. Michigan 85.1
18. North Dakota 85.0
19. West Virginia 84.8
20. Utah 84.5
21. Mississippi 84.4
22. Illinois 84.3
23. Tennessee 84.2
24. Texas 84.0 (Tie)
24. Kentucky 84.0 (Tie)
26. New Hampshire 83.9
27. Arkansas 83.8
28. Virginia 83.5
29. Arizona 83.4
30. Georgia 83.2 (Tie)
30. Louisiana 83.2 (Tie)
32. North Carolina 83.1 (Tie)
32. Maine 83.1 (Tie)
34. Ohio 83.0
35. Oklahoma 82.9
36. Alabama 82.8
37. Missouri 82.7 (Tie)
37. Delaware 82.7 (Tie)
39. Nevada 82.6
40. South Carolina 82.3 (Tie)
40. Florida 82.3 (Tie)
42. Pennsylvania 82.1
43. New Mexico 81.5
44. Connecticut 80.9
45. Hawaii 80.7
46. Maryland 79.5
47. New York 79.4
48. New Jersey 78.6 (Tie)
48. Massachusetts 78.6 (Tie)
50. Washington, D.C. 76.5
51. Rhode Island 75.1

Source: GMAC

Thai,

Did you post this because you haven't meet your own quota on the number of postings per day?

I am certifiably a postwhore.

Your state is not too bad by the way...three other states are worst than yours!

Oops...correction, only 2 states scored worst.

Woohoo, Texans are above average!! All that backwood inbreeding really helped!!

Whore is an understatement....hehehe....how many more you got to post before midnight?

By replying, I've helped you out with 1 already and I am certain you will rpely this one so that's two today. You ower me.

Only the strong surivive on the NY and NJ roads! I would like to see some people from the NW try to drive here.

I like to see Thai drive here. We can escort him and help his G cross an intersection.

I think he met his quota tonight so it's another day for him tomorrow.

Those tests are for appearances. The actual test consists of ascertaining whether the applicant has enough money for license and registration fees.

3 out of 5 New England States in the bottom 10 would fail, that's pretty bad. At least New Hampshire wasn't at the bottom. We at least came in 26th just two behind Texas.

Bring it on!!

And, yes, today is a new day for whoring.

I think that score for Illinois is too good.
In Illinois, too many people think a red light means "a couple more cars can go, but that's it." A yellow light is simply an advisory. And those funny yellow and white lines on the road - those are decorative.
Seriously, in the Chicago suburbs we've had a big increase in the number of accidents caused by people running red lights. While some are classic blowing through it without paying attention, many more are now people who won't stop when the light turns red. It's pretty scary!

It'll stop once they start installing red light cameras. They did that here and it supposedly reduced the number of red light related accidents. I never run the yellows at intersections that have cameras. They claim that the camera only activates 0.3 seconds after the red and you have to cross the crosswalk and through the intersection, to "get caught". But I've seen the camera flash on yellow, where I decided to stop and the two next me ran it.

Be careful out there. I rather scratch and dent my truck off-roading than have an idiot hit me. Can't get blame anyone else for self inflicted damage.