Memphis repeats as city with worst drivers in the U.S. though another Tennessee city is competing for the top spot

Date:2025-08-20 18:26:25 Category:US Views:1 Comment:0

Memphis ranked as the city with the worst drivers for the third consecutive year, but another Tennessee city came in second.

ConsumerAffairs, a customer review and news service that collects and analyzes data to assess various aspects of American life, ranked Memphis as the worst city for the third consecutive year. The organization analyzes crash data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. This ranking uses the most recent data available for 2024.

According to the report, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that in 2024, 39,345 people died in traffic crashes in the U.S. This figure marks the first time since 2020 that the number of fatal traffic crashes was below 40,000.

Here's which city in Tennessee has joined Memphis at the top of the list of worst drivers in America.

Does Tennessee have good drivers?

While Tennessee is not the worst state for drivers, it is certainly not the best. Of the six Volunteer State cities included in the ranking, only two saw improvements in their ranking in 2025.

Memphis ranked No. 1 as the city with the worst drivers, the same rank it had in 2024. It had 17.96 crashes related to bad driving, 38.79 total fatalities, 2.23 fatalities involving DUI, 8.58 fatalities involving speeding and 9.22 fatalities involving positive blood alcohol content per 100,000 people. The only categories to decrease from 2024 to 2025 were the number of fatalities involving DUIs and positive blood alcohol content.
Knoxville ranked second, up from No. 25 in 2024. The city had 13.94 crashes related to bad driving, 31.49 total fatalities, 3.61 fatalities involving DUI, 9.29 fatalities involving speeding and 4.65 fatalities involving positive blood alcohol content per 100,000 people.
Chattanooga placed 16th, up from No. 34 in 2024. It had 9.30 crashes related to bad driving, 20.24 total fatalities, 2.73 fatalities involving DUI, 5.47 fatalities involving speeding and 4.92 fatalities involving positive blood alcohol content per 100,000 people.
Clarksville ranked 29th, up from No. 93 in 2024. It had 8.14 crashes related to bad driving, 18.03 total fatalities, 1.16 fatalities involving DUI, 6.40 fatalities involving speeding and 4.07 fatalities involving positive blood alcohol content per 100,000 people.
Nashville ranked 55th, an small improvement from No. 53 in 2024. It had 6.0 crashes related to bad driving, 16.4 total fatalities, 2.8 fatalities involving DUI, 3.4 fatalities involving speeding and 6.0 fatalities involving positive blood alcohol content per 100,000 people.
Murfreesboro was the safest city in Tennessee, ranking No. 191 with a crash score of 16.9. It had 2.6 crashes related to bad driving, 7.2 total fatalities, 2.0 fatalities involving DUI, 1.3 fatalities involving speeding and 3.9 fatalities involving positive blood alcohol content per 100,000 people. In 2024, Murfreesboro ranked 185th.

Cities with the worst drivers in 2025

Memphis has been ranked as the city with the worst drivers for the third consecutive year. Memphis had the most crash fatalities and fatalities involving a driver with a positive blood alcohol content in the country.

Memphis, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Waterbury, Connecticut
Aurora, Colorado
Tucson, Arizona
Kansas City, Missouri
San Bernardino, California
Billings, Montana
Miami Gardens, Florida
Charleston, South Carolina

Cities with the best drivers in 2025

Frisco, Texas, was the city with the best drivers in 2025. The city had zero crashes related to bad driving, fatalities involving DUI, fatalities involving speeding, or fatalities involving a positive blood alcohol content. The total fatalities per 100,000 people was 0.48.