COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina drivers have plenty of company at the bottom of a new national ranking of driving records, landing in a tie for third-worst and second for speeding.
The study from LendingTree counted 45.9 driving incidents for every 1,000 South Carolina drivers through August, matching Massachusetts. New Jersey posted the worst rate in the nation at 56.9, with North Carolina second at 48.1. Incidents include crashes, DUIs, speeding and other citations.
Speeding stood out. South Carolina logged 3.2 speeding incidents per 1,000 drivers, behind only North Dakota at 3.7. Its crash rate of 25.2 per 1,000 ranked fifth, and it tied Ohio for 18th on DUIs at 1.1 per 1,000. Michigan had the cleanest records in the country at 22.1 incidents per 1,000 drivers.
The rankings are not built from police reports. They draw on tens of millions of car insurance quote requests submitted from January through August 2026, sorted by each driver’s home state, so they reflect what drivers disclosed when shopping for coverage.
State highway data tell a somewhat brighter story. Preliminary South Carolina Department of Public Safety figures show 756 people killed on the state’s roads from Jan. 1 through Nov. 8, compared with 805 during the same stretch last year.
Neighbors did not escape notice either. Georgia shared sixth place on the speeding list, while North Carolina had the third-highest crash rate.
From the HERE City State Desk
Section: More Clemson SC crime news
Filed under: Clemson SC Traffic News
