According to a report on WalletHub, North Carolina was ranked No. 3 on a list comparing driving conditions among all 50 states.
The article stated the data ranged from average gas prices to rush-hour traffic congestion to road quality, and was listed from best to worst.
When asked which are some of the more efficient measures state authorities can take to improve the quality of roads and bridges, Diane Peters, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Kettering University, said, “One thing we need to do is start designing bridges and roads for better monitoring, we need to be very smart about gathering appropriate data and analyzing it appropriately, to know when they need maintenance.”
South Carolina ranked significantly lower, coming in at No. 31 on the list. Each state was given a score for its cost of ownership and maintenance, traffic and infrastructure, safety and access to vehicles and maintenance.
In the expert question and answer section, John Hourdos, a spokesman for the University of Minnesota, shared his thoughts on how states can reduce the number of traffic fatalities.
“Beyond proper maintenance and an active traffic safety program fixing issues originating from the road infrastructure, minority crash causes overall, the greatest cause for fatalities is a distraction,” said Hourdos. “A driver that is speeding way above the limit but is fully engaged in the task while doing it has less probability of causing a crash than a driver that moves at or below the speed limit but is distracted.
“Reaction time is a critical factor in most crashes,” continued Hourdos. “So far no state has had the will and strength to forbid all uses of cell phones while driving.”
Hourdos continued, saying research has shown that the distraction comes from the active conversation while driving so allowing calls with hands-free devices is a cop-out and offers little benefit.
“We have a lot of laws that are not really enforced or offer meaningless punishment,” said Hourdos. “To me, it is unthinkable that a person caught driving drunk or under the influence can be allowed to operate a vehicle ever again.”
Other surrounding states, such as Virginia and West Virginia, were also lower on the list alongside South Carolina. West Virginia came in at No. 28, while Virginia came in at No. 16 on the list. Also, Georgia slid in at No. 17, just behind Virginia.
Tennessee however came in not far behind North Carolina grabbing fifth place on the list.
North Carolina also came in fifth on the list for lowest maintenance cost. The state was also ranked third for cost of ownership and maintenance, 31st in traffic and infrastructure, 23rd in safety and ninth for vehicles and maintenance.
To read the complete article and to see how other states fared, visit https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-to-drive-in/43012.
JJ Melton can be reached at [email protected]. To support the Laurinburg Exchange, subscribe here: https://laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com/subscribe.
Leave a Reply