AL ranks among safest states for commuters & TN ranks among most dangerous, study says

ALABAMA (WHNT) — A personal injury law firm conducted a study to analyze where commuting puts people at the greatest risk. Alabama ranked as one of the safest states and Tennessee ranked as one of the most dangerous states, data shows.

Hasbrook & Hasbrook Personal Injury Lawyers said the company analyzed commuting data across the U.S. to create its list. “The research compared states across key characteristics, including the total number of crashes for a 5-year period, average commute time, and the number of people who use public transport. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics was used for the final ranking, which calculated crashes per 10K commuters,” the company said.

Below are the top 10 most dangerous states for commuters, according to the data:

Based on the data, Tennessee ranks #4 as the most dangerous for commuters, averaging a number of 4.4 crashes per 10K commuters, 2.5 times less often than in Illinois. The state has one of the longest commute times at 25 minutes, showing why only 0.6% of the people in Tennessee travel by public transport.

This differs from Alabama, as it is ranked #41 in the U.S., according to the personal injury lawyer’s report.

The data shows that Alabama has roughly 0.0 crashes per 10K commuters, as the data only shows a total of 6,623 commuters. It also shows that 0.3% of Alabama commuters use public transit.

However, when looking at the NHTSA website regarding deadly motor vehicle crashes in 2023, Alabama had a total of 893 and Tennessee had a total of 1,219. The top 10 most dangerous states for commuters, based on this data, rank a little differently for deadly crashes.

Clayton Hasbrook from Hasbrook & Hasbrook Personal Injury Lawyers commented on the study, saying, “The accident statistics show a concerning pattern where states heavily reliant on personal vehicles face significantly higher commuter risk profiles. The connection between car dependency, extended travel times, and elevated crash incidents highlights a critical infrastructure challenge facing American communities.”

You can view the full report on the company’s website here.