FARMERSBURG, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV — While much talk is made of the dangers of Interstate travel, it turns out taking the back way might not be as safe as thought, as Indiana ranks in the top 10 for most dangerous rural roadways.
That’s according to a new study performed by injury lawyers Anidjar & Levine, which looked at data gathered between 2012-2021 and determined the number of crashes in each state per billion miles driven on rural roadways.
While North Carolina took the top spot with 70.45 crashes for every billion miles driven, Indiana came in 9th with 55 crashes per billion miles driven on rural roadways.
While that number may seem high, a comparison to the previous decade showed that was a decreased rate of 15.8%.
The study also found that most rural crashes occur on roads with 55 mph speed limits.
Nationally, 55 mph roads see the highest occurrence of crashes, at 26.9%, with five mph and ten mph limited streets seeing the fewest accidents (around 0.1%). This is likely because drivers have much more time to react to potential hazards, and these speed limits are generally found in parking lots, which are usually well-lit.
Study from Anidjar & Levine
Looking nearby to neighboring states, Indiana’s ranking is the worst among them, Kentucky wasn’t far behind coming in at #11 with 51.94 crashes per billion miles driven. #17 Ohio showed 48.34 crashes per billion miles driven, with Michigan (#20) and Illinois (#28) having a safer record than the Hoosier state.
“Over the past decade, Maryland experienced a 75% decrease in rural road accidents, whereas Nevada observed an 82% increase,” the study reads.
Full rankings of states based on number of crashes per billion miles driven
| Rank | State | Rural crashes per billion miles driven | 10-Year change |
| 1. | North Carolina | 70.45 | -11.2% |
| 2. | Connecticut | 68.74 | -39.0% |
| 3. | West Virginia | 67.18 | -33.6% |
| 4. | South Carolina | 63.6 | -6.3% |
| 5. | Mississippi | 60.37 | 38.4% |
| 6. | Alabama | 59.64 | 1.8% |
| 7. | New York | 59.6 | -59.2% |
| 8. | Delaware | 56.24 | -15.1% |
| 9. | Indiana | 55 | -15.8% |
| 10. | Arkansas | 53.28 | -7.4% |
| 11. | Kentucky | 51.94 | -10.2% |
| 12. | California | 50.59 | 13.1% |
| 13. | Florida | 50.58 | -4.3% |
| 14. | Oklahoma | 50.36 | -0.8% |
| 15. | Georgia | 49.21 | 6.0% |
| 16. | Pennsylvania | 48.36 | -25.2% |
| 17. | Ohio | 48.34 | -21.1% |
| 18. | Tennessee | 47.49 | -0.4% |
| 19. | Texas | 47.24 | 6.4% |
| 20. | Michigan | 46.93 | 1.6% |
| 21. | Louisiana | 46.16 | 31.8% |
| 22. | Kansas | 44.31 | -16.2% |
| 23. | Maine | 43.74 | -32.6% |
| 24. | Vermont | 41.1 | 22.1% |
| 25. | Oregon | 40.34 | 62.0% |
| 26. | New Jersey | 40.31 | -14.6% |
| 27. | North Dakota | 39.5 | -50.0% |
| 28. | Illinois | 39.46 | -6.7% |
| 29. | Missouri | 39.43 | 9.9% |
| 30. | Idaho | 39.26 | 31.4% |
| 31. | Montana | 37.86 | -9.2% |
| 32. | Virginia | 37.71 | 9.5% |
| 33. | Wisconsin | 37.29 | 10.2% |
| 34. | Maryland | 36.35 | -75.5% |
| 35. | Washington | 36.34 | 5.9% |
| 36. | Arizona | 36.03 | 1.4% |
| 37. | New Mexico | 34.83 | -2.5% |
| 38. | Nebraska | 34.75 | 0.5% |
| 39. | Colorado | 33.28 | 42.9% |
| 40. | New Hampshire | 33.09 | -8.9% |
| 41. | South Dakota | 31.79 | 0.7% |
| 42. | Minnesota | 30.85 | 0.0% |
| 43. | Iowa | 30.3 | -11.2% |
| 44. | Wyoming | 28.58 | -10.4% |
| 45. | Nevada | 27.97 | 82.0% |
| 46. | Massachusetts | 26.43 | -45.7% |
| 47. | Rhode Island | 26.03 | 40.0% |
| 48. | Utah | 23.38 | 49.6% |
