Outlandish Reasons Why Montana is 4th Most Dangerous State to Drive

According to research conducted by the personal injury law firm We Win, Montana ranks near the top on the list of states most dangerous to drive in. They analyzed data regarding vehicle deaths per 100,000 people and per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. The numbers indicate Mississippi, South Carolina, and Arkansas are the top three deadliest to drive in, followed by Montana at #4.

The real reasons.

The study didn't delve deep into the "why's" when it comes to deadliest driving states, but educated guesses as to why Montana ranked so high on the list is our dramatically high rate of driving under the influence (#1 per capita in 2019), combined with the number of miles we have to drive to get somewhere. It's a big state, so we drive a lot. Apparently while drinking.

While there is nothing funny about fatal accidents, we came up with a few outrageous reasons why it might be so dangerous to drive in Montana.

You die of boredom.

Some sections of highway in Montana are pretty barren. You may drive for miles without encountering another vehicle or seeing a house or outbuilding along the road.

You're attacked by a herd of angry elk.

Amazingly elusive during hunting season, these gangs of marauding elk get bored in the summer. And you know what they say, "idle hands hoofs are the devil's workshop."

Get our free mobile app

Death by a frozen windshield.

Six months out of the year we deal with frost or snow-covered windshields. Lazy drivers who are in a hurry will do a lousy job of scraping, leaving just a peek hole to see out of. Risky, my friend. Risky.

Death by pothole.

You'll probably survive an encounter with a pothole in town, but hit one of our massive craters on the highway at 80 mph and you could die from loss of control.

Death by bugs.

This seasonal problem can occur at any mile marker while cruising the highways and byways of Montana in the summer. Once, I drove through a swarm of bees somewhere near Big Timber. I actually had to pull into a gas station to get the sticky combo of honey and bug guts off my windshield.

Death by tumbleweeds.

These sneaky bastards are typically harmless in their solitary state. You can easily plow through one or two of them with your car with little-to-no damage. But sometimes they get together in large groups, lying quietly by the highway, patiently waiting for the next 50 MPH wind to blow through the Treasure State. Then... the tumbleweeds attack. Blocking your view and surrounding your car like a herd of spindly weed ghosts. Good luck getting out of that situation alive.

You can find more (real) Montana crash data at the Montana Department of Transportation website.