It appears that Indiana is one of the best states for drivers. On the surface, Indiana residents should love this news, but that ranking may not be as ironclad as it seems. Most of the time, “best” is in the eye of the beholder and you should always look a little closer at the evidence someone uses that term.
How do you calculate “bestness?”
The number 2 ranking for the best place to drive comes from a review of several data sources. The rankings look at four factors:
- Cost and maintenance Measuring gas prices, car insurance premiums, car maintenance costs and other factors related to how much simply owning a car costs.
- Traffic and infrastructure Measuring rush-hour congestion, road and bridge quality, average commute, weather conditions and other factors of safe driving conditions.
- Safety: Measuring driving laws, driving statistics, data on fatalities and other indicators of human behavior behind the wheel.
- Access to vehicles and maintenance: Measuring the relative number of dealerships, auto repair facilities, parking lots and other facilities dedicated solely to vehicle care and sales.
Each factor comes with a score of 1-100, with “cost and maintenance,” “traffic and infrastructure,” and “safety,” each worth 30% of the final score and the “access to vehicles and maintenance” worth only 10%.
The individual factors paint a different story about Indiana. In fact, Indiana is second for how much it costs to own and maintain a car, but the other factors aren’t quite as sterling. Notably, Indiana is listed as 33rd in terms of safe driving behaviors.
So, Indiana is second best but in the bottom half for safety?
That’s right. This article is a great example of a statistical noise used as evidence. Individually, each weighted statistic might offer a clear picture of a state’s driving skills but taken together for an indication of “best” is misleading.
What’s not misleading is your right to compensation after a car accident. If another driver’s negligence is why you end up in a hospital, you have every right to pursue compensation for your injuries.