Utah Ranked Safest State For Delivery Drivers In Multi-state Study

If you spend enough time on Utah roads, you might occasionally wonder how the state could possibly be considered a safe place for anyone who spends all day behind the wheel.

There are the people driving 10 miles under the speed limit in the left lane. There are the people driving 10 miles over it in every lane. There are construction zones, wildlife, snowstorms, tourists who have never seen a roundabout and, of course, the occasional Utah driver who apparently believes a turn signal is an optional accessory.

person holding iphone 6 inside car

But according to a new study from AutoDS, Utah is actually the safest state in the country for delivery drivers.

Safest In Study, But Not All States Included

There is, however, an important asterisk attached to that statement. AutoDS did not study all 50 states. Its analysis covered 29 states, meaning Utah ranked as the safest among those states included in the study — not necessarily the safest in the entire United States.

AutoDS looked at four factors that can affect the safety and working conditions of delivery drivers: road fatalities, dog attacks, vehicle theft and average commute times. Road fatalities carried the greatest weight at 40% of the overall score, while dog attacks and vehicle theft each accounted for 22.5%. Average commute time made up the remaining 15%.

brown cardboard boxes on brown cardboard box

In other words, this wasn't simply a test of which state has the best drivers. The study tried to account for several hazards that come with the territory when your office is a vehicle and your job involves repeatedly getting out of it and walking up to somebody else's front door.

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Utah's showing is particularly interesting when compared with some of its neighbors. Colorado ranked third among the most dangerous states in the study, while Nevada came in sixth and Arizona seventh. New Mexico ranked ninth-most dangerous. That's a fairly wide safety gap across the Four Corners and neighboring states.

At the opposite end of the rankings was Mississippi, which earned the dubious distinction of being the most dangerous state among those analyzed. Missouri ranked second-most dangerous, followed by Colorado.

brown cardboard boxes on black plastic crate

Of course, none of this means Utah delivery drivers should stop watching the road or assume every dog in the neighborhood has suddenly become their friend. Utah's own highway safety officials continue to point out that rural roads can carry disproportionately high risks, and the state still has plenty of work to do to reduce traffic fatalities.

Still, the next time a delivery driver pulls up to your house, perhaps offer a little appreciation. According to AutoDS, at least they're doing their job in the safest state of the 29 that were studied.

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And if your package is late, don't blame the driver. There may have been a roundabout involved.