New Jerseyans Say New York Drivers Are the Worst – But Rank Themselves Not Far Behind

Pennsylvania and Florida motorists round out the top four, according to a Rutgers-Eagleton Poll

New Jerseyans eyeroll the driving abilities of New Yorkers, but consider themselves pretty bad too, according to the latest Rutgers-Eagleton Poll.

One-third of New Jersey voters say New York has the worst drivers (33%). Slightly more than 1 in 5, however, say that New Jersey drivers are the worst (22%), followed by Pennsylvania (14%), Florida (10%), Massachusetts (5%), California (4%), and Connecticut (2%).

"If you're a native New Jerseyan, it's largely understood that only we can make fun of our state and we'll defend our homeland to any outside bullies," said Jessica Roman, director of data management and analysis at the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling (ECPIP) at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. "A bit of self-loathing in the data is on brand for New Jersey residents. That said, the top three being New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania is not surprising when you consider who New Jerseyans typically encounter most on the road."

Voters put New York as having the No. 1 worst drivers, regardless of partisanship, gender, race and ethnicity, age, and income.

Among those with some college education or less, New York (30%) and New Jersey (29%) drivers are essentially tied for the worst. These voters are also about twice as likely to say New Jersey drivers are the worst compared with those with a bachelor's degree or additional schooling (15%).

Looking beyond the No. 1 spot, Republicans (29%) and independents (23%) are more likely than Democrats (14%) to say New Jersey drivers are the worst. Democrats, on the other hand, are more likely than Republicans to say Floridians are the worst drivers (17% versus 3%, respectively).

Results are from a statewide poll of 795 voters contacted via live calling and texting from Oct. 3 to Oct. 17. This registered voter sample has a margin of error of +/- 4.6 percentage points.