Michigan Drivers Finish In The Middle Of The Road

Southfield (WWJ) - Michigan is near the middle of the pack when it comes to driving.

The 2011 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test ranks America's driving IQ in all 50 states. The results: One in five drivers who took the test got a failing score and would not meet the basic requirements to get a driver's license.

And results shows that women fared worse than men with the average male scoring an 80.2, and the average female scored a 74.

As for the state of Michigan, it ranked 20th this year with a score of 78.3. That's down from 15th last year.

Kansas set the pace with the highest state average, 82.9 percent, while Washington, D.C., was the lowest, 71.8 percent.

The results showed that the five top driving mistakes that cause crashes are: multi-tasking while driving, following too closely, failure to yield on a left-hand turn, incorrect merging, and backing up.

The results also showed that the Northeast is the worst driving region with average scoring at 74.9 percent. The Midwest, on the other hand, is the best driving region with average scoring at 77.5 percent.

Also oldest drivers tested, ages 60-65, continued to have the highest average test scores at 80.3 percent.

The 2011 test gauged driver knowledge by administering 20 questions taken from state Department of Motor Vehicles exams.