The problem with this study is that the true bottom of the barell drivers did not take this test. Its not surprising that states with smaller populations scored higher and states with higher populations scored lower. Maryland remains one of a dwindling number of states that do not requrie traffic school for people who get traffic tickets.

I'd love to see a breakdown by geography within Maryland on this. I live in Baltimore and frequently drive in the Washington suburbs. Montgomery County drivers are the worst on the east coast between Boston and Miami. I'm sure the insurance statisticians would disagree, but I feel a lot safer in Baltimore than I do around Washington.
How's that for fueling the Baltimore-Montgomery feud?

Just because a driver has knowledge does not always translate knowing how to drive PROPERLY. If this is the case why do drivers . . .

Ignore the drive right, pass left rule or simply to refuse to move right allowing the faster traffic to pass properly on the left while the right driving lane is wide open or empty;

Make improper or wide turns to the lane farthest from the turn instead of making PROPER turns to the lane closest to the turn;

Can’t merge properly w/o butting their way on, forcing right lane traffic to hit the brakes or dodge into the left lane into the path of passing traffic instead of PROPERLY yielding and merging at highway speed;

Speed like reckless and homicidal maniacs both beltways and U.S 50; and drive WITHOUT headlights on in rain, snow and fog.

These drivers should NOT even be on the road in the first place and should be targets for the state police and highway patrol to immediately pull over and ticket.

to answer a couple of Mark's questions: it's an ancient tradition in Maryland (possibly predating European settlement) that the slowest traffic travels in the far-left lanes. I expect that the local tribes used to have problems with that back in the 1200s or thereabouts, with elderly squaws holding up hunting parties by shuffling slowly along the trails, constantly indicating a turn to the left that they never actually made. As for the wide swings on turns, that's another Maryland tradition, but I suspect a more recent one. I expect it's related to the standard U-turn style of 'far-right lane to far-right lane', which takes the turner across all the traffic lanes at slow speed; sometimes with a modification into a 3-point turn on the fly. The wild-eyed "close your eyes and merge" technique is simply a reflection of the fact that hardly anyone politely allows mergers in any more, and when high-speed traffic is continuous in the right lane for miles (thanks to the leisurely grannies in the left lane), mergers can either wait for a break in the traffic that may not appear for 10 minutes or more, or they take their life in their hands and help people do the decent thing by lurching out in front of them.
Reckless driving is just the norm now. Nobody wants to move into a mile-long empty space behind a car when they can instead cram into the 2 feet of room between that car and the one in front of it. It's both more of a challenge and proof of their greater status and manliness.
In all seriousness, I think that this is why teenager accident rates are still so high - I think teenagers are probably driving better than they used to, but they haven't got the training and experience to prepare them enough for the unbelievable insanity they'll face on the roads these days.

Interesting. Now if Maryland drivers can be less rude that would be great!