3 On Your Side: Best/Worst States For Drivers
By Jim Donovan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Let's face it, driving isn't cheap and in some states it's more costly than others in terms of both time and money. A new survey ranks the states with the most favorable and least favorable financial conditions for drivers. 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan took a look at the numbers.
Drivers with traffic-plagued commutes in and around big cities, tend to spend more money overall behind the wheel. That's according to new rankings by Bankrate, which analyzed each state's numbers for: average commute time, gas spending, repair costs, insurance premiums, fatal crashes, and car thefts.
In our region New Jersey and Delaware made the list of worst states for drivers.
New Jersey ranked #5 and is particularly bad in 3 categories: having the 2nd-longest average commute, the 2nd-highest repair costs and the 2nd-highest insurance premiums in the nation.
Delaware ranked #6 and wasn't much better. Repair costs in Delaware are the highest in the country, and high insurance premiums don't help either.
Pennsylvania ranked in the middle at #24. Drivers in Pennsylvania benefit from a low theft rate and below-average gas expenses.
To curb some costs, Bankrate's Chris Kahn recommends drivers target things within their control. He says, "The easiest thing to do is to call your insurance carrier and find out what you can do to lower your premium. It might be as easy as raising your deductible, but in other cases, you can lower your premium by just parking your car inside your house if you have a garage instead of putting it out on the street. There's some really simple things that you can do."
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