It’s Official! Louisiana Roads Are Third Worst in Entire Country

It has come as much a shock to me as I'm sure it will to you! Apparently, we have been wrong for years!

Louisiana Roads Are Not The Worst

Louisiana does NOT have the worst roads in the whole country. Shocker isn't it? No, that honor actually belongs to Hawaii. Who would have ever guessed that?

Believe It Or Not, Our Roads Aren't Even The Second Worst

Actually we don't even have the second worst roads in America as that title is hanging somewhere in the Governor's office in the state of Rhode Island.

It's not until you get to third place (a blasted bronze) that Louisiana finally rears its head. So, yes, we've been wrong, but not by much.

We drive everyday on the third worst roads in the entire country and for some reason, we haven't demanded better from our State Legislators who are in a position to do something about it.

Who Declared Our Roads The Third Worst In America?

Consumeraffairs.com actually shouldered the task of analyzing data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Federal Highway Administration and some of their own proprietary data to rank the best and worst road conditions for travel by state, according to the following criteria: Federal Highway Administration road quality, motor crash fatalities, amount spent per mile of road and vehicle miles traveled.

Their findings led them to some startling realizations that you'll find in the release of their study:

About a quarter of the Bayou State’s roads are considered to be in poor condition, based on pavement roughness. Louisiana received a D-plus on the ASCE’s most recent Infrastructure Report Card, and drivers in the state spend an average of $658 per year on costs related to bad road conditions.

Louisiana has 61,300 miles of public roads, and 46% of its major roadways are in poor or mediocre condition, according to government data analyzed by TRIP. The state also sees more road fatalities per year (1.42 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel) than the U.S. average by state (1.11 per 100 million miles).

Did you catch the three findings that most every driver of the Bayou State should find completely unacceptable?

1. Drivers spend over $600 per year on costs relating to bad roads
2. Nearly half of all Louisiana's major roadways are in poor or mediocre condition
3. Louisiana sees many more road fatalities each year than the U.S. average

If you find yourself reading this while you are waiting for the mechanics to finish your front end alignment on your vehicle, I'm hoping that you'll remember what you've read when it comes time to cast your next vote.  We cannot continue accepting these road conditions and expect to see positive changes anywhere in the near future.