Study Rates Wyoming Second Deadliest State For Winter Driving

A new Consumer Affairs study ranks Wyoming as the second deadliest state for winter driving, trailing only Alaska.

The study offers the following comments about Wyoming:

''Wyoming ranks just behind Alaska for the highest rate of winter driving fatalities, with 2.25 traffic deaths per 100,000 people. Nearly all the deaths involve road surface issues due to weather, including snow or ice.

Rawlins, a city with a population of around 8,500, stands out as Wyoming’s most dangerous for winter driving, with 3.94 fatalities per 100,000 people tied to winter conditions. While Wyoming is often celebrated for its rugged beauty and wide-open spaces, these statistics reveal a harsher reality — visitors may want to think twice before venturing onto the state’s roads during the winter months.''

Methodology

The report used National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA] fatality statistics for the years 2020-2022, focusing on accidents related to poor road conditions and winter weather.

Here are the top five states for winter driving according to the study:

Rank

State

Fatalities involving winter conditions per 100K people

1	Alaska	2.85
2	Wyoming	2.25
3	Montana	1.95
4	South Dakota	1.40
5	North Dakota	0.95

The late fall and early winter period in Wyoming in late 2024 has been unusally mild in the Cowboy State compared to what is typical.

But in a state where severe winter storms can happen well into May, it's probably a safe bet that Wyoming drivers will face the usual winter driving challenges over the next few months.