Study finds more traffic fatalities in red than blue states

Drivers in Republican-leaning states are more likely to die in traffic accidents, according to a study published on Tuesday.

The website FairWarning.org examined traffic fatality statistics and found that the top 10 states with the most deaths per 100,000 residents were states that voted Republican in the most recent presidential race.

The highest traffic fatality rate was Wyoming, with 27.46 people per 100,000 killed in accidents in 2010, which GOP nominee Mitt Romney carried in the 2012 election by 41 percent. By contrast, the lowest 2010 state traffic fatality rate was Massachusetts, which had 4.79 deaths per 100,000 residents and was carried by President Obama in 2012 by 23 percent. 

Wyoming was followed in the top traffic fatality ranking by Mississippi, Arkansas, Montana, Alabama, Oklahoma, Kentucky, South Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia. The highest ranking state that was carried by Obama was New Mexico, which had 16.75 traffic deaths per 100,000 people.

The overall national rate for traffic fatalities in 2010 was 10.63 per 100,000 residents.

The full study can be read here.

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