South Dakota Is One of the Best Places for Drivers in America

Getting behind the wheel can be an adventure no matter where you drive, but in South Dakota, we've got it a lot better off than most other places in America.

A new WalletHub study shows that the Mount Rushmore State is one of the top ten best places to take to the road in the country - number-nine overall.

All 50 states were rated in 31 different categories which were broken down into four main areas:

Traffic and Infrastructure
Cost of Ownership and Maintenance
Safety
Access to Vehicles and Maintenance

South Dakota excelled in the first two and lagged in the bottom half of the last two.

The state trailed only Montana in the Traffic and Infrastructure category and actually tied for the lowest percentage of rush hour traffic in the nation, along with Montana, Alaska, Vermont, and Wyoming - well below the national average of 99 hours a year spent in traffic.

South Dakota managed another top ten ranking in the Cost of Ownership and Maintenance category, checking in ninth. That score was boosted by the third-lowest auto maintenance costs in America.

In the area of Access to Vehicles and Maintenance, the state slipped quite a bit, falling to 37th overall.

But South Dakota's worst showing came in Safety, where only two states, Missouri and Montana, fared worse.

This ranking is a combination of things like seat belt usage, accident, drunk driving, fatality rates, car thefts, and the percentage of uninsured drivers.

BEST STATES FOR DRIVING (WalletHub)