Florida drivers are no longer worst in country, study finds. But we are not far behind.

After snagging the No. 1 spot in 2017, Florida drivers have been dethroned as the worst in the country, according to a new study.

Don’t rejoice too much — Floridians are still among some of the worst in the United States, according to personal-finance company SmartAsset.

The Sunshine State placed eighth on the list of bad drivers. The report also found that Florida still has the lowest rate of insured drivers in the country at 73 percent.

But, hey, it’s still better than being No. 1, at least in this case.

The study ranks the states with four metrics: percent of drivers with insurance, the number of DUIs per driver, the average number of deaths per miles driven, and how often people did web searches about traffic or speeding tickets.

“To go along with the drivers forgoing insurance, Florida has very high fatality rates,” the study says. “Florida comes in right behind Alabama with 1.47 fatalities per 100 million miles driven. Fortunately for Florida residents, that fatality rate has fallen by a third since 1994. That year, Florida had a fatality rate of 2.2 fatalities per 100 million miles driven.”

In total, Florida had nearly 3,200 fatalities in 2016, SmartAsset found.

Fatality rates are falling nationwide, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In 1994, around 40,700 people were killed in auto accidents, compared to 37,500 in 2016.

Meanwhile, the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles has fallen by 32 percent over that same period.

Every state saw a decline in their fatality rates from 1994 to 2016. However, Arizona saw its 2016 fatality rate (per 100 million vehicle miles traveled) surpass the 2015 rate.

Mississippi was listed as the state with the worst drivers and Tennessee came in second.

The south, in general, has some bad drivers. Five of the top 10 states with the worst drivers are in the South.

These states, according to the report, tended to have the highest fatality rates and lowest auto insurance rates.

This story was originally published August 21, 2018 at 2:58 PM.