Massachusetts Outpaces New Jersey and Other US States in Becoming Safest for Male Drivers for Perfect Holiday Road Trip

Written By: Tuhin Sarkar

Tuhin Sarkar

Tuhin Sarkar is a Senior Journalist at Travel and Tour World with more than 10 years of experience in travel and tourism journalism. A post-graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication from Jadavpur University, he combines strong research, industry knowledge and storytelling expertise to produce engaging, insightful and impactful travel news and fascinating feature stories.

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September 11, 2026 22:09 GMT+5:30

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Massachusetts outpaces New Jersey and other US states as the safest place for male drivers, making it a striking choice for a holiday road trip despite a persistent gender gap in crash deaths. Massachusetts is outpacing New Jersey and other US states in a new road-safety ranking, emerging as the safest state for male drivers.

For travellers planning a holiday road trip, the result may reshape how they view driving destinations across America. Massachusetts recorded the nation’s lowest Gender Crash Risk Index score at 15.8. Meanwhile, New Jersey ranked second at 18.0, followed by Minnesota at 18.4. However, the headline result comes with an important warning. Even in Massachusetts, male drivers face greater fatality risk than women nationally. Therefore, safer roads can reduce danger, but they cannot remove the risks linked to speed, alcohol and age.

A new analysis of five years of federal crash data has identified the safest US states for male drivers, with Massachusetts taking the top position. But the findings reveal a more complicated picture: even where roads perform best, men remain substantially more likely than women to die in crashes.

The study by Levine & Wiss analysed road safety data from all 50 states, drawing on records from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The research covers the period from 2020 through 2024 and considers several dimensions of road risk, including fatality rates, crash involvement, driver behaviour, vehicle type and the difference between male and female driver deaths.

Massachusetts recorded a Gender Crash Risk Index score of 15.8, the lowest among the states examined. Wyoming, at the other end of the ranking, scored 95.5. The enormous difference highlights how dramatically road-death risk can vary according to where motorists drive.

Yet the research also delivers an important warning for travellers, motorists and policymakers: being in one of America’s safest states does not remove the underlying risks associated with male driving.

Massachusetts Leads America’s Safest States for Male Drivers

Massachusetts stands clearly at the top of the ranking, followed by New Jersey and Minnesota.

The ten highest-ranked states all recorded Gender Crash Risk Index scores below 27, creating a relatively tight group compared with the much higher scores recorded among the riskiest states.

The ranking is:

Massachusetts’ position is particularly notable because its male driver fatality rate was 2.59 deaths per 100,000 residents. That is less than half the national male rate of 5.73 recorded in 2024.

New York also performs strongly, ranking fifth with a male driver fatality rate of 2.53 per 100,000. Rhode Island has the lowest male fatality rate among the ten safest states at 1.80, although its overall index ranking is seventh.

At the other end of the national scale, Wyoming’s 95.5 index score illustrates how much wider the risk can become outside the safest group.

America’s Gender Gap in Road Deaths Remains Stark

The most important finding is not simply which states occupy the top ten. It is the persistent difference between male and female road deaths.

Across the United States, the male driver fatality rate reached 5.73 per 100,000 in 2024, compared with 1.51 for women.

That means the national male rate was almost four times the female rate.

The difference is also visible in the composition of road deaths. Men accounted for 72% of passenger vehicle driver deaths in 2024 and 66% of passenger vehicle occupant deaths.

Massachusetts therefore offers a useful illustration of the distinction between relative safety and elimination of risk. Its roads produce considerably lower male fatality rates than the national average, but its male driver fatality rate still exceeds the national female rate.

In practical terms, location can reduce the likelihood of a fatal outcome, but it does not eliminate the behavioural and demographic factors that contribute to the gender disparity.

Why the Safest States Have Not Eliminated Male Driver Risk

Road safety is influenced by far more than the quality of a state’s roads.

Driver behaviour, speed, alcohol consumption, vehicle characteristics, age, road environment and travel patterns can all affect the likelihood that a crash becomes fatal.

The study’s findings on alcohol are particularly significant. Alcohol was involved in 34% of fatally injured male drivers, compared with 24% of women.

The difference becomes more pronounced at weekends, when alcohol was associated with 43% of fatally injured male drivers.

That pattern matters for tourism and leisure travel because weekends and holidays often involve longer journeys, social activities and increased road traffic. Visitors renting cars or driving between destinations therefore face many of the same risks as local motorists.

Speed is another major factor, particularly among younger male drivers.

Among male drivers aged 15 to 20 involved in fatal crashes, 39% were speeding at the time of the crash. The proportion was 34% among male drivers aged 21 to 24.

These figures reinforce a longstanding road-safety concern: younger drivers, particularly young men, remain one of the groups most exposed to severe crash outcomes.

Vehicle Choice Can Change the Consequences of a Crash

The analysis also highlights the role of vehicle type.

Pickup trucks, SUVs and passenger cars do not produce identical crash outcomes. Rollovers, in particular, account for a significant proportion of occupant deaths involving larger vehicles.

Rollovers were involved in 38% of pickup occupant deaths, compared with 33% for SUVs and 20% for cars.

The location of those crashes adds another layer to the risk.

Approximately 66% of pickup occupant deaths occurred on rural roads, while 54% involved only one vehicle. That pattern suggests that loss of vehicle control, rather than a collision between multiple vehicles, is an important component of the danger associated with some pickup crashes.

For travellers, this is particularly relevant when journeys extend beyond metropolitan areas.

A holiday road trip may move from a dense urban environment to rural highways, mountain roads or less-developed routes within the same state. The overall safety ranking of a state therefore cannot tell a motorist how dangerous a specific road, vehicle or journey will be.

Large Trucks Show an Even More Pronounced Male Risk

The gender disparity becomes exceptionally large when large commercial trucks are considered.

Men accounted for 96.2% of large truck driver deaths in 2024, representing 750 of the 780 deaths recorded nationwide.

That figure demonstrates that the gender difference is not uniform across every type of road user or vehicle. Occupational exposure, vehicle size, driving patterns and the characteristics of heavy-vehicle travel can all influence the statistics.

For the wider travel industry, the finding is relevant because road transportation remains an important part of the visitor economy. Tourists may encounter large trucks on interstate highways, rural routes and major freight corridors while travelling between airports, hotels, attractions and destinations.

Age Remains One of the Biggest Risk Factors

The safest state rankings also cannot obscure the powerful influence of age.

In 2024, male occupants aged 16 to 19 died at a rate of 19.6 per 100,000, compared with 7.3 for females in the same age group.

Among people aged 20 to 24, men recorded 1,740 deaths, the highest raw death total among the age groups highlighted by the research. Their fatality rate was 15.2 per 100,000.

Teenagers of both sexes accounted for 2,899 crash deaths during 2024, with approximately three-quarters of those deaths involving males.

The implication is clear: a state’s overall ranking should not be interpreted as an assurance that every demographic group faces the same level of risk.

A young male driver in a highly ranked state may still face substantially greater danger than an older driver in the same location.

Holidays Bring Additional Road-Safety Concerns

The timing of travel also matters.

Independence Day recorded 572 male drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2024, making it the most dangerous holiday in the dataset referenced by the study.

Labor Day followed with 499, while Thanksgiving recorded 462 and Memorial Day 435.

Holiday periods can combine several risk factors: increased traffic volumes, longer-distance journeys, recreational drinking, fatigue and unfamiliar roads.

For domestic tourism, that combination is important. Millions of Americans travel by road during major holidays, while international visitors frequently join the same traffic network through rental cars, transfers and road-trip itineraries.

The safest-state ranking therefore has relevance beyond local commuting. It offers a broader view of the conditions that can shape road travel across the US.

New York Shows Why a Safe Ranking Does Not Mean No Risk

New York provides a particularly useful example.

The state ranks fifth in the overall list and has a male driver fatality rate of 2.53 per 100,000, substantially below the national male figure of 5.73.

But younger motorists continue to account for a large number of crashes.

Male drivers aged 16 to 24 were involved in 58,182 crashes in New York during 2024, compared with 35,494 involving women in the same age group.

That gap demonstrates why policymakers cannot rely solely on statewide fatality rates when designing road-safety strategies.

New York’s Speed Week 2 enforcement campaign, which focuses directly on speeding, reflects the continuing effort to address one of the behavioural factors associated with severe crashes.

The state’s strong position in the national ranking therefore does not mean its road-safety challenge has disappeared.

What Makes the Safest States Different?

The study does not suggest that one single factor explains why Massachusetts, New Jersey, Minnesota and the other top-ranked states perform better.

Instead, the Gender Crash Risk Index combines several measurements to create a broader picture of male driver risk.

The methodology uses male driver fatality rates, male fatal crash involvement rates and the male-to-female driver fatality ratio. These measures are calculated per 100,000 residents rather than relying simply on raw crash totals.

That approach is important because population size can distort comparisons.

A state with millions of residents will naturally record more crashes in absolute terms than a state with a much smaller population. Measuring rates per 100,000 provides a more meaningful basis for comparing different states.

The five-year period from 2020 to 2024 also gives the analysis a broader foundation than a single year’s results.

What the Findings Mean for Travellers

For tourists and road-trip travellers, the study should be viewed as a risk indicator rather than a travel warning.

Massachusetts being ranked first does not mean that driving there is risk-free. Similarly, a lower-ranked state is not automatically unsafe for every visitor.

The data instead demonstrate that road safety is shaped by a combination of geography, behaviour, demographics and vehicle characteristics.

Travellers can reduce exposure to avoidable risks by following posted speed limits, avoiding driving after drinking, using seat belts, taking breaks during long journeys and paying particular attention when driving unfamiliar rural roads.

Parents and guardians travelling with teenagers should also recognise that age and gender can significantly influence crash risk.

For rental-car customers, vehicle selection can matter as well. Understanding how a larger vehicle handles, particularly on rural or unfamiliar roads, is more important than simply choosing the biggest vehicle available.

Massachusetts Leads, But the Bigger Story Is Nationwide

The study’s ranking puts Massachusetts firmly at the top, followed by New Jersey and Minnesota, while Maryland, New York, Washington, Rhode Island, Illinois, Hawaii and Alaska complete the ten safest states for male drivers.

Yet the most consequential finding lies beyond the rankings.

Even in America’s safest state, the male driver fatality rate remains higher than the national female rate. Across the country, men continue to account for a disproportionate share of driver deaths, while younger men, speeding motorists, alcohol-impaired drivers and occupants of certain vehicle types face particularly elevated risks.

The 15.8 score recorded by Massachusetts compared with Wyoming’s 95.5 shows that geography matters. But the persistent national gender gap shows that geography is only part of the equation.

For the travel industry, road-safety professionals and motorists, the message is straightforward: choosing a safer destination can reduce risk, but responsible driving remains essential wherever the journey takes place.

Massachusetts is outpacing New Jersey and other US states in a new road-safety ranking, emerging as the safest state for male drivers. For travellers planning a holiday road trip, the result may reshape how they view driving destinations across America. Massachusetts recorded the nation’s lowest Gender Crash Risk Index score at 15.8. Meanwhile, New Jersey ranked second at 18.0, followed by Minnesota at 18.4. However, the headline result comes with an important warning. Even in Massachusetts, male drivers face greater fatality risk than women nationally. Therefore, safer roads can reduce danger, but they cannot remove the risks linked to speed, alcohol and age.

Massachusetts has emerged as America’s safest state for male drivers, outpacing New Jersey and the other US states assessed in the study. Its 15.8 Gender Crash Risk Index gives it a clear lead, while New Jersey and Minnesota complete the top three. Consequently, Massachusetts could look especially appealing to motorists planning a holiday road trip. However, the findings reveal a much bigger road-safety story.

Male drivers remain considerably more likely to die in crashes than female drivers nationwide. Speeding, alcohol, age and vehicle type continue to influence the outcome. Therefore, a safer state cannot guarantee a safe journey. Travellers should still follow speed limits, avoid drink-driving, wear seat belts and take care on unfamiliar roads. Ultimately, Massachusetts offers a lower-risk setting, but the perfect holiday road trip depends on driver decisions as much as destination choice. Safety begins behind the wheel, wherever the journey goes.. The Study by Levine & Wiss finds that Massachusetts came out on top, with a Gender Crash Risk Index score of 15.8, the lowest in the nation and six times lower than Wyoming’s 95.5, the highest. The review draws on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, covering crash rates, driver behavior, vehicle type, and state-level risk from 2020 through 2024.

Data Sources

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (nhtsa.gov)
• Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (iihs.org)
• AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety (aaafoundation.org)
• U.S. Census Bureau, population estimates (census.gov)