According to Richie Bernardo with WalletHub, South Dakota is the worst state in the nation for teen drivers. In this study, Bernardo looked at the “Teen Driver’s Graduated Driver Licensing Program Laws,” or GDL, to determine the rankings.
Included in the GDL provisions are: minimum age 16 for a learning permit, 6-month holding period, 30-50 hours of supervised driving, nighttime driving restriction, passenger restriction, cell phone restriction, and age 18 for unrestricted license.
South Dakota only holds two of these seven GDL provisions.
Also included in Bernardo’s study, South Dakota is also ranked 48 in “Most Teen Driving Fatalities,” and ranked last for “Highest Number of Teen DUI’s.”
50-State Teen Driver Rankings
| Rank | State | "Safety Conditions" Rank | "Economic Environment" Rank | "Driving Laws" Rank |
| 1 | New York | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | Oregon | 2 | 23 | 3 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 1 | 28 | 25 |
| 4 | Hawaii | 4 | 5 | 15 |
| 5 | Delaware | 7 | 39 | 2 |
| 6 | Illinois | 8 | 32 | 4 |
| 7 | Connecticut | 6 | 42 | 24 |
| 8 | Nevada | 10 | 6 | 29 |
| 9 | Rhode Island | 9 | 45 | 13 |
| 10 | New Jersey | 12 | 11 | 23 |
| 11 | Washington | 18 | 31 | 1 |
| 12 | California | 11 | 26 | 16 |
| 13 | Louisiana | 19 | 15 | 5 |
| 14 | Maryland | 14 | 7 | 28 |
| 15 | Alaska | 21 | 19 | 7 |
| 16 | Virginia | 14 | 33 | 21 |
| 17 | Utah | 13 | 47 | 18 |
| 18 | Georgia | 19 | 43 | 9 |
| 19 | Ohio | 5 | 41 | 45 |
| 20 | North Carolina | 26 | 8 | 12 |
| 21 | West Virginia | 25 | 29 | 9 |
| 22 | Texas | 17 | 14 | 35 |
| 23 | Michigan | 27 | 1 | 34 |
| 24 | Tennessee | 33 | 18 | 7 |
| 25 | New Mexico | 34 | 3 | 20 |
| 26 | Florida | 14 | 17 | 41 |
| 27 | Indiana | 22 | 44 | 16 |
| 28 | Minnesota | 24 | 38 | 27 |
| 29 | Colorado | 37 | 13 | 18 |
| 30 | South Carolina | 34 | 29 | 14 |
| 31 | New Hampshire | 28 | 46 | 26 |
| 32 | Alabama | 30 | 27 | 31 |
| 33 | Kansas | 42 | 10 | 11 |
| 34 | Pennsylvania | 31 | 21 | 37 |
| 35 | Kentucky | 36 | 37 | 30 |
| 36 | Wisconsin | 38 | 15 | 32 |
| 37 | Vermont | 22 | 48 | 44 |
| 38 | Arizona | 29 | 35 | 43 |
| 39 | Iowa | 32 | 34 | 40 |
| 40 | Arkansas | 39 | 36 | 32 |
| 41 | Idaho | 41 | 25 | 36 |
| 42 | Maine | 46 | 49 | 22 |
| 43 | Mississippi | 40 | 4 | 49 |
| 44 | Oklahoma | 46 | 9 | 39 |
| 45 | Nebraska | 43 | 20 | 47 |
| 46 | Missouri | 44 | 22 | 45 |
| 47 | Wyoming | 45 | 50 | 42 |
| 48 | North Dakota | 50 | 40 | 38 |
| 49 | Montana | 49 | 24 | 48 |
| 50 | South Dakota | 48 | 12 | 50 |
To see more information about the study conducted by WalletHub, click here.
