Are Massachusetts drivers getting worse?

BOSTON - Massachusetts drivers might be getting worse behind the wheel, new data suggests.

Numbers from a report by the Merit Rating Board , which is a division of the Registry of Motor Vehicles, show that drivers in the state have accumulated nearly 697,000 violations from January to July of this year. That amounts to an average of more than 99,000 violations per month.

The State House News Service reports that in 2023, the pace of violations per month was about 90,000.

Nearly two-thirds of the violations resulted in warnings, according to the numbers.

The top three violations for drivers were speeding, failing to stop or yield, and inspection sticker issues , the report said.

Distracted driving violations in Massachusetts

The report also showed violations so far this year under the state's distracted driving and hands-free law. There have been more than 37,000 violations this year of the law that forbids drivers from touching their phones while driving.

April is "Hands-Free Awareness Month" in Massachusetts, when far more violations were tallied than in any other month because of stepped-up enforcement.

"You'll notice this large spike in warnings, which brings the total very much higher," Merit Rating Board Director Sonja Singleton said, according to The News Service. "We see this year over year as it relates to distracted driving."

Massachusetts drivers compared to other states

Are drivers in Massachusetts worse than in other states? There are some conflicting reports.

A LendingTree study of insurance data found that Massachusetts had the highest accident rate per 1,000 drivers between Oct. 2022 and Oct. 2023. But a Forbes report that looked at fatal car crashes and drunk driving numbers declared that Massachusetts actually had the best drivers in the country.