NC has some of the most dangerous roads in the US: See how Western NC counties rank

Do you feel safe on North Carolina roads? A recent study showed that N.C. is among the bottom 10 for road safety in the country.

MarketWatch Guides, a site that aims to provide "reviews of consumer products and services to help readers make educated purchasing decisions," focuses in part on car insurance comparisons, vehicle safety and more.

The recent study analyzed factors including annual miles driven per 100,000 system miles, percentage of rough roads and fatal injuries per 100,000 licensed drivers. States were given a rating out of 10 points, with 10 being the most dangerous.

Here's where N.C. ranked, plus the most dangerous counties in Western North Carolina for drivers.

What states have the most dangerous roads for drivers?

According to the study, the states with the most dangerous roads for drivers based on the factors studied:

1. Louisiana - 7.55/10
2. California - 7.21
3. New Mexico - 6.74
4. Hawaii - 6.73
5. Delaware - 6.67
6. New Jersey - 6.53
7. Mississippi - 6.47
8. North Carolina - 6.39
9. Massachusetts - 6.33
10. Maryland & Texas - 6.26

In N.C., the study showed 32.5 fatal accidents for every 100,000 drivers in the state. On the brighter side, N.C. had the lowest percentage of roads in the state considered rough on the International Roughness Index at 2.1% of all roads.

What Western NC counties have the most dangerous roads?

The N.C. Department of Transportation compiled 10 years of data on fatal car accidents, with the most recent records from 2021. In WNC, Buncombe County by far had the highest annual average, 30. The county with next highest average fatal wrecks per year was Henderson with 12. Buncombe and Henderson also have the highest populations in WNC. Taking into consideration the population of each county, here are the WNC counties with the relative most dangerous roads:

1. Graham - 4 fatal wrecks per year | 7,980 population (2022) | 5.01 index
2. Cherokee - 6 | 29,512 | 2.03
3. Polk - 4 | 19,986 | 2.00
4. Madison - 4 | 21,768 | 1.84
5. McDowell - 8 | 44,753 | 1.78
6. Clay - 2 | 11,614 | 1.72
7. Jackson - 7 | 42,955 | 1.63
8. Yancey - 3 | 18,811 | 1.59
9. Macon - 6 | 38,065 | 1.58
10. Swain - 2 | 13,967 | 1.43
11. Mitchell - 2 | 15,094 | 1.33
12. Haywood - 8 | 62,609 | 1.28
13. Transylvania - 4 | 33,355 | 1.20
14. Avery - 2 | 17,571 | 1.14
15. Buncombe - 30 | 273,589 | 1.09
16. Henderson - 12 | 118,106 | 1.02
17. Watauga - 5 | 55,089 | 0.91

Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at iseaton@citizentimes.com.