Illinois drivers ignore traffic signs more than drivers in any other state in America, according to new research from Nicolet Law. About 1 in 6 fatal crashes in Illinois over the past five years involved a driver who ran a stop sign, ignored a yield, or blew past another road warning.

For those of us who ride motorcycles, that stat is personal. A driver who runs a stop sign might not just get a ticket; the driver may kill a motorcyclist. Knowing which states have the worst sign compliance is worth keeping in mind before you ride there.

Nicolet Law, a personal injury firm, ranked all 50 states on how well drivers obey traffic signs. Researchers pulled five years of fatal crash data to find how many deadly wrecks involved sign violations. The report tracked how often residents in each state searched online for help with traffic sign tickets, which is a rough measure of how often police write them. States got scores from 0 to 100, with higher scores meaning more violations.

Illinois scored 97 out of 100. New Hampshire had the lowest score, making its drivers the most sign-compliant in the country.

TOP 10 WORST STATES FOR TRAFFIC SIGN COMPLIANCE

Rank	State	Fatal Crashes*	Sign-Related**	Index
1	Illinois	1479	16.60%	97
2	New York	1036	13.50%	94
3	Nevada	440	15.70%	92
4	Missouri	954	13.60%	86
5	Georgia	1742	14.80%	85
6	North Carolina	1614	14.20%	83
7	Kansas	453	16.50%	78
8	Wisconsin	788	18.90%	77
9	Florida	3622	14.40%	75
10	Texas	4569	15.10%	74

 

*Drivers involved in fatal crashes linked to sign violations, 2019-2024
**Share of all fatal crashes in that state caused by sign violations
Index: 0-100 composite score; higher = more violations
Source: nicoletlaw.com

One number stands out: Wisconsin’s 18.9%. That is the highest share of any state on the list, despite being home to Harley-Davidson and hosting Royal Enfield‘s US headquarters. Sign violations account for a bigger slice of Wisconsin’s fatal crashes than anywhere else in the top 10, even though the state’s total count is relatively low. Kansas is close behind at 16.5%.

Texas and Florida have the most total crashes by a wide margin, but their percentages are lower. In those states, sign violations account for a smaller share of the total number of fatal crashes.

Here is a closer look at the top five states:

1. Illinois. Nearly 1500 drivers were involved in fatal crashes involving sign violations over five years. About 75,500 people in the state use search engines for help with traffic tickets every month, a suggestion that police write many of them.

2. New York. The most common violation here is failure to yield the right-of-way, which caused more than 600 deaths over five years. About 1 in 100 New Yorkers searches for help with tickets monthly.

3. Nevada. The Silver State’s rate matches Illinois, as 1 in 6 fatal crashes involves an ignored sign. Nearly half of those crashes (176) occurred in work zones, where drivers failed to obey traffic control devices while workers were present.

4. Missouri. About 1 in 7 fatal crashes in Missouri involves a sign violation. Nearly 1 in 100 residents searches for help with tickets each month, suggesting that enforcement is active.

5. Georgia. Failure to yield caused more than half of Georgia’s sign-related deaths, representing 978 of 1742 fatal crashes over the five-year period.

Russell Nicolet, president of Nicolet Law, said sign violations are a constant in injury cases. “You’d be surprised how many drivers simply can’t identify certain signs or don’t know what they mean,” he said. “But I’ve also seen plenty of cases where the driver had vision problems they didn’t know about, or the sign itself was faded, blocked by tree branches, or knocked at the wrong angle.”

That is worth remembering on the road. A driver who missed a sign may not have done it on purpose. But on a motorcycle, the reason rarely matters. As Sgt. Phil Esterhaus used to say on Hill Street Blues, “Be careful out there.”