Why Missouri & Illinois Loathe Iowa Drivers the Most

Loathe is such a strong word. There are others that probably are not appropriate to share here. The reason I'm struggling with a word is I'm trying to explain why Missouri and Illinois drivers...um...dislike...Iowa drivers more than any others.

I was born and raised in Missouri and my wife is from southeast Iowa so I'll have to tread carefully here, but I cannot deny the emotions that come to mind when I know that I am near drivers with an Iowa license plate.

This is not solely opinion as there is some science behind the fear and trepidation that Missouri and Illinois drivers feel in the presence of those who drive from the land of the Children of the Corn. Even the Iowa sub-Reddit admitted that statistics show Iowa drivers rate the lowest not just in the Midwest, but for all of America, too.

An insurance site called Quote Wizard analyzed 10 million insurance claims and noticed something interesting. The highest number of accidents were the fault of Iowa drivers more than anyplace else. They looked at accidents, speeding tickets, DUIs, and citations and Iowa topped the chart for being bad at all of those things.

I thought it was my prejudice against Iowa drivers, but one time when we were driving back to Missouri from Cedar Rapids, driver after driver with Iowa plates passed me and then cut back into my lane perhaps 5 feet in front of me and my wife casually said "Yeah, that's how we do that around here" (I'm paraphrasing).

I have lovely Iowa family members who are kind, educated and gentle people (when they're not in vehicles). Behind the wheel? I shudder.