Beware the Northeast states! The nation's dumbest drivers live there if the second annual GMAC Insurance National Driver's Test is right. The startling results: Nearly 18 million Americans--that would be one in 11 drivers--would fail their state driver's test if they had to take it today. (That's a slight improvement from last year's 20 million or 1 in 10 drivers who would fail the test.)

In addition to surveying them about their general driving habits, GMAC gave its 20-question test to more than 5,000 licensed drivers between the ages of 16 and 60+. Those who live in the Northeast states did the worst with 16 percent failing the test. And of these states, Rhode Island scored the lowest with an average score of 75 percent. Right behind Rhode Island on the list of bad drivers are (in order) those from the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Maryland. The state with the best drivers? That would be Oregon where drivers earned an average 91 percent on the test. A passing score is 70 percent. In addition to Oregon, the best drivers live in Washington, Vermont, Idaho, South Dakota and Montana.

Here's the really scary part: The study results suggest that many Americans exhibit shocking driving behaviors that not only endanger themselves, but jeopardize others both on and off the road. Roughly one in three drivers usually does not stop for pedestrians--even if they're in a crosswalk or at a yellow light. Forty-three percent of all pedestrian injuries and 22 percent of fatal injuries to pedestrians occur in collisions with motor vehicles at intersections. In addition, many pedestrians are killed on sidewalks, median strips and traffic islands. All of this explains why pedestrians constitute the second largest category of motor vehicle crash deaths after vehicle occupants, accounting for 11 percent of fatalities, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.