A new study found that nearly one in five drivers can’t meet basic requirements to get a driver’s license. That means that 36.9 million American drivers would not pass the written test if they had to take it today. The study, called the GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test, found that Kansas drivers got the best scores and Washington DC drivers scored the worst. “The GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test has become the benchmark for America’s driving IQ,” said Scott Eckman, chief marketing officer, GMAC Insurance. “All drivers need a refresher course when it comes to rules of the road and it begins with education. We’re hoping this year’s GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test results will inspire drivers to arm themselves with the knowledge they need to stay safe.”

The average score did increase this year to 77.9 percent, up from 76.2 percent in 2010. But that’s still very low and shows that many people on the road don’t have basic knowledge of the rules. Amazingly, 85 percent of those surveyed could not identify the correct action to take when approaching a steady yellow traffic light. Only about a fourth could identify correct following distances.

The goal of the test is to remind drivers to stay informed about the rules of the road. It marked the seventh annual survey, polling drivers from 16-65 in all states and the District of Columbia. Here are some of the interesting highlights uncovered by the test:

• Males are better drivers? One in 4 women failed the test, which was about double the percentage of men. Overall, males out-performed females with an average score of 80.2 percent versus 74.1 percent for females.
• Northeast is worst driving region. You may think your city’s drivers are the worst, but with average scoring at 74.9 percent the Northeast came out the worst. Midwest is the best driving region with average scoring at 77.5 percent.
• The older the wiser. Despite popular belief, the oldest drivers tested, ages 60-65, continued to have the highest average test scores at 80.3 percent.
• Be careful in the Empire State and Beltway. One out of 3 (34 percent) of all drivers in New York and Washington, D.C. failed the test. Wyoming residents passed the test most with only one out of 20 failing.
• Biggest gains and losses: There were some shake ups in the test this year. After ranking 24th place in 2010, Colorado moves to third place with an 82 percent average score. Alaska plummeted 30 spots from tenth place in 2010 to 40th place this year. Their average test score decreased from a 79.8 percent average to a 76 percent average.

Based on the reports published by leading researchers, over a third of all the patients that went to 37 health clinics in the state of Colorado on a single day turned out to be uninsured. This realization exposes the possibility that close to one and a half million people in the entire state could also suffer from a lack of adequate coverage.

Conducting the survey on a voluntary basis was the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, which collected information among patients who had private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid. Their research showed an alarming figure: over 36% of the 948 that were surveyed were underinsured.