Travel Times Show Surprising Speed Differences Across States

When it comes to putting the pedal to the metal, how do South Dakota drivers stack up against the rest of the country?

We certainly benefit from two things: 80 miles per hour speed limits on the interstates and a lack of really significant traffic on most of our highways.

So it's no surprise that when MoneySuperMarket used Google Route API data to determine the average long-distance drive times between major cities in each state, that drivers in the Mount Rushmore State were able to satisfy their need for speed at levels only surpassed by a few other states.

Only four states had fastest speeds of 70 miles per hour or more, and South Dakota is one of them.

Neighboring states Iowa (66.6 miles per hour) and Minnesota (62.5 miles per hour) were on the faster side as well.

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On the other end of the spectrum, fewer wide open spaces and heavier traffic were major contributing factors to the slowest driving states in America, with five states clocking in at under 57 miles per hour.

READ MORE: Now Is NOT a Good Time to Be Speeding in Minnesota

The researchers also looked into which countries have the slowest and fastest drivers around the world. Apparently, American motorists move the quickest down the road, reaching an average long-distance driving speed of 68.1 mph nationwide.