This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Many may doubt it because of their day-to-day jousts while commuting, but two new studies give Utah drivers high marks for safety.

Utah ranks as the eighth-safest state for teenage drivers, according to a study by carinsurance.com.

And Salt Lake City ranks as the 27th safest city to drive among 166 major U.S. cities rated in a study by ValuePenguin.

Each study looked at somewhat different criteria and geographic areas.

The study on teen driving examined the percentage of teens who report texting while driving, drinking and driving, teen road deaths, graduated driver license laws and insurance rates for teens.

The study said Massachusetts is the safest state for teens to drive, and Montana is the most dangerous.

The other study, on overall highway safety, scrutinized everything from wet roads to impaired driving, seat-belt usage and gas consumption — and lumped them together in some broader categories.

It ranked Salt Lake City third for quality of roads, 49th for passenger safety, 122nd for ease of commute and 135th for costs of driving — and 27th overall.

Rochester, Minn., was ranked the nation's safest city to drive, and New Orleans the most dangerous.

Several other studies during the past year also have given Utah drivers mixed ratings as they looked at a variety of criteria:

• The 24/7 Wall St. website last December ranked Utah as the ninth-safest state for driving.

• Carinsurancecomparison.com last year ranked Utah drivers as seventh best in the nation, based on rates for fatalities, DUI, speeding and other criteria.

• Allstate insurance gave Salt Lake City drivers middle-of-the-road marks this year as 74th safest out of the nation's 200 largest cities (and West Valley City ranked 95th). It said Salt Lake City drivers are in accidents about 10 percent more often than the national average.

• Insure.com ranked Utah drivers as the 10th rudest in 2014, because many fail to signal their intentions and speeding is common.