Anyone who has ever said Bismarck has the state's worst drivers might be right.

In 2008, more crashes per 1,000 people occurred in Bismarck than in any other of the state's 13 largest cities. There were 34 crashes per 1,000 people in 2008, compared to the next closest city, Minot, with 26.7.

It's not just in the city limits - Burleigh County overall had the highest number of crashes per million vehicle miles traveled of any county, in the state with 4.28. The next highest county, Ward, had 3.01 crashes per million vehicle miles traveled. Burleigh County also had the fourth-highest number of fatalities in the state in 2008, with five. Only Ward County, with eight, and McKenzie and Richland counties, with seven each, had more.

Cass County and Fargo both had more crashes than Burleigh County and Bismarck, respectively, but lower crash rates per capita and by million vehicle miles traveled. Bismarck's crash total increased 20.17 percent in 2008 as compared to 2007.

Bismarck Police Officer Kevin Huber, a traffic officer, is not surprised by Bismarck's wreck rankings. He has seen people talking or texting on cell phones often, but he also sees people reading newspapers, maps or novels over the steering wheel or paying more attention to conversations with passengers than to what is happening on the road.

Beyond those more obvious dangers, Huber said many people don't seem to remember to slow down for adverse conditions or even to pay attention to what's going on around and in front of them. The people who do things right - those who drive at or below the speed limit with their hands at the 10 and 2 positions - annoy the other drivers, he said.

"Everybody's in such a rush nowadays," he said.

Francis Ziegler, director of the state Department of Transportation, agrees that many wrecks could be avoided if people would put more effort into their driving.

"I consider driving a full-time job," he said.

Many people could use some work on their driving skills, Huber said. It's not uncommon to come across people running red lights or stop signs or forgetting how to handle uncontrolled intersections. In fact, he said he often writes multiple tickets driving through the neighborhood north of Avenue C, around 12th, 13th and 14th streets, where most of the intersections are uncontrolled. People drive through without slowing down or yielding to other drivers, then are confused when they get pulled over, Huber said.

"You know it's going to happen," he said about wrecks at such intersections.

Lately, he's seen a lot of people using stop signs more like yield signs - they slow down, but they continue on their way without coming to a complete stop. Many also don't see a problem with that, and he has to remind them.

"The red octagon with four white letters says a special word," he said.

Anyone who wants to become a better driver may consider taking a defensive driving course to polish up on skills or get a reduced insurance rate.

Terry Weaver, project coordinator for traffic safety at the North Dakota Safety Council, said defensive driving courses, like the four-hour program offered by the NDSC, allow people who have gotten complacent about their driving skills to relearn the rules and tips they may have forgotten since they started driving.

"It's just good to go back and refresh your memory," she said.

Some businesses will offer such courses to employees to try to keep them safe on the road and to reduce insurance rates, Huber said.

For a list of Highway Patrol-approved courses, go to http://u.nu/7van3.

The problem of poor driving skills doesn't just affect Bismarck and Burleigh County. State officials are working to make the highways and local roads across North Dakota safer.

Ziegler said rumble strips have been added on some highways, including Highway 23 and south of Bismarck on Highway 1806, as a way to keep people from drifting across center lines. So far, the department has received positive feedback from people who said they didn't even notice they weren't staying in their lanes.

"We've done some things to keep people in the lanes," he said.

Linda Butts, deputy director for driver and vehicle services at the DOT, said the department gets $5 million a year in federal funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for safety endeavors.

The money goes to a variety of fronts, including law enforcement needs, marketing and advertising, training and programs, funding local efforts through North Dakota Safe Communities and education.

Funding may be provided to law enforcement, for cameras or breath test kits, or to safety groups for a vehicle that simulates impaired driving. The department has used federal money on television advertising campaigns and put up a Web site, www.ndteendrivers.com, to try to reach teenagers and convince them to buckle up, avoid distractions and drunken driving and stay safe, Butts said.

Some money also goes into television ad campaigns stressing safer driving. Butts said efforts to get messages to young people in innovative ways - such as through Web sites and social networking sites - will continue.

"We know that a billboard or just speaking to an adult is not always effective," she said.

She said the DOT also uses the safety money to help fund training programs, such as ABATE of North Dakota's motorcycle training classes, alcohol server training, programs on alcohol and drunken driving at colleges, the Alive At 25 defensive driving course for young drivers, programs on risky behavior through the state Department of Human Services, and programs that provide child-restraint devices and advice to families.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@bismarcktribune.com.)