It seems like everyone complains about how terrible drivers in their area are. But what cities are really the worst—and the best—when it comes to driving?
For the past decade, Allstate has compiled data from the 200 most populous cities to answer that question. For 2014, the 10 Safest Driving Cities were:
1. Fort Collins, CO
2. Brownsville, TX
3. Boise, ID
4. Kansas City, KS
5. Huntsville, AL
6. Montgomery, AL
7. Visalia, CA
8. Laredo, TX
9. Madison, WI
10. Olathe, KS
The 10 Worst:
191. New Haven, CT
192. Philadelphia, PA
193. Alexandria, VA
194. Glendale, CA
195. Baltimore, MD
196. Providence, RI
197. Springfield, MA
198. Washington, DC
199. Boston, MA
200. Worcester, MA
What do these numbers mean? Well, on average, someone in Fort Collins, CO, goes 14.2 years between collisions. Someone in Worcester, MA, goes 4.3 years between crashes.
Of course, factors like population, city density, and weather play a role, and Allstate has adjusted for each of those variables as well. Even taking all that into consideration, six of the top 1o cities are still in the top 10, and eight of the bottom 10 are still in the bottom. (Fort Collins is still best; Worcester is still worst.)
We live halfway between Chicago (#139, 8.2 years between collisions) and Rockford, IL (#25, 11.2 years between collisions). In the two years we’ve lived here, we’ve been rear-ended once and our neighbor backed into our car. (We’ve also had five nails in our tires, so I think maybe we’re just jinxed.)
You can see the full report and find your city (or nearest larger city) here. What’s the data for your area, and how does it stack up for you?
I am scared to drive in the worst cities. I was born and raised in Madison, I am a firefighter in the same county and the amount and type of crashes I not only respond to but see on my days off is incredible.
But Madison has fairly low traffic congestion compared to the “worst” Cities. I’m going to assume that plays a huge role in the statistics. I bet if they researched motor vehicle versus pedestrian/bike we may top the list of worst!
I see Boston and Worcester sharing “top honors” on the list, though I would also note that when it comes to _fatal_ crashes (rather than all crashes), Massachusetts has the lowest fatal crash rate of the 50 states, at 0.59 deaths per 100 million vehicle-miles traveled. I think the same phenomenon is at work for the District of Columbia, which is #198 on this list but has the lowest overall fatal crash rate.
http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/general-statistics/fatalityfacts/state-by-state-overview
Haha! I live very near Glendale, CA. I’m very not-shocked it made the list.