Top 10 U.S. cities with the worst drivers show little signs of improvement
While driving has become far safer over the past two decades, and accidents have slowly declined, there's still more than 5 million vehicle crashes a year in the United States, with roughly 3 million of those only causing property damage rather than injury. According to Allstate Insurance, that's enough to make the typical driver likely to get into at least a fender bender once a decade — unless they live around the cities with the worst drivers, where their chances of a wreck can double.
In its ninth annual report on traffic accidents, Allstate analyzed its claims data for 195 cities filed between January 2010 and December 2011 to determine how likely any given driver might suffer an accident. Since Allstate represents about 10 percent of the nation's insured drivers, it's claims offer an accurate picture of national trends. For the third time, Fort Collins, Colo., ranked as the city with the best drivers, who are 28 percent less likely to get into a crash than the national average. Close behind: Boise, Idaho; Sioux Falls, S.D., Brownsville, Texas, and Madison, Wis.
Top 10 cities with America's worst drivers
2013 Ranking | 2012 Ranking | Chance of accident vs. nat. avg. | |
1. | Washington, D.C. | 1 | 109% |
2. | Baltimore | 2 | 86% |
3. | Providence, R.I. | 3 | 85% |
4. | Hialeah, Fla. | 4 | 79% |
5. | Glendale, Calif. | 5 | 76% |
6. | Philadelphia | 6 | 66% |
7. | Alexandria, Va. | 7 | 62% |
8. | Miami | 9 | 59% |
9. | San Francisco | 10 | 54% |
10. | Arlington, Va. | 8 | 50% |