Allstate Lists The Best And Worst Cities For U.S. Drivers

[Mach 1 Club]

   
Congrats, LA - you're next to worst!

I’ve lived in Jacksonville, FL for the past three years, and I’ve got to say that our drivers are among the worst you’ll find on the planet. First, there are only two kinds of drivers here: those that drive 20 miles per hour below the speed limit (and, surprisingly, this isn’t limited to blue-haired old ladies) and those who drive hammer down, all the time. Every single woman driver has a cell phone glued to her ear, and about 60% of the men do, too. Rain in Jacksonville is treated like snow over black ice would be in the northeast; everyone slows to ten miles per hour and won’t corner faster than single digit speeds. If you’re a competent driver, it’s almost enough to turn you into a serial killer.

Allstate Insurance has just released their sixth annual survey on “America’s Best Drivers”, which highlights the best and worst cities for driving in the United States. I have to say I’m surprised, because Jacksonville finished 69th out of 193 cities, which means that 124 cities have worse drivers than Jacksonville. Excuse me while my head explodes.

Want to know the top five cities? According to Allstate, these are:

1. Fort Collins, CO, where you can expect to go 14.5 years without an accident
2. Chattanooga, TN, where you can expect to go 12.9 years without an accident
3. Boise, ID, where you can also expect to go 12.9 years without an accident
4. Colorado Springs, CO, where you can expect to go 12.5 years without an accident
5. Knoxville, TN, where you can expect to go 12.4 years without an accident

Any list that has a top five also has to have a bottom five. If you live in or travel to these cities, heads up. You may want to think about buying a disposable car so you won’t care when it gets wrecked. The five worst cities in the U.S. for drivers are:

189. San Antonio, TX, where you can expect an accident every 7.7 years
190. Chicago, IL, where you can expect an accident every 7.6 years
191. Dallas, TX, where you can expect an accident every 7.4 years
192. Los Angeles, CA, where you can expect an accident every 6.9 years (and a police chase every afternoon)
193. Philadelphia, PA, where you can expect an accident every 6.5 years

The common theme in the bottom five cities appears to be “places I wouldn’t want to live”, so I’m probably safe from becoming a statistic in the seventh annual Allstate report.

[Rare Pony]

I was listing to a Washington D.C radio news station this week and they had a similar report, I forgot who's survey, but they said Washington D.C. and Baltimore MD. had the worst drivers. Something like a driver would be in an accident every 5.6 years.

[1969jimmach]

Lucky you guys live where you do and my 17yo driver lives here.We live in a rural area 9 miles to a town any 4 ways you drive.And the most traveled road the 1 I drive everyday to work is traveled by imagrants that work for a meat packing plant.THey pass on hills,double lines,cars coming or not.The most fatalities are caused by them with no insurance and some are here illeagally.

[dlaub1811]

As a Colorado-an I'll agree with Ft. Collins and Co Springs being on this list.

I used to commute from Denver to the Springs for work (about 90 min each way) and I never had an issue with the drivers. The town is laid out terribly though. Traffic is terrible.

Ft. Collins I can also understand being on this list as the whole town is one big suburban sprawl. You're lucky to see 5 other drivers any time you go anywhere.

Denver is another story - every woman drives a SUV and is yammering away on her cellphone most of the time. Guys here are half-men who drive subaru station wagons or hybrids, get $200 haircuts, are members of at least 3 environmental groups... and generally suck at life.