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For those of us who live in and/or drive through major metropolitan areas, having to keep a watchful eye out for the antics of inattentive or even reckless drivers is a necessary part of our daily routine. You may think you’ve got it bad, but according to the eighth annual “America’s Best Drivers Report” issued by Allstate Insurance in Northbrook, Ill., Washington D.C. can again lay claim to having the absolute worst motorists in the nation.

Allstate studied the autoinsurance claims frequency of America’s 200 largest cities and found that residents of our nation’s capital were found to get into collisions on average once every 4.7 years. This means they’re a whopping 112.1 percent more likely to be party to an accident than the typical driver in the U.S., who wrecks his or her car once every 10 years.
Taken on a statewide basis, California would seem to have the worst drivers overall, placing five cities among the top 25, including Glendale (5), San Francisco (10), Los Angeles (14), Fullerton (16) and Torrence (22). New Jersey came in a close second with four cities among the top 25, with Florida and Virginia tied for third with three cities each.
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And, no, New York City didn’t even make the top 10 in Allstate’s 2012 list, though it still ranked at number 20, with residents being 41.1 percent more likely than the average motorist to get into an accident.
Meanwhile, the safest drivers can be found trolling the streets of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where the average motorist experiences a collision only once every 13.8 years, which is 27.6 percent less likely than the national average. Other top-five safest cities include (in order): Boise, Idaho; Fort Collins, Colo.; Madison, Wis., and Lincoln, Neb.
Among larger metro areas, the safest cities include: Tuscon, Ariz., (13); Milwaukee, Wis., (15); and Kansas City, Mo., (16).
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"It is vital for us to educate American drivers about safe driving behaviors they can practice on the road that will help make our roadways safer,” says Dave Prendergast, Allstate’s field senior vice-president. “Minimizing distractions, obeying traffic laws, and using your <nobr style="color: darkgreen;" id="itxthook1w0nobr" class="itxtrst itxtrstnobr itxthooknobr">car’s</nobr> safety features like turn signals and headlights, are all ways to be safer, no matter where you drive.”
Here is Allstate’s full list of the 25 cities having the worst drivers, with each citation noting the likelihood a motorist living there is to be involved in a crash, relative to the national average:

1. Washington, DC: 112.1% greater-than-average accident frequency
2. Baltimore, MD: 87.9%
3. Providence, RI: 80.9%
4. Hialeah, FL: 77.6%
5. Glendale, CA: 77.5%
6. Philadelphia, PA: 64.1%
7. Alexandria, VA: 62.6%
8. Newark, NJ: 59.4%
9. Miami, FL: 58.4%
10. San Francisco, CA: 54.6%
11. Jersey City, NJ: 53.9%
12. Arlington, VA: 53.0%
13. Tampa, FL: 50.2%
14. Los Angeles, CA: 48.5%
15. Paterson, NJ: 46.9%
16. Fullerton, CA: 42.7%
17. Garland, TX: 41.6%
18. Elizabeth, NJ: 41.5%
19. Bridgeport, CT: 41.2%
20. New York, NY: 41.1%
21. New Haven, CT: 37.5%
22. Torrance, CA: 36.7%
23. Norfolk, VA: 36.3%
24. Yonkers, NY: 36.2%
25. Arlington TX: 35.4%

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The fine print: the 2012 Allstate America’s Best Driver’s Report is based on an actuarial analysis of company claim data among the nation’s 200 largest cities. Property damage claims were analyzed over a two-year period (from January 2009 to December 2010) to ensure the findings would not be impacted by external influences such as weather or road construction. A weighted average of the two-year numbers determined the annual percentages. The report defines an auto crash as any collision resulting in a property damage claim.

 

cartalk

 

i knew it! people around here can't drive!

 

NJ Drivers. As I'm only behind the wheel on weekends (mainly due to being a weekday commuter train rider), I'm astonished at bad it's become on the roads here. Especially with many people here driving ridiculously well below the posted speed limits and/or speed matching adjacent cars.

Anyway, my daughter had her new 12 Accent totaled three weeks ago by some Fast-Furious wanna be driving a 97 Civic in Newark (#8).

 

I think people just forget the basics. I almost got ran into twice on my way to SF (#10) because people were trying to get into my lane without turning their damn heads to see if I was there. Or people need to adjust their mirrors correctly if they aren't going to turn their heads.

 

#1 DC #7 Alexandria #12 Arlington

I'm in NOVA now

 

Sucks. Hope the car protected her. Defensive driving FTW everywhere.

 

Notice almost all of the cities listed have a very high density of 9-5 commuters versus the safest cities which are mostly agricultural havens.

 

diplomats who dont' give a fck?

(and Asians)

 

Garland Tx: Couldn't be more truer. Thank god I can take the Tollway around it now.

Arlington Tx: Same, easily during the time following a Rangers or Cowboys game, or when everyone wants to go to Six Flags.

 

A lot of those inner city ones are insurance fraud, not bad drivers.

 

Great. I commute to Newark every day during school semesters and I live a town over from Paterson. Not that I ever go into the latter (last time I did was was because my GPS figured the quickest route from Wayne to Paramus was through there )

 

Shocked no one from SC made the top 25...

 

good thing i don't travel in DC or Baltimore regularly...oh wait.

 

I live between Baltimore/DC so I can attest how bad most of the drivers are .

It's even worst if you're a motorcyclist, I'd swear I'm invisible to many drivers around here.

The handsfree law is also a joke as I still see many holding their phones (even in cars that have bluetooth!)

One positive thing was we were on vacation in N California last month and I was pleasantly surprised how decent most of the drivers were there

 

^ i agree.

the bluetooth thing is a joke. it's all about human nature and what people are used to doing. they're used to pulling out their phone and putting it to their ear and driving their car. it's hard to break old habits and force people to press a button on their dash...even tho it is much easier and safer.

 

You are both assuming the dipshits on the road with you who can't figure out how to drive are capable of figuring out how to turn their Bluetooth on.

 

i think add to the fact the French designed the roads around the monuments, and all the tourists getting lost and not knowing where to go probably adds to that number... i wonder how much of that number is local drivers tho.

 

Just avoid the '88 Toyota Corolla with 4 Jamaicans inside waiting to stop short so you can rear-end them and they go after your insurance because they bought comprehensive. I would suggest a mounted camera but you'd probably get jacked for it at a stop light. I even dread driving in the "safe" part of Newark near NJIT and the Prudential center.

 

All the bad drivers I see in DC are from MD

 

weird. i feel the opposite way.

 

I see bad drivers from VA/MD/DC of all races, sex, and age. I think it's a regional thing.

 

Miami number 9

 

8. Newark, NJ: 59.4%
11. Jersey City, NJ: 53.9%
15. Paterson, NJ: 46.9%
18. Elizabeth, NJ: 41.5%

i have to deal with it everyday...

 

So true!! I was an accident investigator for the transit system, amazing how many hit and run accidents there are here. Cell phones,eating, turned around yelling at the kids in the back seat, no insurance and no license. And limited police enforcement of all of the above. Had one of my cars hit three times parked in front of my house. SO YOU KNOW INSURANCE RATES AROUND HERE IS A BITCH.

 

And thats why i turned down several jobs in DC. It was bad enough visiting. I took the Metro everywhere.

 

This.

It's terrible in DC. Some areas have a racial or gender stereotype. In DC its EVERYONE

 

And the sad thing is people from other areas move here and figure they have to blend in to survive. Had a guy moved recently from Texas try to race a bus to make a right turn from the left lane and missed. Asked why he pulled a move like that he said he was told in DC you have to drive aggressive

 

^ This is so true. Be timid if you want to. People will run you over. They dont care here.

Between the drivers and the traffic jams, its terrible!

 

Whenever I visit the DC area, I book a hotel near one of the Metro stations and do likewise. (Too bad the Metro fare card system is ridiculously complicated unlike NYC's MTA metrocard system but, that's for another topic.) The car stays put in the hotel parking lot until it's time to return to NJ.

The Civic T-boned her directly on the passenger side B-pillar, managing to flip it over onto its side. That her best friend -- sitting on the passenger side -- only had some minor glass abrasions is incredible. (When I get some time, I'll post a pic or two.) My daughter and her two rear seat passengers also were not injured.

I encouraged her to get a replacement 12 Accent but she opted for a certified used 09 Honda Accord....which is an even safer car.

I'm in Jersey City/Newark/Elizabeth daily but luckily it's in the relatively safe confines of a NJ Transit train.

 

Being from pa, this is perspective on drivers from other states;
MD, the mother f-ers can't seem to stay out of the left lane. why?
DC, The plates i have seen haven't driven well.
VA, most definitely some of the worst drivers, they seem to have no clue.
NJ, why do they drive so slow in pa?
PA, i don't know, you tell me.

 

Boston, MA should be #0

 

Let's just agree that all drivers everywhere suck.

 

That definitely was not me today during my trip to Cincinnati but, I will say that Pennsy troopers seem to be reaching the same level of aggressive traffic enforcement activities as the NJSP!

 

i still say new york

 

Indeed, driving at or below the speed limit while in the left lane when there's plenty of room for slower travel in the right and middle lanes still seems to still be typical of NY drivers. Equally amazing is their lack of responsiveness to high beam flashing behind them during said circumstances.

 

I actually go to NJIT. It's the crime in Newark that scares me the most, and parking is a nightmare for the school. They have a 1300-car parking deck and that is the only place I'll park my car, IDGAF if they tell me to go to another one of their lots, since it's a much farther walk, and I don't think they have as much security as the deck. Besides, if I can find a spot at the Garden State Plaza, I think I can damn sure find a spot in there (I never had to leave the deck since I couldn't find a place to park). And as for avoiding specific cars, I get through those streets as fast as I can to get where I'm going, whether to school or to Route 21 since I live at the Northern end of it.

 

Columbus, Ohio is pretty bad sometime. mostly when its raining/snowing. If somethings falling from the sky just a little bit, people forget how to drive and do 30 under on the freeway.

 

In DC and Montgomery County Md, flashing lights to alert left lane snails or radar traps is a ticket if the police see it. And to tap into ridiculous police responses got pulled and warned for slowing down at a speed camera. It's been there for a couple years, set at 30mph and everyone knows it's there. I'm the third of the line and the cop stops me, tells me if I was doing the speed limit I wouldn't have to slow down.