Best and Worst Cities for Car Accidents

Labor Day weekend introduces a flurry of activity. As fall weather starts to roll in, kids are either already back in school or gearing up to start. For the most part, people are deciding what final activities they want to squish in before summer comes to a dead end.

With the mad dash to get into the back-to-school routines, getting the children back and forth to school, and taking our last trips of the summer, we need to remember that everyone is spending more time on the roads. The more cars on the road, the higher the risks of potentially harmful or devastating car accidents.

Safest City in America to Drive in 2016

Allstate, one of the leading auto insurance companies, has put together statistics in their Allstate’s 2016 Best Drivers Report, which is based on auto insurance claims. The report reveals some interesting data we can all learn from. All in all, when comparing all of the states and cities in America according to population density and the frequency of auto damage claims, Madison, Wisconsin came out on top for the safest city for drivers.

When using that same formula, population density and vehicle property damage claims, the following 10 cities were the safest for drivers in 2016:

• Madison, WI
• Brownsville, TX
• Boise, ID
• New York, NY
• Milwaukee, WI
• Wichita, KS
• Hialeah, FL
• McAllen, TX
• Olathe, KS
• Lincoln, NE

City vs. Suburb

Another interesting comparison Allstate made, using their Drivewise telematics program from 2010-2015, was between drivers in U.S. cities and drivers in the city’s suburban areas. Because the suburban areas do not have as dense a population, they tended to have fewer collisions and events that require hard-braking. Hard-braking is defined as decelerating down to eight miles per hour within one second.

Devastating Crashes Can Happen Anywhere

While these statistics make driving in the suburbs sound much safer, this is not always the truth. Suburbs often have higher speed limits than cities, and collisions that occur at higher speeds can be much more devastating. Therefore, we cannot interpret these statistics to mean that driving in the city could result in worse accidents or driving in the suburbs could result in accidents that are not as damaging. In fact, devastating and life-threatening crashes can happen anywhere at anytime.

The Facts

Here are a couple of not-so-fun facts that AllState posted on their website:

• Average drivers experience a car accident once every 10 years
• 94% of car accidents are caused by preventable human errors

We hope you enjoy your Labor Day weekend and get all of the kids get back to school safe and sound. The attorneys at Solnick Lawyers are available if you or someone you love is injured in an accident. Contact us today for a free consultation. We do not get paid unless we recover compensation for you.