by Bill McDonough, Editor, Body Language
It is an unfortunate fact that the automobile collision repair industry owes its continued existence to difficult driving conditions and poor driving habits. If everybody on the roads were a careful and sensible driver, there would be far fewer accidents and little need for replacement fenders, new bumpers, and new headlight assemblies.
So, in the spirit of recognizing excellence where we can find it, we read with interest the recently released “America’s Best Drivers Report” from Allstate Insurance. The company studied accident records in 200 major U.S. cities to determine who had the safest drivers (as evidenced by the average number of years between accidents), and in which cities it would be more prudent to take the bus.
Allstate’s study reveals the top five safest driving cities as:
- Kansas City, Kansas (13.3 years between accidents)
- Brownsville, Texas (13.3 years between accidents)
- Boise, Idaho (13.1 years between accidents)
- Fort Collins, Colorado (12.7 years between accidents)
- Cape Coral, Florida (12.7 years between accidents)
Proving that “nobody’s perfect” are the bottom five cities on Allstate’s list are:
- Springfield, Massachusetts (5.2 years between accidents)
- Washington, DC (4.8 years between accidents)
- Baltimore, MD (4.7 years between accidents)
- Worcester, Massachusetts (4.5 years between accidents)
- Boston, Massachusetts (3.9 years between accidents)
There seems to be a pattern developing at the bottom end of the list, with Massachusetts grabbing three of the “worst five” driving records, sharing that dubious distinction with two other northeastern cities. It could be the challenge of driving on icy, snow-covered roads during the long New England winter.
