Allstate Report Ranks U.S. Cities by Car Crash Likelihood

The U.S. has a strong driving culture, and with that culture comes the inevitable arguments over which state has the worst drivers.

While there's still no way to definitively prove who the worst drivers in the country are, new data from Allstate does provide some insights on where drivers are most likely to get into car crashes, whether that be from bad driving, tricky roads or dangerous weather conditions.

The report found that the northeast — especially Massachusetts — had a high number of reported car collisions, while Texas had far fewer.

Allstate's report ranked the 200 largest U.S. cities based on its auto insurance claims data and used that information to compile its list. It does not factor in issues that could contribute to the chance for wrecks, like the frequency of snow or ice impacting the roads or when the roads were planned and built.

With all that said, here is where drivers are most likely to have collisions in the U.S:

1. Boston, Massachusetts

Boston has taken the top spot in Allstate’s list for the second year in a row. According to the report, drivers are more likely to get into a wreck in Boston than anywhere else in the U.S. Allstate found that Boston drivers only go about 3.7 years on average between collisions.

Drivers in Boston are, according to the data, 189 percent more likely to be involved in a car crash than the national average. Massachusetts actually had far more entries on the list than any other state. Both Worcester and Springfield, Massachusetts, made it onto the top 10.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation says the leading causes of car crashes in the state are distracted driving, speeding, impaired driving and unsafe driving maneuvers such as reckless lane changes and tailgating.

Sokolove Law, a personal injury law firm, also notes that some of the state's roads are narrow and winding and that they are subject to severe winter weather.

A Massachusetts Department of Transportation spokesperson told The Boston Globe that it “prioritizes safety across all avenues and works with all municipalities to address road user needs through implementation of systemic safety countermeasures and addressing high crash locations.”

2. Washington, D.C.

It's unlikely that anyone who lives or spends significant time in the nation's capital will be surprised to see it ranked so high on Allstate's list.

Like Boston, D.C. has narrow streets, near constant construction, tourists and pedestrians and bikers to dodge, but with about 2 million more people crammed into the broader metropolitan region.

According to the Marks and Harrison law firm citing data from the D.C. Metro Police, the leading cause of car crashes in the capital are dangerous driving behaviors, particularly when drivers are merging in heavy city traffic.

It also found that fatal wrecks are most likely to happen on major roadways — like the dreaded Beltway — but D.C.'s smaller side streets are more likely to be where a driver has a fender bender or takes a t-bone collision.

3. Baltimore

If you're trying to escape the driving chaos in D.C., fleeing to nearby Baltimore isn't the move. Allstate ranked the Maryland city at No. 3 on its collision list.

Baltimore, like D.C. and Boston, is an old city, at least when compared to other American cities. While it shares the same narrow streets as the previous two cities, its strict grid layout likely helps keep it lower on the list than other entries.

The Baltimore City Department of Transportation found that approximately 60 percent of the city’s worst crashes occur on just 7 percent of its roads, according to The Baltimore Banner.

WGK personal injury law firm says that traffic congestion and sometimes difficult-to-navigate intersections and roads are primary drivers of Baltimore collisions.

After Baltimore, the rest of the top 10 includes:

4. Worcester, Massachusetts

5. Springfield, Massachusetts

6. Glendale, California

7. Providence, Rhode Island

8. Sunrise Manor, Nevada

9. Los Angeles, California

10. Philadelphia

The cities with the fewest car accidents tend to be fairly flat, fairly open, and quite a bit younger than their northeastern compatriots.

Topping the list of fewest car crashes is Brownsville, Texas. From there, the list includes:

2. Fort Collins, Colorado

3. Boise, Idaho

4. Laredo, Texas

5. Cary, North Carolina

6. Madison, Wisconsin

7. McAllen, Texas

8. Colorado Springs, Colorado

9. Eugene, Oregon

10. Olathe, Kansas