Allstate Insurance released its eighth annual “America’s Best Drivers Report™”about a month ago, and the great city of Austin did, uh, not so great. Out of the two hundred largest cities in the country, we ranked 149th for “best drivers.”

To get those figures, Allstate’s actuaries compiled collision data from 2009 and 2010 to see how long an average driver in each city is likely to go between accidents. The cities with the “best” drivers went the longest between accidents and had the lowest likelihood of accidents as compared to the national average. The “best” drivers are apparently in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with 13.8 years between accidents and an accident likelihood 27.6% below the national average. Washington, DC, on the other hand, ranked dead last, with 4.7 years between accidents and a likelihood of accidents more than twice the national average.

Austinites can expect to go 8.1 years between accidents. We are 23.9% more likely to have an accident than the national average. Smaller cities tend to have “better” drivers, presumably because there’s less traffic and fewer distraction. Austin ranks thirteenth in population in Allstate’s list of cities, with more than 820,000 people. Sioux Falls ranks 153rd, with just over 156,000.

So anyway, drive safely out there. Continue reading →