10 U.S. Cities with Safest Drivers

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This year’s top honor of “America’s Safest Driving City” is Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where the average driver will experience an auto collision every 13.8 years, which is 27.6 percent less likely than the national average of 10 years.

Allstate Insurance Co. has released its eighth annual “Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report.” The report, based on Allstate claims data, ranks America’s 200 largest cities in terms of car collision frequency to identify which cities have the safest drivers.

This is the fifth time in the eight-year history of the report that Sioux Falls has held the top overall spot.

Phoenix, San Diego and San Antonio topped the list among cities with populations of more than one million.

Indianapolis, Tucson and Lincoln, Neb. also fared well in their population categories.

Allstate analyzed internal property damage reported claims over a two-year period (from January 2009 to December 2010). 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. Allstate’s auto policies represent about 10 percent of all U.S. auto policies, making this report a realistic snapshot of what’s happening on America’s roadways. The rankings reflect the collision likelihood compared to the national average years between collisions.

Massachusetts cities are not included because Allstate did not write business in the state in those years.

The top 10 cities are:

Overall Rank	City	Collision Likelihood Compared to National Average
1	Sioux Falls, S.D.	27.6% less likely
2	Boise, Idaho	27.3% less likely
3	Fort Collins, Colo.	26.7% less likely
4	Madison, Wisc.	23.0% less likely
5	Lincoln, Neb.	19.3% less likely
6	Huntsville, Ala.	19.1% less likely
7	Chandler, Ariz.	18.9% less likely
8	Reno, Nev.	18.4% less likely
9	Knoxville, Tenn.	18.1% less likely
10	Springfield, Mo.	17.4% less likely

For the eighth year in a row, motorists in Phoenix topped the list among commuters in American cities with more than one million people.

Cities with More than 1 Million Population:

Overall Rank	City	Collision Likelihood Compared to National Average
53	Phoenix, Ariz.	1.6% less likely
124	San Diego, Calif.	14.0% more likely
141	San Antonio, Texas	20.4% more likely
152	Chicago, Ill.	25.9% more likely
153	Houston, Texas	25.9% more likely
167	Dallas, Texas	32.8% more likely
176	New York, N.Y.	41.1% more likely
182	Los Angeles, Calif.	48.5% more likely
190	Philadelphia, Pa.	64.1% more likely