Providence is one of the worst cities for safe driving, says Allstate

PROVIDENCE – Providence is one of the worst cities in the U.S. in terms of safe drivers, ranking No. 188 out of 193 cities, according to a report by Allstate Corp. released Thursday.

The ranking was slightly worse than Allstate’s 2009 report when Providence stood at No. 186.

Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report ranked cities in terms of the frequency of car collisions that result in a property damage claims. The data was collected over a two-year period to reduce the impact of road construction and weather conditions on the findings. This year’s report collects data from the January 2007 to December 2008 period.

In Providence, the average number of years between accidents for a driver is 6.5 years, or 54.8 percent above the national average. Hartford, Conn., ranked just behind Providence at No. 189, had an average of 6.3 years between accidents.

Washington, D.C., came in last place for the second consecutive year, while Fort Collins, Colo., claimed the title of America’s safest driving city, with drivers averaging 14.5 years between accidents.

“For the sixth year, Allstate is releasing the Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report to facilitate an ongoing dialogue on safe driving,” said Mike Roche, senior vice president of Allstate’s Claims Organization. “We salute all of America’s safe drivers who help make our communities better places to live, work and raise families.”

Although the report was intended to evaluate the 200 largest cities in the country, Massachusetts data was not included because Allstate was not in the state’s auto insurance market for the full two years of data collection. A handful of other cities around the country were not represented by any zip codes in Allstate’s data and were also excluded from the report.

Allstate’s auto policies represent approximately 11 percent of all U.S. auto policies.

The full Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report is available at www.allstatenewsroom.com.