Visalia Leads All California Cities in Allstates’ Best Drivers Report

The Allstate Insurance Company released its ninth annual “Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report,” revealing that Visalia tops all California cities in driving safety with the lowest car collision frequency in the state.

In the 2013 report Visalia ranks in the Top Ten of America’s safest driving cities, landing at number eight. Based on Allstate claims data, the report ranks America’s 200 largest citiesⁱ in terms of car collision frequency to identify which cities have the safest drivers. According to the report, the average driver here will experience an auto collision once in a little more than every 12 years–more than 18 percent better than the national average of once approximately every 10 years.

“Drivers in Visalia and California’s Central Valley are making great effort toward keeping America’s roadways safer,” said Phil Telgenhoff, field vice president of Allstate Insurance Company in California. “We salute their best drivers and recognize their safe driving skills, which make all of our communities safer places to live, work and raise families.”

The Allstate America’s Best Driver’s Report was created to facilitate an ongoing dialogue on safe driving that saves lives.This year’s top honor of “America’s Safest Driving City” is Fort Collins, Colorado, the third year the city has held the top spot in the report’s nine-year history. According to the report, the average driver in Fort Collins will experience an auto collision every 13.9 years, which is 28.2 percent less likely than the national average of 10 years.

Below is a look at how other cities in California finished.

According to the most recent report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, car crash fatalities increased by more than 1,700 from 2011 to 2012, the first year-to-year increase in fatalities since 2005. While fatalities have increased over the past year, Allstate research found that 70 percent of vehicles involved in auto claims are considered drivable, which indicates that most claims are the result of low speed (under 35 miles per hour) collisions that take place in “stop and go” traffic locations.

“It is vital for us to educate American drivers about safe driving behaviors they can practice on the road that will help make our roadways safer,” said Telgenhoff. “Minimizing distractions, obeying traffic laws, and using your car’s safety features like turn signals and headlights are all ways to be safer, no matter where you drive.”

Different levels and types of traffic, noise and activity, as well as varying road conditions and rules, can make big city driving different than driving in smaller cities or more suburban areas.

For the past nine years, Allstate actuaries have conducted an in-depth analysis of company claim data to determine the likelihood drivers in America’s 200 largest cities will experience a vehicle collision compared to the national average. Internal property damage reported claims were analyzed over a two-year period (from January 2010 to December 2011) to ensure the findings would not be impacted by external influences such as weather or road construction.

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.

Source: Allstate