When asked to name which U.S. city has the nation's worst drivers, most people would probably guess New York City or Los Angeles, where the county has more registered cars than all but five states in the country.
But among the nation's biggest cities -- those with 1 million residents or more -- Boston ranks the worst. "A Boston driver, on average, will get into a collision every 4.4 years," Kari Mather, a spokeswoman for insurer Allstate Corp, said in an interview Tuesday with Reuters.
Allstate released its annual list Tuesday of "America's Best Drivers," which ranks 200 cities across America based on client collision damage data from 2011 and 2012. Special emphasis was given to population density and weather factors like precipitation, Maher told Reuters.
The point of the report isn't that it's a tool to raise insurance rates, she added. "It's more about a dialogue of encouraging drivers to be safer on the road. It's a wakeup call to them."
From the Allstate list, here are the 10 cities at the bottom, those with the worst drivers in America according to accident data:
10) New Haven, Connecticut
Drivers in Connecticut's second-largest city get into an accident every 6.3 years on average.
9) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Here in America's fifth most-populous city, drivers get into an accident every 6.2 years.
8) Alexandria, Virginia
In this city just outside Washington, D.C., home to just over 150,000 people, drivers get into an accident once every 5.9 years.
7) Glendale, California
Located in Los Angeles County just a few miles north of downtown L.A., Glendale's drivers get into an accident every 5.8 years.
6) Baltimore, Maryland
In Maryland's largest city, drivers have an accident every 5.4 years on average.
5) Providence, Rhode Island
Rhode Island's capital and its most populous city has drivers who get into accidents every 5.4 years.
4) Springfield, Massachusetts
Located about 90 miles from Boston in western Massachusetts, Springfield's drivers get into an accident every 5.4 years.
3) Washington, D.C.
In the nation's capital, drivers get into an accident every 5.1 years on average.
2) Boston, Massachusetts
The state's capital city is also has the nation's worst drivers for cities with 1 million or more residents. Drivers here get into an accident every 4.4 years.
1) Worcester, Massachusetts
Roughly 40 miles west of Boston, Worcester ranked as the nation's most dangerous city for drivers, who get into accidents here every 4.3 years.
See the full report on America's Best Drivers at Allstate.
