Tacoma Ranks Among Top 200 Cities For Best Drivers: Report

TACOMA, WA — Tacoma drivers ranked 149th out of the 200 largest cities in America in Allstate’s annual "Best Drivers" report for 2019. The report, released Tuesday ahead of the dangerous July 4th holiday, ranks cities based on crash frequency using the insurance giant’s internal claims data.

Drivers in Tacoma landed just ahead of Pamona, California, on the list and behind Buffalo, New York. Elsewhere in Washington State, Spokane ranked 87th, Vancouver ranked 114th, Bellevue came in at 132nd, and Seattle landed at 155th.

To their credit, Tacoma drivers moved up the city from 167th in 2018 and 172nd in 2017. Ten years ago, Tacoma was the least safe in Washington, ranking in at 150th in the nation.

Meanwhile, Brownsville, Texas, drivers were crowned the nation’s safest for the second consecutive year, averaging about 15 years between crashes, according to the report. That’s far more than the national average, which is about 11 years between crashes. Data on the number of hard-brakes for Brownsville drivers per 1,000 miles wasn’t available.

The insurer said it found hard-braking correlates with crash frequency. Cities where drivers don’t hard-brake as often tend to see fewer property damage claims.

On the flip side, Baltimore, Maryland, drivers were dubbed the least safe in the nation, with the average crash claim filed about every four years. Baltimore drivers also hard-brake more than 30 times every 1,000 miles, far more than the national average of 19.

Below are the 10 cities with the least safe drivers, according to Allstate:

1. Baltimore
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Boston
4. Worcester, MA
5. Glendale, CA
6. Los Angeles
7. Springfield, MA
8. Providence, RI
9. Alexandria, VA
10. Oakland, CA

Allstate said its researchers scrutinized reported property damage claims from January 2016 to December 2017. A collision referred to any auto crash resulting in a property damage claim.

Hard-braking data, which was not available for multiple cities, was based on customers who voluntarily participated in Allstate's so-called “Drivewise” program in 2016 and 2017.

Ken Rosen, the company’s chief claims officer, said in a news release that the report aims to make roads safer and “ultimately save lives."

"Each of us needs to ask how we can do our part in our day-to-day lives and for our communities,” said Rosen. “And beyond that, this country needs to come together to address pressing safety issues, such as rebuilding our roadway infrastructure to reduce risky conditions on America's roads.”

Tell us what you think of Allstate's ranking. Do you feel safe when driving in Tacoma?

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.