Allstate Insurance has unveiled its yearly list of the nation’s most traffic-accident-prone cities, and Washington, D.C., and Baltimore are listed as number one and two, respectively.
No other U.S. cities have knocked the District or Baltimore from the top motor vehicle accident spots for several years, but the insurance company’s statistics show a new disturbing trend. Car accidents for drivers in both cities occurred more often in 2010 than in previous years, leading some to believe driving habits have worsened.
The 2010 collision study showed traffic crashes for drivers in Washington, D.C., happen every 4.8 years on average. Baltimore motorists wait slightly longer than District drivers before getting in another accident – 5.3 years. The time span between accidents in Allstate’s 2009 report showed that District drivers went 5.1 years and Baltimore drivers 5.6 years between accidents.
Officials say area drivers cannot take the entire blame for the overabundance of accidents. Members of the Finance Committee’s Transportation Subcommittee say Baltimore and Washington, D.C., roads have become more congested each year.
It is estimated that half of Maryland’s population lives in the Baltimore-D.C. metro area. The chairwoman of the subcommittee said Baltimore has the state’s highest driver insurance rate, even though the city attracts more out-of-town drivers than anywhere else in Maryland.
Figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration mirror the Allstate Insurance findings. In 2009, Washington, D.C. placed third in the country for the number of pedestrian fatalities at 2.33 per 100,000 people. Maryland followed close behind with 1.98 pedestrian deaths per 100,000.
