Few polls or surveys are infallible, with most people being well aware that stated conclusions on just about anything have a margin of error in them that must be accounted for.
So, take the following with the proverbial grain of salt if you’re a New Jersey resident, especially if you’re a conscientious driver who puts a good deal of faith in statistics: According to the Allstate Insurance Company, motorists in two New Jersey cities share the dubious distinction of having a high rank in the “Top-10” list of American cities with the worst drivers.
To merit that obviously less than illustrious tag, a municipality must be the venue for a comparatively high rate of car accidents, and motor vehicle crash statistics compiled by Allstate indicate that both Newark and Jersey City easily qualify on that score.
It should be noted that the insurer’s eighth annual “Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report” examines auto accident data stemming only from its own customers. Notwithstanding that limitation, however, it should also be noted that Allstate is a huge company, insuring about one in every 10 motorists in the country. Thus, the data would reasonably seem to accurately reflect driving realities across the country.
Using Allstate’s measuring stick positing that the “average” American driver is involved in a collision about once a decade, motorists in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, can claim their best-drivers medal. Allstate statistics indicate that drivers there have an accident about once every 13.8 years.
The number for Newark, which ranks as fourth worst among 200 municipalities, is 5.9 years. For Jersey City, ranked at eighth, it is 6.4 years between fender benders.
Ranked first — in other words, dead last — in the report is Washington, D.C., where Allstate says a motorist can expect to have an accident every 4.8 years.
If you or someone you love has been injured in a car accident as a reult of another person’s negligence, please contact Breslin & Breslin for a free consultation.
Source: The Car Connection, “Where do America’s best (and worst) drivers live?” Richard Read, Aug. 28, 2012
