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StumbleReport: Las Vegas drivers more prone to accidents
Richard Brian / Sun file photo
Motorists navigate rush hour traffic on Interstate 15 near the Strip.
Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010 | 11:21 a.m.
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Las Vegas still has some of the worst drivers in the nation, according to an insurance company’s annual report released today.
Las Vegas took the No. 144 spot on Allstate Insurance Company’s annual America’s Best Drivers Report, which ranked the 200 largest cities in the country based on the frequency of vehicle collisions.
Southern Nevada’s other cities fared slightly better, with North Las Vegas in the No. 126 spot and Henderson ranking 96th. Reno, on the other hand, is recognized for having some of the best drivers in the country, taking seventh place on the list.
The report says drivers in Las Vegas are 21 percent more likely to have a collision than the national average, and each driver in the city averages one accident every 8.3 years.
That is a small improvement from last year, when Las Vegas was No. 153 on the list, with drivers 28.7 percent more likely to have a collision than the average driver nationwide that year.
North Las Vegas drivers are 15.6 percent more likely to have a collision than the national rate and average an accident every 8.7 years, the report says. Drivers in Henderson are 5.1 percent more likely to have a collision and average an accident every 9.5 years.
This is the sixth year Allstate has analyzed company claims data to create the report, which defines an auto crash as any collision resulting in a property damage claim. The report is based only on data from the company’s customers, which represent about 11 percent of all U.S. auto policies.
The report didn’t speculate on why some cities have more collisions than others.
The safest city for drivers this year was Fort Collins, Colo., followed by Chattanooga, Tenn., Boise, Idaho, and Colorado Springs, Colo.
The worst cities for drivers were Hartford, Conn., Newark, N.J., Glendale, Calif., Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
Discussion: 7 comments so far…
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Everyone who lives here knows that the driving here is really bad. I have always wondered why. Obviously alcohol, drugs, and mental issues contribute. But, I wonder if its an "ownership" issue too. Las Vegas is home to a lot of folks just passing thru. I wonder if folks just don't care because they don't feel a sense of ownership and community. Maybe people don't have a sense of who could be suffering as a result of negligent driving. I don't know...
What this really means is that we can expect another jump in auto-insurance rates. We already knew we have the worst drivers in the country. Hell, I'd bet we even lead the nation is police-caused accidents.
Confirmation of what most of knew already.
What's that old saying about you can't fix stupid? Every day I see drivers doing really dumb things like reading books, texting, talking on cell phones and so on while behind the wheel. Others think everybody should get out of their way since they're in a big hurry. Just because the car has electronic brains doesn't mean it can think for itself. Then these morons wonder why their insurance rates are so high?
Yes, but on the bright side, there are 56 other large cities full of people with worse driving skills than Las Vegans. Plus, we actually improved since last year's list. (I never would have guessed that a listing of the nation's worst cities for driving would be the only list where Las Vegas isn't THE worst. Go figure.)
I absolutely hate driving in this city. I have driven through about a dozen different countries and a countless number of cities Las Vegas, by far, has the worst drivers I have ever shared the road with. I swear something here gives everyone tunnel vision or something to make them believe they are the only ones on the road. Look around you people!!! Wake up and pay attention!!!
Not to mention Vegas is the traffic accident sue-capital of the world too. Scum lawyers feed on accidents here just like catfish feed on the $#@! at the bottom of lakes!
It's a selfish thing.
Las Vegas (and southern CA) is home to a concentration of some of the most selfish people in America. If you have no concern for others, that translates into the way you drive.
If, by "more prone to accidents," you mean "inconsiderate, inattentive, rude, overconfident, arrogant, or just plain intoxicated," then yes, I would agree.
People in Las Vegas approach driving like slot machines or table games: Take a risk to get a few feet ahead of the next guy. Why else would one pass on the right to get one car-length ahead--only to stop short at the next traffic light? It's just an opportunistic [live] video game to them. And, they consider the lcal streets freeways. No, it is not OK to drive 55 or 60 mph on a local street. Of course the lack of enforcement relative to other cities make it so much easier...
Why didn't the report compare (relative) auto insurance rates between the cities cited in the report?
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Guess its about time to re-post this video that so many people appreciated.
Pay attention to nothing but the road!
http://tiny.cc/uy35l
They will use this as an excuse to nanny us and pass a law banning cell phone use while driving.
I was tempted to ask what the statistics are if you subtracted accidents involving METRO but I thought that would be tasteless and not really funny.
this is news? seriously? this article is a waste of bandwidth.
ill put in my own personal research from driving around this dumpster.
the worst drivers are from california. i cant count how many times i have been stuck with some idiot with cali tags in front of me slamming on their brakes, chatting away or texting on the damn iphone, in their hybrid smug car, cutting across 5 lines of traffic to go nowhere.
i see california tags, drive away from them.
if you see any car with a barcode in the window even if it has nv tags, drive away from them.
the uglier the car is, the worse the driver is. for example, nissan cube or a prius, or the ptcruiser or pretty much almost every cheap crap car made by chrysler corp, pedal to the metal and get away from them.
the bigger the rims and the older the car, run away from them too, no knowing what drug addict they are looking for to sell more crack to.
people that drive deisel powered pickups. they think they own the world and that includes the roads, and since they think nothing can hurt them because they are so big, they dont give a crap. stay away from them too.
i have learned, to avoid cops and idiots, i take the path least travelled. if i want to get to eastern and st rose for example, ill take the blvd south to pyle, take pyle all the way to spencer i think it is, then go to st rose from there via a few backroads like dave st. and jeffreys. much safer than silverado to eastern. people on silverado are generally lost, eastern from 215 to anthem is a disaster of people driving, especially between 215 and st rose.
a majority of the spazoids on the road in this town are self problematic such as talking on the phone and texting. when i see their car windows open and talking on the phone, ill pull up next to them and hammer down on the horn to mess up their phone call. if i see them texting ill scream at them for being stupid.
this is why stupid people should be allowed, legally, to get their butts kicked to make a point, maybe then they will learn to not be so lame and put others in jeapordy or injury
It could be worse, you could be driving in lala land Los Angeles. I wonder how many of these accidents were from non-residents?
To sigtwenty: Wow. That was quite a lengthy comment considering you thought this article was a waste of bandwidth. Sounds like you should be easy to spot as you drive around this "dumpster" of a city...Let's see, you're the one driving AWAY from everyone and anyone (that has to be time-consuming), you're avoiding cops by taking the side streets, and all this whilst blowing your horn and screaming at other drivers when given the opportunity. Do you really want to stick with your proposal that stupid people should get their butts kicked? Just asking...
MG, im sure many were non residents. look at henderson being a lower rate of accidents compared to las vegas. not as many out of towners head out to henderson compared to the strip or downtown.
really wanna see a bunch of idiots driving in one place? go to warm springs and las vegas blvd and hang out on the northeast corner where that rebel station is, and watch all the idiots in rental cars at that corner. you can tell which ones are the rental morons because there are barcodes in the rear side windows and rear windows. they should make a tunnel for these idiots that dumps out into frank sinatra behind the mandalay bay to they are out of the mainstream traffic over there.
Bad, yes, however drivers in LA are more reckless. Especially the motorcycles that cruise by at 70 mph in between cars. This report is stupid.
let's see-there's construction on Boulder Hwy, Pecos, Sandhill, 95, 15, the airport tunnel,etc,etc. there has been nothing but construction since I lived here. numerous times this city has ripped up MLK and Rancho. only in this city do they start construction projects right before school starts. How about a 1 year halt to construction?
How about using a turn indicator? what about not slowing down when you need to change lanes? what about not changing lanes in the intersection? what about the police actually following traffic laws? what about if you miss your turn you don't stop in traffic and get over three lanes, you keep going straight then turn? if I'm going the speed limit what about not tailgating me and change lanes? if I have a safe buffer between me and the car in front of me on the freeway, what about NOT cutting in front of me?
Atlanta has 4 times the accidents and half the insurance rates.
Alabama twice the bad drivers and still has half the insurance rates.
The only reason nevada has such high rates is that Nevada kills competition by locking out out of state insurance.
I rember the no fault law they said that rates would go down, ANOTHER LIE.
my rates are cheaper here than florida.
Foreigners can't drive. Always be on the lookout for Hondas and Toyotas - their drivers are the worst.
pianoman - 99% of Vegas is foreigners. Doesn't help.
Report: Las Vegas more prone to hot summers.
In other news: the sky is blue, the earth is round, and Paris Hilton is kind of easy.
With Metro setting the example, what did we expect?
When I moved here from Colorado I couldn't believe how bad people drove. I've come to the conclusion that it's because the city is full of Californians (visitors or transplants).
We have discussed this problem before and have concluded that Las Vegas driving is like doing an Evil Knivel stunt on a daily basis..Sooner or later the stunt won't work..One call that's all..next case
the flashing signs and lights don't help
but if you think vegas drivers are bad, then take a trip to the UK
behappy, you are 100% correct. californians suck at driving.
vegas, no matter what changes around here, will always be higher than most places because we do have that influx of tourism here. people from around the world lost, stupid and confused all staying in a 5 mile stretch of road at the same time.
like i said before, henderson is not as high as vegas, makes perfect sense. most people in henderson know where they are going compared to central vegas.
and thats a great comparison because its right next to vegas, not a few miles of empty land then hey heres henderson, its connected and seamless to las vegas overall. makes me really think its the damn tourists and so cal folks that mess it up for us.
NO SH&T!!
Actually, there aren't any worse drivers in Vegas then there are any place else. There are knuckleheads on all streets and highways. This week alone I had two incidents with men and their large trucks - both times I thought I was in Vegas but no.....I was in middle America! I never thought Vegas drivers were that bad on the whole. I felt there were always that small minority who just HAD to speed.
And speaking of speeding - Try driving on a Chicago expressway during rush hour or on a late Saturday afternoon with those pesky suburbanites going into the "big city" for a night of fun. Vegas drivers are tame compared to those idiots.
<How about using a turn indicator?>
LOLOLOLOL Gee - I believe a lot of drivers don't know what that is.
Here's an idea to all drivers out there - not just Vegas. Slow the F down and pay the F attention to what you are doing while driving!!!!
it's all because las vegas has some of the stupidest people in the nation.
I agree with most - would it kill you to use YOUR TURN SIGNALS?! And while I am on my soap box - get out of the left (passing) lane if your not at least going the speed limit!! (you should be passing but at LEAST go the speed limit...)
If only people would know how to drive up to the speed limit here! They go 10-15 miles under the speed limit, driving like they are driving miss daisy!
Go the speed limit, not 15 under, not 15 over. Geez!
See my facebook group about traffic in las vegas:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12...
hey vegas is crap, you drive 20 over because you don't care, you obviously have nothing invested here. go back to cali and stay there with your slow driving, illegal immigrant brothers. we can do without you. bon voyage!