Honolulu is among the worst when it comes to safe driving, ranked at 128 of 200 cities in Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report.
Island drivers aren’t as bad as those in New York; Oakland, Calif.; New Orleans; Buffalo, N.Y.; Pittsburgh; San Jose, Calif.; Los Angeles; Miami; Dallas; San Francisco; and last-place Washington, D.C., the report shows.
But they weren’t as good as drivers in top-ranked Fort Collins, Colo.; or Boise, Idaho; Sioux Falls, S.D.; Brownsville, Texas; and Reno, Nev., according to the insurance company’s report released Tuesday.
The report is based on Allstate’s claims data of the frequency of auto collisions. Claims were analyzed over a two-year period from January 2010 to December 2011.
The average Honolulu driver is in a collision every 8.7 years, about 15 percent more likely than the national average, the data showed.
By comparison, the average years between accidents for first-place Fort Collins was 13.9, and last-place Washington, D.C. averaged 4.8 years.
Hawaii transportation engineer Panos D. Prevedouros said one of the major factors contributing to Honolulu’s ranking is the city’s high level of roadway congestion and stop-and-go traffic flow.
"When you have congestion, you have a lot of fender-benders," he said.
Prevedouros said Honolulu also has a problem with drunken drivers, and another contributing factor is the constant stream of pedestrians 12 months a year, unlike some places where snow makes foot travel difficult.
In addition, Prevedouros pointed out that Honolulu has a high number of tourists driving on unfamiliar streets, which might contribute to accidents.
According to the most recent report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, car crash fatalities across the country increased by more than 1,700 from 2011 to 2012, the first year-to-year increase in fatalities since 2005.
While fatalities increased, Allstate research found that 70 percent of vehicles involved in auto claims were considered drivable, indicating most claims were the result of low-speed collisions, under 35 mph.
Different levels and types of traffic, noise and activity, as well as varying road conditions and rules, can make driving in big cities different from driving in smaller cities or more suburban areas, Allstate researchers said.
Motorists are advised to allow plenty of time to reach their destination, obey traffic laws and find out about road construction or special events along their route.
Allstate said its auto policies represent about 10 percent of all U.S. auto policies, making its report "a realistic snapshot of what’s happening on America’s roadways."
